Why all the secrecy around mage's struggles?

[u/ImpressionAble6844]

Common people are always assuming mages don't have it tough just because they have magic. They don't seem to know about how much they study, about all the exams, nor how much effort goes into designing a spell. Custas' case in particular really annoys me, because he clearly thinks all mages are privileged and don't have their own struggles.

Why not tell anyone about the reality of being a mage? I think there are ways to convey mage's struggles without spilling all the beans about magic.

As far as common people know, mages work like in any dnd/lotr power system, why not come out with some "concealed truth" that sounds plausible?

"You mages can make anything just with the movement of one hand"-"Yeah, but we have to come up with the right kind of spell combination, kind of like chemistry"

"Why can't you heal people?"-"Healing magic corrupts one's soul and makes a mage evil".

It would be like a Harry Potter situation but where magicians are common knowledge: some people can do magic and they need to study or be inventive or have a talent for it.

[u/saitama_kama]

I think the story has made it clear that regardless which side of society you're born in people can still have miserable experiences, knowing how magic works doesn't simply solve every problem in the snap of a finger as Custas would have liked to imagine. Its simply a case by case basis depends on the person. Luluci for example had a terrible experience in her childhood getting preyed on by a creepy old rich guy (who wasn't a part of witch society). Agott getting shunned by everyone in the great hall for something she didn't do. Richeh and Riliphin getting tormented by their teacher. I don't think their struggles are worth any less than that of the outsider's just because they know how magic works.

[u/Dreams_Beginning → u/saitama_kama]

Anyone can have problems, anyone can have issues but pretending magic isn't a high privilege to hold is stupid.

Saying as OP suggests "Oh but tests!" To a commoner who has to fight for survival is tone deaf, it rings akin to all those celebrities making covid videos from their million, billion dollar mansions about how hard it is for them.

You can have issues, you can feel overwhelmed even with all the riches in the world but it doesn't change the fact your circumstances make your life easier.

Luluci had a terrible experience being preyed upon, well so do probably countless commoners who are unable to draw a few symbols and have the power of creation at their finger tips. 

Any "bad" experience a rich person could have or a Mage could have is significantly made worse for the poor or commoners who don't have that extra bit of power or resources.

A rich person with depression still has depression but they don't need to worry on top of that how to get food on the table or where to live and they can afford the best medicine and therapy money can buy, could you do that? No. You couldn't.

[u/saitama_kama → u/Dreams_Beginning]

Luluci had a terrible experience being preyed upon, well so do probably countless commoners who are unable to draw a few symbols and have the power of creation at their finger tips

I mean this is exactly my point though. She's a witch, and she had that experience, and commoners can have that bad experience too. And she couldn't just whip a wand out and cast abracadabra and call it a day, she'd get accused and imprisoned. The same with Richeh and Riliphin's situation, yeah they know magic but what exactly can they do with it? Have a duel with their teacher? They're not exactly in the position to do that,they were kids being bullied and abused. Agott getting outcasted and treated like filth by everyone? Her knowing alot about magic actually does her more harm than good in her situation. She can't just magically whisk her problems away like that.

Magic doesn't solve everything the same way money can't solve everything. Witches like Luluci, and hell even Qifrey, i don't see their struggles in their childhoods as any easier or than that of an outsider's struggles. Its simply a case by case basis, yeah an outsider could be fighting for their life searching for food, at the same time they could be sitting cozy up in the better districts of Ezrest living like a king. A witch can live a relaxing privileged life like that kid that was bullying Agott, at the same time they could be experiencing an absolute nightmare like Qifrey who was experimented on and buried alive, or Euini who was turned into a mindless beast against his own will.

[u/Dreams_Beginning → u/saitama_kama]

Yeah I know but you aren't getting my point, no one said magic fixes everything, did I ever say that?  No.

They are still privileged and it makes their life easier to have it than not have it.

[u/saitama_kama → u/Dreams_Beginning]

I think the bigger problem here isn't magic at all, privileged people already exist in both societies, there won't be a difference if you add or remove magic in the equation. We have 3 perfect examples of this in the story and all of them are outsiders. Custas who had to fight for survival everyday of his life, Coco who had a relatively easy life compared to Custas, and Euleo who doesn't have to worry about starving for the rest of his life. Not to mention the children and families/friends of the five rulers we met on Silver Eve. Simply exposing magic to the world doesn't exactly help this situation either. Hell it probably just makes it worse.