On Eliwood, Briefly

[mark_asphodel]

Man, I like Eliwood. Maybe too much, or at least with too sudden a fervor.

Anyway, we've talked a bit about how Eliwood is, far from being a weepy little "pansy," an introspective and resilient young man who really appears to have his act together, compared with some of the other FE game heroes.

Well, yeah.  He's the only one of the game heroes to

Comments

[crimsonmorgan]

Depending on one´s age headcanon, Eirika and Ephraim could fall into the same category as Eliwood. I always put them at 19/20.

[mark_asphodel]

Yeah, but it's entirely headcanon because the developers didn't bother to give us any facts. IMO, that their mother doesn't even merit a mention makes me think she died before they ever knew her. But, at any rate, while Eirika seems pretty well-adjusted, Ephraim does have something a bit "off" about him. Maybe it's the missing mom, maybe not.

[crimsonmorgan]

Since there is no mention of the mother and the fact that Ephraim´s rebellion has more to do with not liking to be king so I'd say his issues have more to do with Fado and his own life.

And what you said downthread about Ephraim´s rebellion: rebellion doesn't necessarily have to mean that something's wrong in the family. Even in mostly functional families there can be a rebellion. I rather see it as Ephraim still more having the mind of a rebellious teenager and Fado seems to indulge him. If we look at Fado´s characterization, it seems that he was quite similar to Ephraim so he probably thinks that Ephraim'll eventually grow out of it. So nobody did anything to resolve things.

[mark_asphodel]

I rather see it as Ephraim still more having the mind of a rebellious teenager and Fado seems to indulge him

Given we're not dealing with a middle-class family where Son doesn't want to follow Dad into the trade, but with an apparently absolute monarch and his default heir in a nation with no known parliamentary structure or constitution, I'm not really finding that functional. The stakes are too high, and both Jehanna and Grado illustrate the kind of destruction that results from that kind of unresolved disconnect.

[amielleon]

Micaiah's in the first group there. And I was going to defend her stability, and then I remembered that she went through a bit of attachment angst and tried to ditch Sothe, so I guess she's not that stable.

[mark_asphodel]

I do find that the "lost everything early" group tends to be pretty stable, perhaps because they weren't actively abused or neglected by their non-parental caretakers. Vulnerable, in Leaf's case, but they turned out pretty well. Category #3 is a mixed bag. Category #2 has Issues.

[amielleon]

Which lord was actively abused/neglected by their caretaker? o_o Or do you mean to imply that the first group isn't substantially more angst-ridden than the others because their replacement caretakers were pretty okay?

[mark_asphodel]

Or do you mean to imply that the first group isn't substantially more angst-ridden than the others because their replacement caretakers were pretty okay?

Oh, I meant basically what you said here-- they didn't have their real parents, and they didn't have their "true place" in society, but someone or an entire gang of somebodys was always looking out for them. Leaf arguably had it the worst, and Alm may've had it the best, but it's not anything like the experience of, say, the little ex-prince of Daein and his stay with Random Abusive Woman.

[sarajayechan]

Eliwood is truly amazing like that. <3 I always hated how bashers called him a pansy for daring to cry over his father and then Ninian, because God forbid someone express grief. Really, he mourns them for as long as he needs to and then resolves to keep going. For their sakes.

[mark_asphodel]

He's amazing for having a stable home life and not being a basket case before the age of twenty? Heh.

No, he does stand out as exceptional, though. I don't think it's total coincidence that the Lord with the least bizarre home life is one of the most stable. Or that two of the most overtly traumatized are two of the most transparently screwed-up.

[xirysa]

This is pretty much the reason I adore Eliwood so much. Haters to the left, please.

[mark_asphodel]

Eliwood <3 <3 <3

[raphiael]

I think actually one of the coolest elements about Eliwoodis his upbringing, actually, and you really can't separate that from who he ends up as. Especially when you contrast it with the others: Lyn and the massacre of her tribe, Hector losing his parents and then being raised by his stiff, secretive brother (and losing him too)? Even when you factor in the potential iffiness of Elbert's actions in-game, Eliwood still gets the benefit of two apparently loving (but not suffocating) parents for his entire childhood.

And when so many characters in later titles seem to have messed-up childhoods to blame for at least part of their issues, well, it all adds up.

[xirysa]

Eliwood still gets the benefit of two apparently loving (but not suffocating) parents for his entire childhood.

Commenting only to say that I love the fact that you use the word "apparently". What, not-really-absent-but-not-the-perfect-father-figure!Elbert-that-sort-of-paves-the-way-for-politican!Eliwood-especially-because-we-never-know-why-ELbert-sided-with-Laus? Whatever could've given you that idea?

/shot

[raphiael]

Yeeeeah. . .just because Eliwood adores and idolizes his dad doesn't mean he was shiny and spotless.

Given how much the revelation of his leaguing against Ostia shook Eliwood, I can't imagine finding out more wouldn't affect him somehow.

[mark_asphodel]

I was on the fence about Hector. On the one hand, his situation is more overtly troubled than, say, the Renais twins. But it's not quite on the level of "family massacred, rejected by tribe, lived alone for six months at the age of 14 1/2" or "Dad went berzerko and killed Mom and a crapton of other people," or "world upended, spent two-plus years in exile brooding over bloody revenge."

It's a more mundane level of dysfunction.