"Suddenly something about Erik makes sense"
Was having a thought about how I compared Lily's presence in her household to "Erik"'s.
She's the shadow, he steals the show, that whole bit?
See, I still think he would find a way to relate to her, and the reason he would relate to her lies in these comments found in chapter 51, which I actually elaborated on since it was last posted, two years ago. When Lily brings up that Mr. Worden has told her "Erik" has schizophrenia:
“And you think that means something.” (...) “Suddenly something about Erik makes sense. We know how to treat him, now. We know how he thinks. We are equip, now, to deal with Erik. We have the words to understand how he thinks, who he is. We have to be careful. He's not really there.”
“I never said that.”
“Do you think I'm an idiot, now? Do you think everything I have ever felt was nothing?”
“No. I know you're very intelligent, and you've a right to your feelings. I'm the one who's- who's a-an idiot.”
“Being careful with Erik, now. I don't like it when you're afraid of me!
Now, just before I start, I want to make known that there is a huge distinction between how he personally interprets his illness and how he knows other people see it. He's reacting with supreme frustration to 1. the way that other people judge those with mental illnesses, and 2. the imaginary power/sensibility/autonomy that "non mentally ill people" think they possess.
So when I say that he "stole the show" of his household, it's moreso that his illness, his antisocial behavior, his other issues have stolen the show. The focus is "what do we do about him?", and even though that is a very good question, it doesn't feel good being surrounded by people who are just trying to find out "what to do about you". For a very long time in his life, he has felt like just a walking problem. His true self has become a shadow on the wall. Nobody has tried to relate to him in a way that reaches past how he is problematic. I think after a while, people forgot that he had a heart, or was hurting inside, or that he cared about anything, had dreams, had talents. I can see him describing feelings like these in a cryptic way during the second arc, which I still need to rewrite, and he already hints at it during their first physical meeting, when Lily feels she hasn't gotten any closer to figuring him out, and he says "Madam, you have gotten to know me more than anyone ever does.”
She's the shadow, he steals the show, that whole bit?
See, I still think he would find a way to relate to her, and the reason he would relate to her lies in these comments found in chapter 51, which I actually elaborated on since it was last posted, two years ago. When Lily brings up that Mr. Worden has told her "Erik" has schizophrenia:
“And you think that means something.” (...) “Suddenly something about Erik makes sense. We know how to treat him, now. We know how he thinks. We are equip, now, to deal with Erik. We have the words to understand how he thinks, who he is. We have to be careful. He's not really there.”
“I never said that.”
“Do you think I'm an idiot, now? Do you think everything I have ever felt was nothing?”
“No. I know you're very intelligent, and you've a right to your feelings. I'm the one who's- who's a-an idiot.”
“Being careful with Erik, now. I don't like it when you're afraid of me!
Now, just before I start, I want to make known that there is a huge distinction between how he personally interprets his illness and how he knows other people see it. He's reacting with supreme frustration to 1. the way that other people judge those with mental illnesses, and 2. the imaginary power/sensibility/autonomy that "non mentally ill people" think they possess.
So when I say that he "stole the show" of his household, it's moreso that his illness, his antisocial behavior, his other issues have stolen the show. The focus is "what do we do about him?", and even though that is a very good question, it doesn't feel good being surrounded by people who are just trying to find out "what to do about you". For a very long time in his life, he has felt like just a walking problem. His true self has become a shadow on the wall. Nobody has tried to relate to him in a way that reaches past how he is problematic. I think after a while, people forgot that he had a heart, or was hurting inside, or that he cared about anything, had dreams, had talents. I can see him describing feelings like these in a cryptic way during the second arc, which I still need to rewrite, and he already hints at it during their first physical meeting, when Lily feels she hasn't gotten any closer to figuring him out, and he says "Madam, you have gotten to know me more than anyone ever does.”