This post is meant more than anything as an exploration of what the game is trying to thematically convey through the story of Edelgard, done from a more personal/philosophical point of view rather than a strictly factual one. I am in no way trying to label what I say as 100% objective. At the end of the day, these are just my interpretations and a way of expressing why I think this character is so impactful. Needless to say, anyone is welcome to agree, disagree, or not care at all.
From the start of the game, Edelgard seemed like a sort of enigma. Her attitude and character beats just rubbed me the wrong way, especially when compared to the charisma of Claude and Dimitri. However, I held a subconscious admiration towards her mentality without really knowing why, and upon uncovering her inner workings, that admiration grew ever stronger. I believe that the weight of Edelgard's thematic role and compelling characterization is encompassed by a single word: sacrifice. Every major aspect of her story can be related to sacrifice in one way or another. This idea is precisely why I think Edelgard is, in spite of her grey morals and actions, a tragic, admirable, and surprisingly inspiring character.
It is obvious that the biggest representation of sacrifice through Edelgard is, of course, her motivation for starting her conquest across Fodlan. Edelgard believes that progress and sacrifice are ultimately two sides of the same coin, and she is right on a fundamental level; no matter what task you choose to carry out, you inevitably must sacrifice at the very least your time in order to do so. Achieving greatness at something requires dedication and thus the sacrifice of other endeavors. Nothing can be born out of nowhere. Such is a principle of our universe. Edelgard lives and dies by these principles, mainly due to her experiencing them first-hand. Sacrifice holds a key role in her upbringing, and thus she learned its significance by force. I believe that the deaths of her family upon experimentation culminating in her acquisition of the Crest of Flames, beyond the heavily traumatizing consequences, served as her way of learning the more optimistic implications of sacrifice. Her family was ruthlessly killed, but that does not mean their entire beings died with them. In a way, their strength and hopes and wishes live on through and within Edelgard. El understands this, and with admirable willpower chooses to leave her sorrow and stride onwards. The core of her determination is neither justice nor revenge. It is the honoring of a sacrifice and the desire to make sure all sacrifice and effort gets honored properly-- hence her plans for the world. There are some other details that hint towards this mentality. One of her victory quotes is "Your death is not in vain", possibly either alluding to her family or commending the enemy for dying for what they believe in/serving as a means for Edelgard to strengthen herself. She commends the militia following Lonato for this very reason, and also sees rather grim merit to the destruction of Arianrhod as a valuable source of information, even when it honestly seems like a stretch to push such a belief when looking at the terror of the event. It is both dutiful and gratifying.
Moving forward, Edelgard lives by contemplating sacrifice when facing her ambitions, with the added particularity that these are freaking gigantic. She knows damn well how arrogant it is of her to possess such a grand dream, but she also knows that the only way of reaching said dream is through sacrifice. Needless to say, Edelgard's cause is far from noble, even more so when judged by our contemporary moral standards. Edelgard had no real right to seal so many fates, yet she did it knowing what it entailed and what it would turn her into. Her understanding of this is mostly implicit though; the game as a whole is generally and faultily scarce in tangible explorations on Edelgard's justifications and accountability. Still, just look at all the shit this mere girl was willing to sacrifice for her cause (even though one might have to operate under the premise that her cause was indeed worth fighting for). I don't only mean the lives of innocents and soldiers alike; she willingly sacrifices her own happiness, identity, and selfish desires for the sake of this greater purpose that she is bound to. And it is so damn meaningful to find one's purpose not in getting what you want, but in fighting for what you know is right and letting others realize that they can do so too.
The lyrics to Edge of Dawn are of course a huge piece of evidence of all that El leaves behind and suffers from. She longs for peace, to stay in the place she loves with the people she loves and finally break free from the demons that burdened her all her life. Yet still she hides, behind the mask that she's become -- behind the facade of a strong-willed leader with no regret whatsoever, meant to lead the world into a better era. She lies and acts knowing it will hurt others. Edelgard hides herself so well not only because of her severe trust issues and self-destructive trauma, but because anything less than what she shows would not allow her to see things through. Resolve is her greatest weapon, but wielding it properly means she must abandon her feelings; her life is but another stepping stone on the path to a brighter future, and thus does not matter before such a prospect. While harsh, I believe this portrays the importance of prioritizing solutions over feelings. As mentioned, Edelgard also sacrifices, albeit temporarily, her desire for justice against TWSITD. Hard as it may be, the people who wronged her are not an immediate threat, but a possible advantage. It comes to show how grudges are generally unnecessary distractions and hindrances that hinge on a selfish feeling of righteousness. Still, no amount of assurance can overcome the taxing nature of Edelgard's choices. And no one will ever understand her.
"Only we will know, All that was lost, Scars that we can't erase, Show us life's true cost"
The tragic element of her tale and her philosophy is encompassed perfectly in this part of the song. No one will see the scars Edelgard bears, the myriad of things she has lost. But it matters not, for that is the cost of life. Her being a rather flat character throughout most of the story also works as a perfect point of contrast that highlights just how lonely she truly is as others develop around and because of her.
Honestly, I think it wouldn't be a stretch at all to call Edelgard's actions generally selfless. In my opinion, it really does feel like everything she does stems from a genuine desire for good, even if it doesn't seem that way on the surface. Yes, it could be argued that all actions are selfish at their core and Edelgard actually has some sort of savior complex that bloats her ego, but such a premise is rather dismissive of a person's actual intentions. To be fair, perhaps all I've said so far can be turned on its head and interpreted as dangerously egotistical. But in all honesty, which perspective is ultimately more.. moving? Sacrificing her happiness is, ironically, Edie's way of asserting her strength and taking pride in her persona, not to mention her idea of a worthy purpose, thus breeding fulfillment. This is a very powerful message in itself: sacrifice and pain correlate directly to strength and willpower, maybe even leading up to happiness. As such, Edelgard is appropriately the single most resilient character in the game, for she is the one who has sacrificed the most.
Even so, the path to apparent strength is not for everyone, and it is not even established as worthwhile. There is no telling whether Edelgard could have been "happier" by resigning to a more peaceful and simple existence in the few years that she had, and there's the ever present possibility of her actions turning out foolish and in vain, as she readily admits they could be. Ignorance could indeed be bliss. The questionable nature of her actions in itself is a portrayal of another theme: eternal uncertainty. One never knows for sure which choice is right, but Edelgard has decided her answer and trusts her judgment. She's way past justifying herself as she knows everything she does is unjustifiable and comes down to each person's agency. However, as established beforehand, us humans cannot help but doubt, fear, and regret. Bottling up our emotions is outright destructive and can wind up causing one to stray from the right path, with the only alternative being to seek release through empathy. Edelgard isn't immune to this either, as much as she strives to fight back. Fortunately, Byleth, being El's confidant and source of emotional relief, prevents her from falling into darkness. The value of human connection when chasing ambitions or facing hardships is a theme present in all routes, but I think CF nails it home most endearingly because of how it all ties together. While human connection in times of need is far from a guarantee, that only means it is our duty to reach out our hand whenever possible.
Either way, Edelgard only wants others to reach their full potential without paying the same price as her, albeit through a somewhat harsh outlook. This is where what is probably her biggest flaw comes into play. While Edelgard is certainly compassionate for the weak, she lacks the sympathy to act based upon the possibility that her way of living might not be another's cup of tea. Subjectivity will always be a factor when it comes to deciding what's right, and even though she respects that, she still tries her best to sell her philosophy as the better one. That is not inherently a bad thing when backed by her good intentions; however, it can make her arrogant and inconsiderate. Even though she genuinely wants to share her "power", she's not willing to be flexible regarding the path towards it, believing the choice of trust to befall exclusively upon each individual.
Edelgard is a very unconventional heroic figure precisely because of this. A selfless determination to save everyone is a common trait of saviors, and it is pretty much a necessity when facing a straightforward physical conflict. However, when matters turn towards saving people on a psychological/ideological/moral level, one must face the inevitable truth that the ultimate choice of salvation lies within each individual, and failing to acknowledge this fact is simply a massive burden far from which any human could realistically handle. As such, Edelgard does not concern herself with it. She tries to give people a choice by letting them realize the power they inherently hold. But she is not arrogant enough to think she has the right to choose for them. She respects their choice and their will, and dutifully strikes down anyone who challenges hers, for she knows (or rather believes) her cause to be the Truth. I don't blame her though, as most people more often than not have no idea what's best of them and for others. It is up to personal interpretation whether her course of action is a hypocritical way of taking said choice for others or a necessary response to the challenges she and the world would undoubtedly face; I personally like to wholeheartedly believe the latter, but therein lies the beauty of her character and her thematic implications. It is really fucking hard to be certain about this sort of thing at all times though. Maybe the greed to see things through without sacrifice and with collaboration does have its occasional merits. Maybe it could save a life or two...
Pretty much the final presence of sacrifice in Edelgard's story comes with the final CF cutscene, where Byleth seemingly dies upon losing the Crest of Flames. After having been unexpectedly blessed with the thing she wanted most, Edelgard would tragically and unknowingly have to sacrifice that very thing, and it devastates her. By saving El, Byleth becomes probably the one thing she is not willing to give up on. The implications here are beyond tragic. Edelgard's renewed vulnerability and Byleth's newfound will would be short-lived moments of bliss. But that is the cost of life; it always has been. So of course what happens next is naturally a miracle. In a cathartic conclusion, after all her willingful, relentless, and lonely sacrifice, Edelgard is granted that little, selfish hope she was unable to let go of. It is as if the universe is telling her, "you've fought enough". This optimistic culmination of the tale is not necessarily... appropriate. It sort of "guarantees" it will all be worth it in the end, or simply utilizes hope as a driving force. As established, uncertainty does not vanish with hope, trust, or company. However, whether Byleth lives or dies is an insignificant detail in the grand scheme of the story, for various inmutable things remain in the end: Edelgard's resilience to move forward, her acknowledgement of her either flawed or righteous path and its cost, her gratification for human connection, and her choice to breed her own fulfillment. And I personally believe these to be some of the fundamental principles for us humans to achieve, and hopefully transmit, the virtues of growth, strength, and happiness.
Well, to close off, I know this post was basically a reaaaally unorganized clutter of ideas that I could've probably expressed and formatted better, but I hope the message pulls through nonetheless. And of course, anyone is welcome to disagree. This is just my interpretation on Edelgard, and it is likely to be unconsciously biased and riddled with easy to debunk contrivances that serve to paint her in a better light. I guess that beyond any tangible evidence, what matters most is what the figure of Edelgard, accurate or not, represented to me, and the important lessons to be learned from her; that's what I'm humbly trying to share here. Not through justification or fact, but through appreciation for what I chose to believe, or at the very least, for the thought-provoking essence of the questions it raises. That's the beauty of art isn't it? It kinda yields the certainty that you are never really alone.
Submitted November 04, 2019 at 12:26AM by Psy-1 https://ift.tt/2PK8XPq
No comments:
Post a Comment