Viperfrost compares Bluestar and Mapleshade, two unfortunate mothers from the series.
Art by ClimbToTheStars
Hello, fellow BlogClanners! I’m Viperfrost, a new member (though I’ve been a Warriors fan for years), and this is my first article. Please note that I have read up to Book Four of AVoS, and therefore may include facts as far as that. I’ll be making a series of articles where I’ll be discussing instances where you can draw parallels between certain cats’ experiences, personalities, or reactions to similar events, and their differences that led them down their particular paths. I hope you find this topic as interesting as I do! 😊
First up, we have Bluestar and Mapleshade. There are many ways in which they are similar, including that they were both ambitious “career” cats that sought the leadership of Thunderclan, they both fell in love with/had kits with a tom from Riverclan (in fact, Bluestar’s mate Oakheart was the descendent of Mapleshade’s mate Appledusk!), and they both faced situations that required them to take the kits to Riverclan. Their differences arise because of other cats, not Bluestar and Mapleshade directly. Let me show you what I mean.
Bluestar’s Experience:
1. Bluefur’s temporary mate, while I don’t personally like his personality, was unquestionably a good caretaker of the kits. Oakheart was a kind, caring father that took the kits into Riverclan when Bluefur needed him to.
2. Featherwhisker (Bluestar’s medicine cat before Spottedleaf came along, if I remember correctly) said nothing about the kits’ father, even though it is implied in both Bluestar’s Prophecy and Spottedleaf’s Heart that he suspected something.
3. There was even a cat, Thrushpelt, who was willing to pretend to be the kits’ father, if she wanted him to.
4. The leader at the time, Sunstar, was wise and compassionate, and he might not have sent Bluefur into exile even if he knew that the kits were fathered by a Riverclan cat.
All of these factors worked in her favor, and enabled her to bring Mistystar and Stonefur to Riverclan, though poor Mosskit tragically died on the way there. Bluefur ascended to the deputy position, and eventually became Bluestar as she had hoped. After her nine lives, she made it into Starclan.
Mapleshade’s Experience:
Bluestar’s experience was in sharp contrast to Mapleshade’s.
1. Mapleshade’s temporary mate, Appledusk, was not a very good mate or father, in my opinion. When Mapleshade tried to cross the river, as Bluefur did with her kits, the kits were washed away by the river during a storm. They drowned, because Frecklewish, who was watching the whole thing, didn’t intervene to save their lives. Mapleshade persevered and went to Riverclan, where Appledusk rejected her, blamed her for her kits’ deaths, and revealed that he had taken another mate (Reedshine) in Riverclan. He even called for his leader to deny her a night’s stay in Riverclan.
2. The Thunderclan medicine cat at the time, Ravenwing, sold her secret out to the clan leader, Oakstar, almost immediately after finding out.
3. Oakstar’s son Birchface had recently died at the paws of Appledusk during a battle. Interestingly enough, most of the clan (including Oakstar and his daughter Frecklewish) assumed that Mapleshade’s kits were Birchface’s, perhaps hinting at a close friendship (or perceived relationship) between the two. Mapleshade, in lack of a better solution, doesn’t deny it, though she doesn’t confirm it either.
4. Oakstar, after discovering that the kits he had thought were his grandkits were actually the kits of his son’s murderer, acted impulsively by banishing Mapleshade and her kits during a deadly storm.
These factors worked against her, and led to the death of her kits. Driven by hallucinations of her kits’ voices pleading for her to save them, she killed Frecklewish, Ravenwing, and Appledusk in order to set her kits free. Weakened by her trials, she was killed by Appledusk’s apprentice, whose name I cannot recall.
Questions for BlogClanners:
1. Oakstar’s younger son, Pinestar, was born after the whole Mapleshade fiasco and his viewpoint regarding how all the warriors were dying so unnecessarily may have influenced early on because of how his brother died. Therefore, Mapleshade’s story might have influenced Pinestar’s decision to abandon his clan and his son Tigerkit. This actually brings up an interesting question. Mapleshade seems to have a reasonable enough (for the DF, anyway) working relationship with Tigerstar and Hawkfrost. If she followed her ex-mate Appledusk’s descendants in order to cause them pain, why wouldn’t she follow the descendants of Oakstar, who drove her and her kits out? Is that why she was talking about how Tigerstar was meant to end up in the DF in Tigerstar’s Fury?
2. As I’ve established, many of the factors that influenced Bluestar’s rise and Mapleshade’s fall were due to the cats around them. Do you think that this means that we could have had, under different circumstances, a noble and wise Maplestar that went to Starclan or a vicious Bluefur that ended up in the Dark Forest?
Alright, that sums up my article! I hope you liked it, and be sure to put your thoughts in the comments. 😊
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjKrc2_ot_dAhUHDKwKHX3dCHUQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F318911217346123111%2F&psig=AOvVaw3SBkSYsORj3PClgIb4XMjN&ust=1538277690228017
(Art Credit to ClimbToTheStars on DeviantArt)
Wow, I didn’t expect this to come out so soon! 🙂
This is such a well done, thought out article! Even if not everybody agrees with you, you did a great job of analyzing the two characters. I agree with you, and I loved it! Well done, especially for a first article. Also, Appledusk’s apprentice was called Perchpaw, I believe. 🙂
Yeah, that was it! Perchpaw. And thank you for the review of my article! I was really nervous about how it would be received, since other people’s (*cats’) articles are so awesome. 🙂
No problem! I really like both characters, Bluestar and Mapleshade, and I really like how you found both similarites and differences.
🍭 Step Into My Candy Store 🍭Your profile picture is my old profile picture 😛
Star Wars And CatsGreat minds think alike! 😛
#Vouch4ViperThis is very good. I never noticed this. Great Article!
*What do I put here*Thanks! 🙂
Nice! Now I feel bad for Mapleshade.
Ich bin sehr einsam.Great article! I never really thought of this.
Oof....Cool article 😆! I’d never thought so deeply about this topic before! I think there could be a noble Maplestar, but no evil Bluefur. If the cats around Mapleshade didn’t disclose the truth about her kits, she might got a chance to be the leader of Thunderclan. However, for Bluestar, as she’s a prophecy cat and destined to be the leader, any medicine cat, even those like Ravenwing, would not dare to tell the truth about the kits as it could affect her future position as a leader, which’s not following Starclan’s will. For the Pinestar thing, I’m not sure about it since I haven’t read Pinestar’s Choice 😛.
!!Running for senior warrior!!Oh, great point about Bluefur! I hadn’t considered that. Yeah, Ravenwing seemed to take his Starclan vision-interpreting job very seriously (“I saw unfamiliar objects in my den in a dream! That must mean that you and your tiny kits need to leave Thunderclan before you destroy it or something!”) so he probably would not have ratted out Bluefur if he knew her to be a prophecy cat. 🙂
This is an amazing article!
Star Wars And CatsI totally agree about this. Bluestar and Mapleshade are good mirrors of each other. I’m unsure if the Erins did it purposefully or accidentally, but I really like this analysis. I think part of it has to do with a different time period as well. At the point when Mapleshade was a warrior, the Clans were far more distrusting of each other and refused to cooperate. However, throughout the main arc, we see the Clans learn that it’s important to work together when necessary. Particularly, in A Vision of Shadows, cats are changing clans relatively often. The Clans are overall much closer and more likely to tolerate kits born from cats of different Clans.
~Leopardblaze~This is a great article! I think its a great analysis of the two, and I actually now want a great, noble Maplestar! but and evil Bluefur? That would break my heart…
I'm baaack!Wow! Really amazing article! 😀
I never thought about this before, but it’s so true!
Where are the avocados?I always felt bad for Mapleshade, while reading the book, the unfairness of it all (seeing as Bluestar’s story turned up so much better than Mappleshade’s tragic story despite having the same situation) actually brought me to tears. It was horrifying and extremely frustrating seeing Appledusk reject Mapleshade. It’s SO unfair. Although I think we can mostly agree that killing the cats for revenge isn’t the best idea and turns a situation even worse, I felt satisfaction in Appledusk’s death. It makes sense that Mappleshade would be in the Dark Forest, but if the cats were a little lenient on the Warrior Code (that’s not all there is to life) perhaps fate should have been kinder to Mapleshade, and she would have turned out fine. Even the ripest apples left uneaten, will rot.
its beautiful. great article!
YEHESSS! I GOT 2 FREE TACO’S!Nice article! I have never thought about this!
Live. Laugh. Love. Blog.Great article!