I hate to start a new thread, but I have been wondering about why the writer's made such a point to associate Brother Campbell with Ms. Hawking (ring lady). Further, I have been contrasting these two, who seemingly have a connection with the island with Richard/Ethan.
Campbell/Hawking both derive their names of famous people with a debilitating disease (this pickup courtesy of matahari....kudo's). The picture upon the monk's desk suggest that they are very familiar with one another. They appear in roles that have held them in "the real world" for some time. Ms. Hawking runs a clock/jewelry store, Mr. Campbell is a monk. They are honest, lay out options, and speak of sacrifice. Furthermore, they seem both to have knowledge of the future.
Contrast this with Ethan and Richard. Modern, manipulative, huge money at their disposal, secretive, and mobile. They recruit instead of guide. (Their intent was to directly bring somebody to the island, not nudge them in the direction of their fate). In this respect, they may not have knowledge of the future.
Is this suggestive of two groups of others....One reliant upon mental faculties/faith/sacrifice with some insight into the future while the other is material/scientific/ambitious that seeks to manipulate reality? Does one group exist only in a spiritual form upon the island ('the whispers') while maintaining a physical presence in the real world and the other group a physical presence upon the island with excursions into the real world?
Additionally, there seems to be a growing number of references and associations between the storyline and the works of Stephen King. The latest potential link (sorry, don't remember the poster) was to the Talisman. I've included the paragraph that interested me here:
This book charts the adventure of a twelve year old boy named Jack (Benjamin) Sawyer. The young hero sets out from the East Coast of the USA in a bid to save his mother, who is dying from cancer, by finding an artifact called 'The Talisman'.
The premise of the novel involves the existence of a parallel world to Earth, called 'The Territories' (a strange fantasy world with ties to King's The Dark Tower). Individuals in the Territories have "twinners," or parallel individuals, in our world. Twinners' births, deaths, and (it is intimated) other major life events are usually paralleled, but in rare instances (such as Jack Sawyer's), a person may die in one world but not the other, making them a "single" and giving them the ability to switch back and forth between the two worlds if taught how.
Now, the coincidence of the names alone struck me. Additionally, the notion of "twinners" is very interesting. The inability of the Other's to carry a pregnancy to term may be due to the discrepancy with their "twin" off of the island. I don't know, but if one hopes to see Christian, or even Mikail, again....this theory might have some legs.
In any event, it might explain many issues. Going way back, it may give some insight into why Rousseau shot her companions....they passed between worlds and she didn't like what came back. It may also explain how Ben was "born" onto the island.....Ben was just a lowly Dharma toilet cleaner and then parallel Ben took his place. Further, it makes one wonder whether Kate may have been right when standing on the border of Otherville...."That's not Jack." Finally, it may explain why Ben could not let any of the women leave the island.
Getting back to the original point, two groups of Others, it would seem that the group we know of as "the Others" (Ben, Tom, Ethan, Nathan.....) may largely be made up of "singles" and incapable of making babies (and it may be the men, not the women, who are incapable of producing a viable progeny). The problem would exist because they lack a "twin" upon which to mirror such an event.
The "singles" are able to pass between worlds (leave the island) whereas the other Other group cannot. They exist only in whispers upon the island but maintain a physical presence and role in the "real world." This second group may have had some role in guiding many of the Losties to their fate. Further, their death in the "real world" would leave open the possibility of their "single" emerging.
The duality would further allow for seemingly common people to be "great men" through the attibutes of their twin. Thus, Locke may be "him."
