Assassin's Apprentice

One of the first things Fitz always notices about others is their hair, both in texture and color. He notices Patience’s curls, the Fool’s unnaturally pale “dandelion fluff” hair, and Molly’s braids, texturing his understanding of other characters through the care and presentation of their hair. Hair functions as an important symbol for personhood within the novel; how people care for their hair represents their views of themselves and, by extension, how they want to be treated by others. Patience, for example, wears her hair pinned back, but despite her efforts, “ringlets of it [] escape[] at her forehead and neck” (206). This represents Patience’s position as Chivalry’s widow and the way her unconventionality challenges that—she tries to fit her position as best she can, but her personality prevails. In this way, hair explores the theme of The Importance of Human Connection since the way each character does their hair represents their connection to the world.

One important scene toward the beginning of the novel is when Burrich shaves his own head and eyebrows and cuts Fitz’s long hair extremely short to signify his grief over Chivalry’s death. Fitz hates the experience, partially because it makes him feel ugly and partially because, unlike Burrich, he does not have any reason to grieve for his father. This scene typifies how hair represents personhood in the novel. Fitz is not given any choice in grieving his father; Burrich forces the social convention on him, yet another reminder that his connections to the world are all tied to Chivalry. Fitz participates in a ritual intended to reveal the love that people have for someone who died without any actual emotional reason to, demonstrating his isolation and lack of true connection to his people or their traditions.