Was it ever confirmed anywhere that Mila was Garak's mother and not merely Tain's housekeeper?
Mila - Garak's Mother?
- Thread starter Six of Twelve
- Start date
Judging by Garak's reaction to her death, I thought it was fairly obvious that Mila was his mother.
Did any of the novels mention it? I read the one about Garak written by Andy Robinson, but that's been about fifteen years ago, so I don't recall.
Regardless of biology, from Garak's reactions I'm fairly sure he considered her his mother in every other respect.
Like much with Garak it was deliberately kept vague and up to interpretation. The only key takeaway was Mila was who raised Garak. In some ways it is more powerful without the cliched biological link.
And if Andrew Robinson says she's Garak's mother, then we can definitely assume she is.
Focusing only on the show, the only reason to think she is his mother is the out of universe knowledge that in a TV show, in any ambiguous situation the most melodramatic conclusion is usually the right one.
Personally I think their relationship has more emotional impact if she isn't biologically his mother.
Personally I think their relationship has more emotional impact if she isn't biologically his mother.
Are we asking whether she's his mother in the novelverse or whether at the time the episode was written, the writers believed she was his mother? Those are two separate questions.
More the second, but mostly in general.
Biologically speaking, if she wasn't, she was in every other way, which is what truly counts.
I thought it was fairly obvious she was Garak's mother, and maybe also Tain's "wife" - at least common-law wife.
Tain knew that having a wife and son was a weakness others would exploit (do this or we will kill your wife and son etc.) so he never acknowledged either, or acted like he had either.
I don't think A. Robinson is necessarily privy to any information on this. The producers and writers decided these things. He may just have gone with the implication in the scripts, as other novel authors might have.
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Sine we expect to hear that Mila is his mother, had they gotten around to saying, the writers would probably have gone a different way. A big "reveal" that's totally expected is no fun, after all.
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The picture I find I've formed in my head: Cardassia officially extolls family above all else. They also are hypocrites, and take what they want, especially soldiers. So there's a bi g, thick dividing line between the respectability and purity of wives, and anyone from any other liasons. So, I think at one point, Tain took what he wanted from Mila. No love, no relationship. He would have considered her tainted, damaged goods, after, especially producing an illegitimate child. She goes back to being the housekeeper and that only. I'm over-explaining this I think. It's pretty obvious. Or there may have been a relationship. I have the feeling that marriages are important in Cardassia, with actual love seeming like a weakness though. Without marriage, a woman was expendable.
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Was Tain married?
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I think it was a very sad story, and that Garack doesn't know it. I think that to him, Mila was a very special figure to him, a maid who was very good to him growing up, like an aunt. The real relationship would have been hidden. Maybe Garack guessed when he was older and confronted Tain about it. It seems that Garack thinks Mila ought to concern Tain more than she actually does.
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I'll guess that the writers explained this enough for us to guess the details well enough, without losing that slight question mark or mystery.
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Sine we expect to hear that Mila is his mother, had they gotten around to saying, the writers would probably have gone a different way. A big "reveal" that's totally expected is no fun, after all.
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The picture I find I've formed in my head: Cardassia officially extolls family above all else. They also are hypocrites, and take what they want, especially soldiers. So there's a bi g, thick dividing line between the respectability and purity of wives, and anyone from any other liasons. So, I think at one point, Tain took what he wanted from Mila. No love, no relationship. He would have considered her tainted, damaged goods, after, especially producing an illegitimate child. She goes back to being the housekeeper and that only. I'm over-explaining this I think. It's pretty obvious. Or there may have been a relationship. I have the feeling that marriages are important in Cardassia, with actual love seeming like a weakness though. Without marriage, a woman was expendable.
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Was Tain married?
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I think it was a very sad story, and that Garack doesn't know it. I think that to him, Mila was a very special figure to him, a maid who was very good to him growing up, like an aunt. The real relationship would have been hidden. Maybe Garack guessed when he was older and confronted Tain about it. It seems that Garack thinks Mila ought to concern Tain more than she actually does.
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I'll guess that the writers explained this enough for us to guess the details well enough, without losing that slight question mark or mystery.
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I agree. I tend to consider him the definitive source on all things Garak, and there is nothing in the show to dissuade me from believing his take on the relationship between Mila and Garak.And if Andrew Robinson says she's Garak's mother, then we can definitely assume she is.
Certainly I think we can assume that Mila was Garak's mother in all the ways that truely matter (so emotionally, psychologically and practically).
However, in-universe, I think it's very unlikely that there is any proof that she was his biological mother. In fact I think I'd go as far to say that the best 'proof' that she was, would be incontrovertable proof that she wasn't.
However, in-universe, I think it's very unlikely that there is any proof that she was his biological mother. In fact I think I'd go as far to say that the best 'proof' that she was, would be incontrovertable proof that she wasn't.
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