- Sep 18, 2021
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Definitely. And honestly, on some level, her perspective is entirely understandable and justified. Especially since being a female in a harem isn't necessarily the same as being a male who has nearly unprecedented access to one. Sexual politics have always been uncomfortable at best when looking closely at the past in general, let alone the topic of slavery.
But I'm mostly arguing from the perspective of the MC. Going from absolute poverty to absolute paradise is a huge incentive to maintain the status quo. Sure, you're coming from poverty so you can internalize the idea that it's unfair that some people have so much while others have so little, but once you've become one of the "haves" (even if only second-hand), the idea of losing it all and having to go back where you came from (or worse) would be incredibly terrifying. Throw in a relatively lenient master (Darius) and no direct grudge against the Sultan, and it puts a lot of weight behind not siding with Kadijah when she comes to you with what can feel like a half-assed plan to strike a blow that won't necessarily change anything and which could cost you everything (and even put people you care about at risk if you like Darius and Tahir and are afraid they'll get dragged into things in the aftermath). And she does come across somewhat manipulative, which makes it hard to trust her motivations anyway (for all the MC knows, this is just internal factional politics as usual where she's hoping to better her own position and hiding behind lofty excuses).
Again, players can view things differently (especially if they've played through before and have a different perception of her as a character), but there's plenty of justification to actively reject her (if not outright oppose her) early on. From the MC's perspective, it can border on being almost self-defense.
