Spock and T'Pring?

Suppose T'Pring's plan had backfired and Spock had moved to the suburbs with her after winning the kal-if-fee. What does this couple's body language tell us about their future together?


It looks like he's trying to connect with her, but she's giving him the Vulcan finger, and he rolls his eyes. They're not off to a great start here.

 

But this never happened because in a deleted scene, Spock visited T'Pring's apartment before the ceremony. He noted her subscription to Vague magazine and knew she was all about appearances.

 

She would've been banging dudes all over Shi'Kahr and he would've worked himself to an early grave. Likely a heart attack just like the old man.

 

Was 'Vague" an intentional misspelling of Vogue, meaning to be ironic or something? If not, its still funny.

 

Or he's thinking...

"Wait a second--Chapel's up there, just begging to give me all of her nurse fantasy goodness, and i'm down here dealing with this haughty b****? Hey McCoy--slip this chick a Cordrazine cocktail, set her loose among the stiffs and beam me the hell outta here!"

 

This has been bugging me for a few years
We've seen Spock in situations with Women prior to Amok Time and would see him in more, afterwards (True, most of those were triggered by him being "under the influence")
Now suppose for a moment that in the years Spock was at Starfleet (and that's quite a few Years btw) He developed a relationship with a female crew member
Now, if Vulcan males had to endure it every seven years of their adult life, Spock would have been hit by it during his time under Pike's command. that he didn't suggests that he might have had something going on that kept the pressures from building up.
Now, for two years under Kirk's command (and maybe a few years prior to that under Pike's) he hasn't had any "activity") Suddenly Ponn Farr hits him harder than a barrell of Romulan Ale.
Now Nu Spock doesn't have T'Pring (She's most likely dead in the destruction of Vulcan) but he does have Uhura. Will his relationship with her offset the mating drive? Or will it cause him to go out of control some night when they're off duty? and kill Uhura due to the comparative human fragility

 

^ If nuT'Pring died during STXI, that must have ended Spock's pon farr. So he's most likely in the clear.

In any case, his relationship with Uhura would probably take care of it as well.

 

In the image above, he's expecting to do it 4 times a week, but she's only offering once for the rest of his life.

 

I rather liked D.C. Fontana's novel Vulcan's Glory that touches on this. For those who haven't read the book young Spock meets a young widowed Vulcan female crewman aboard Pike's Enterprise. Subsequently they have something going and Spock takes it hard when she dies. It's here that Fontana has Spock really commit to Vulcan stoicism. Fontana was probably trying to reconcile the smiling young Spock seen in "The Cage" with the familiar guy we know later.

I believe (in the book) Spock reflects on the difference in character between T'Pring and his new love.

Note, too, that in "Amok Time" Spock says he had hoped he "would be spared this," meaning he hoped he would be spared pon farr. It could be interpreted as meaning Spock's hybrid makeup had spared him from experiencing pon farr until the time of "Amok Time." But finally it catches up with him. Makes sense since otherwise Spock would have been biologically compelled to return home to fight for T'Pring more than once in previous years. Pon farr is said to occur every seven years, but in truth there is still not much known about how all this works. After the events of "Amok Time" we don't know if Spock ever had to deal with this again or how he dealt with it.

 

This I believe.

I always assumed that Spock was just hitting Vulcan puberty in Amok Time and before that, "doing it" was out of the question for him. I think that was the author's intention. Spock doesn't have a fun nightlife in that interpretation.


Interesting that since our culture has changed so much in 46 years, people are retconning, or at least reading things differently, to let Spock have some fun.

Edit: now that I think of it, 1970s fan fiction was reputed to have a lot of sex in it, so maybe people haven't changed so much as TV has...

 

T'Pring's like the chick in Office Space

"By the way Spock!......I'VE BEEN CHEATING ON YOU!!!!!!"

 

She's thinking, "As soon as you're asleep, I'm going to slit your throat with my miniature saw blade-shaped ring..."

It can, and frequently does, have a lot of sex in it. But I certainly haven't run across much where Spock ended up with T'Pring.

 

This was covered quite nicely at the end of AT, when Spock questions T'Pring about her motives, and after she answers him, he praises her logic in choosing Kirk as her combatant. Her only mistake, was not accounting for human duplicity in the form of McCoy. T'Pring KNEW that Spock was really 'married' to his Starfleet duty, and that whatever happened, she would still have Stonn.

 

It always irked me that Spock let her off scot free. She was his legal property after the fight. Having heard her explanation and knowing she was treacherous and cold enough to get a man killed, Spock should have ordered her to go live in a Vulcan convent and scrub hospital toilets for the rest of her life.

 

But then we wouldn't have the T'Pring/Stonn porn! (yes, there's rather a lot of it out there in fanfic-land)

Actually, I started writing a story where it was Spock who died, and Kirk has no choice but to take T'Pring (for reasons I have yet to establish in my story; I just want to explore some possibilities here...).

 

Legal property? Like chatel? The Vulcans are the advanced civilization, right?

I think that legal property only pertained specifically to the ceremony itself and the marriage choices. The winner could legally marry her, whether she wanted, but that makes me wonder about Vulcan divorce lawyers? In a completely logical society, do they need to get divorced, why bother? They aren't ruled by their emotions so I don't think it would matter. I think that's the whole point of the Pon Farr, the Vulcans would die out as a species if they didn't feel the need to procreate at least some times, because when you're not ruled by lust and even love, why bother to get married and have kids. They are a real pain in the ass.

 

T'Pau: Thee are prepared to become the property of the victor?
T'Pring: I am prepared.

Seems pretty clear to me - whoever wins literally becomes T'Pring's OWNER.

 

Methinks there mayest been something lost in ye ole translation.

What is marriage if not the giving of oneself to another, but it's supposed to be mutual so no one of the couple is the "owner" except for some Asian cultures.

 

You need to remember that T'Pring invoked a legal right that was very rarely used in modern times. To prevent frivolous or malicious "divorces" it was considered necessary to make the consequences for the woman something that would make her think several times before even considering it. Therefore, to make her literal property - evidently an old law that was "still on the books" - was deemed such a severe consequence that very few women were prepared to accept, ie. the legal and financial risks and loss of accompanying social status.

 

Interesting.

But, as an ancient law, possibly left as a means of cultural preservation, it is still very problematic as it allows modern day (future day?) slavery.

T'pring also seemed like she would be in control because she says, "if you leave I would have your name and your property* and Stonn would still be there" It doesn't sound like she is the property in that assessment.


*Does Spock have a house in the 'burbs? An apartment? Maybe a foot locker full of old trophies? It makes me what property Spock has.