Jarlaxle: evil?

Bob has entertained the idea of writing an early novel covering Jarlaxle's past and relationship with Drizzt's Father... Which leads me to believe that along with the betrayal of his family (I don't want to spoil that if you haven't read it yet, but lets just say Jarlaxle and his family are not exactly friends) perhaps his time with Zak helped to shape him and make him see the light...?

I still stand by my thoughts that Jarlaxle had entertained thoughts of breaking free of Drow society long before the current timeline, but something (perhaps his family: a crazy matron mother with an archmage at her disposal and an army of thousands and lets not forget his elite siblings who can commune with a goddess...) held him back, kept him chained to his society... He has learned to play the 'game' so well because it was the way he survived. He hid the fact that he was different rather than embracing it like Drizzt and now he's in so deep he can hardly see the way out of his own illusions...

I think he keeps Artemis close because Artemis is the opposite of himself. Artemis makes no secrets about who he is and what he wants. He may not like who he is, but he accepts it and that is something Jarlaxle has never been able to do. He says things constantly about sure of himself he is, but deep inside there is something missing in Jarlaxle.

Jarlaxle and Zak couldn't do it. They were in too deep. But perhaps if he sticks to Drizzt... He can at least experience the other side from afar even if he can never attain it...

Again, that's just my stick.

I don't think that Jarlaxle is truly evil but I would not say that he is a good person, either. I think that he is very much pragmatic and self-serving. Even when he does something that might be considered selfless it still manages to turn out positive for him. I also wouldn't say that Jarlaxle has been influenced by any one drow but I do have to agree with Robillard concerning his relationship with Zak. Drizzt's father is likely the first positive influence he had in his life and I can definitely see his mother being a major influence in his remaining in the City of Spiders because while she did not care whether he lived or died, she also wanted him nearby not just for her benefit but also to keep an eye on him as well.

Drizzt has obviously been a big influence in his life but I also feel like Entreri also had a hand in that. I like Robillard's description of how the two are opposite in how they present themselves (yet they are still very much the same, as well) and I think that Jarlaxle admired the assassin's brazen acceptance of his life and the sort of person he became. Yet I also sense a bit of apprehension on Jarlaxle's part in not wanting to leave something that he is so good at which is the dark game played by drow society even while desiring something more. It is not always easy to leave our comfort zones even if we're not necessarily comfortable staying.

So while it may seem like a cheap way out, I think Jarlaxle is more neutral than anything else or at the very most, undecided. I think Jarlaxle's sublime pragmatism allows him to jump from one alignment's gray area to another as he very much seems to act according to his current situation rather than weigh his choices based on a moral compass the way someone like Drizzt or Entreri would.

I'm not keen on using the word evil to describe any character, but if I had to use it, I would say that Jarlaxle is evil. Yes, he's charming and he's likeable, and that's why he's more dangerous than his brothers and sisters. He's the kind of person you want to trust, that you want to think the best of, that you want to believe could be your friend. But he's not like Drizzt without the angst. He's like Drizzt without the conscience.