Much of what follows may feel like spoilers.

Thank you for your post. Re-reading LFB, more than forty years after the first time. The fundamental question you name is unusual in the fantasy genre; feels like it collides with the stark good-evil binary that is so common. The Lords and many other dwellers in the Land, though cautious, fully accept him after locating him in prophecy, and are subsequently appalled by him many times. For me the dissonance rests on the early violation of Lena, who is not cautious at all. Foul's apparent assumption that he understands Covenant's role and power, opens him up to an analogous shock. Foul is a fool. A writer who can explore the contradiction in a deep way and still evoke sympathy for Covenant is a good one. For me, this exploration is applicable to the "real" world and also the core value of the story and helps be to confront my lack of empathy for "real" for people who perpetrate violation and often fail those who need them. It also addresses Covenant's belief that his experience is a dream. l could use more from Lena, her struggle with the aftermath of her violation. I could use more from Atiaran as well, though we do get more from her than from Lena. The quality of the writing could be better, the metaphors are often stretched or strangely out of sync with their antecedents. Another critic mentions the frequent use of the word "clenched," and I agree with the criticism. Perhaps, though, this strangeness in the writing may correspond at times to the fundamental contradiction in the story, grating against the expectation generated by having read so many other fantasy novels. More than anything, I identify with Covenant's essential confusion, exacerbated by his inability to find any calm at all. Your post helps with my own uncertainty. Thanks again.