Eaglet’s Little Creation Corner

Okay, so let's actually get to the evidence. Here is the exchange in question, with Godot's lines in both English and Japanese (my translation was made using jisho.org and my own knowledge of the language):

ENGLISH: ... Who's the wild mare, Trite?

JAPANESE: ダレだい？この、じゃじゃ馬ムスメは。

Translation: Who's this? This stubborn* girl.

*jisho.org's definitions of じゃじゃ馬 is "an unmanageable person (esp. a woman); shrew; stubborn tomboy". So this is very much an gendered term. It also includes the word for horse, which is probably why they translated it as "wild mare".

PHOENIX(english): This is Ms. von Karma. She was the acting prosecutor in your absence today.

ENGLISH: Ha...! Well, I guess I owe you one then.

JAPANESE: クッ.…！そいつはゴクロウだったなァ。

Translation: Ha…! Thank you. [in his harsh Godot way]

ENGLISH: But you can go now, princess. It's time for the big boys to take the reins.

JAPANESE: おじょうちゃんは、もういいぜ。.…これからは、オトナの時間だ。

Translation: I've had enough of you, little girl. It's time for the grown-ups to talk now.

FRANZISKA(english): Just who do you think you are!? This case is my...

ENGLISH: Hey, Filly. Know your role, and shut your mouth. I can't stand women like you.

JAPANESE: おしゃべりなオンナは好きじゃねえ.…。

Translation: I don't like talkative women…. [Yes, that's the whole line]

ENGLISH: I'm only going to say this once, Lady von Whippingberg. Go home!

JAPANESE: もう一度だけ、言う。.…アンタ、帰っていいぜ。

Translation: I'm only going to say this once. Go home!

So yeah, actually I think that was a pretty good translation. Certainly got the same meaning across. You might think that some of Godot's lines sound less aggressive in Japanese. That's because I'm doing a very literal translation. A better translator than me, who is actually fluent in Japanese, would be able to capture the tone of the sentence in a way I didn't here. English doesn't have any equivalent of particles like ぜ, so in order to preserve the meaning, people use their writing skills. They add small bits that weren't literally there, but help convey the tone. Anyway, my point is that there really isn't anything less misogynistic about the Japanese version. I don't know where that myth comes from, but it is a myth.

And you can have your opinion or whatever, but I think it's fair for people (especially people who have experienced a lot of misogyny) to dislike Godot based on these lines alone. No other major character says this kind of shit. There's no double standard because no one else does this! I'm absolutely sympathetic to Racilalized people who believe Godot is being unfairly maligned due to racism/colorism. I have no doubt that it is a factor in the amount of vitriol people have for him! At the same time, I can't ignore the fact that Godot really is unique in his misogyny. And it really frustrates me that people use the fact that he's darker skinned than most major Ace Attorney characters to shut down these conversations all together. The fact that people (including white people) are saying that the only reason you could possibly think Godot is misogynistic is because of racism, is just ridiculous! Go back and read those lines again and tell me I just think he's a misogynist because it's a stereotype associated with Latino men! Give me an example of another Ace Attorney character who says he hates women who talk too much! I'll wait!

I'm a woman. I know what misogyny looks like. Godot is not the only misogynistic character in Ace Attorney. Even Phoenix has a couple of weird lines! But here's the thing about Godot's misogyny that nobody talks about. Godot's misogyny has consequences.

Part 2 - Can We Actually Talk About Godot's Misogyny?

I actually do think the "Is Godot misogynistic? (and the implied, is it moral/immoral to like/dislike him?)" debate is indeed a bit pointless. People are buying in to Ace Attorney's mentality of people being "Guilty" or "Not Guilty", to the point where they try to apply this framework to one of the most nuanced characters in the series. And so we just get people yelling about how "He's just an evil misogynist!" or "He actually did nothing wrong! Edgeworth's just as bad!" and no one is actually talking about what Godot did. No one is talking about how Godot's misogyny, unlike characters like Edgeworth, had real consequences. See, that's the big difference between him and Edgeworth, and why I think it doesn't really make sense to compare the two. You can remove Edgeworth's misogyny and still have the same character and story. Edgeworth's misogyny is incidental. But you can't remove Godot's misogyny. Because his ideas about gender sit right at the core of his motivations.

Now, I don't really know how to explain this to people who think Godot doesn't have a sexist bone in his body. But let's start with something I think people can more easily agree on: Godot is a really good example of how toxic masculinity can lead to self-destruction (and destruction of others, but I'll save that for later).

First, let me give a few examples of how Godot performs toxic masculinity, so that we're all on the same page.

One of the most consistent things toxic masculinity demands of men is dominence. (Especially over women.) Godot clearly has a desire to dominate others, which he demonstrates through the way he takes control of the courtroom, taunts and "tests" Phoenix, and perhaps most clearly through his exchange with Franziska. He needs to feel like he's in control, and he decides the way to do that is to be the most masculine and domineering person in the room.

Stoicism in another important aspect to toxic masculinity. Weakness is not an option for men like Godot. When men like this feel threatened, they channel their fear ("weakness") into anger and aggression, lashing out at those around them. Sound familiar? Men trying to perform toxic masculinity also tend to idealize protecting or providing for others. Especially women and children. And when they are unable to do this, they feel that failure deeply. It gnaws at their soul, and they yearn for a way to prove themselves again. This might cause them to turn to more destructive expressions of masculinity as they try to take back their sense of self.

I think I've demonstrated that Godot is a toxicly masculine character. But does that make him misogynistic? Automatically? No. But in this case, yes. Toxic masculinity is one of the driving forces behind individual mens' misogyny. Because one of the ways men can prove their masculinity is by being misogynistic. There's a reason Godot chooses the words he does when talking to Franziska. He's using misogyny to leverage his power as a man to shut her up. Not only does this work to help him control the situation, it also feeds his ego. Because he dominated a stubborn, talkative woman. He put her in her place, like a strong, masculine man. Toxic masculinity is the reason he's misogynistic. It's also the reason he does everything he does in Bridge to the Turnabout.

When Godot wakes up from his coma, he learns that he's been asleep for years. In that time, he lost everything that mattered to him. But most importantly, he lost Mia. And he feels a lot of guilt about not being around to save her (because he thinks it's his duty as a man to protect her). Unable to face this guilt, and with no sensible target for his anger — both Redd White and Dahlia having been convicted of their crimes — Godot ends up directing all of his anger and grief towards Phoenix. The way he rationalizes this is that Phoenix, who was not in a coma, was the one who actually failed to save Mia. I find it interesting that he frames Phoenix as having had a responsibility to save Mia. To be the hero, the protector of women. It seems like he's projecting his toxically masculine ideals on to Phoenix because he was a man who was close to Mia. The idea of Godot or Phoenix's responsibility to save Mia seems inherently tied to their manhood, and indeed her womanhood. And once Mia is gone, Godot decides that there's a new woman he's responsible for; and that's Maya. And when he finds out her life is being threatened, he dreams up this fantasy of saving her, and in doing so making up for his failure to save Mia.

And what does Godot do? He doesn't destroy the note so Pearl couldn't read it. And he doesn't tell Maya. In his own words, "I let you walk right into a situation that I knew was dangerous." He didn't consider the idea that Maya should have any agency in this situation. Because Maya is a young woman. Don't believe me? Think it had nothing to do with gender? Well here's my proof, because Godot still doesn't get it. Even at the end, he says this:

Godot: Are you listening, Maya? If I had really wanted to save you... ...then there's one person that I should have gone and talked to right away.

Maya: Wh-Who would that be...? Are you talking about Nick?

Godot: But I didn't do it... I tried to get the help of Iris and your mother... But I closed my eyes to the most important man involved.

Man. Man! The most important MAN involved! Couldn't be the most important person involved, because that would obviously be Maya! But Godot still sees Phoenix as being responsible for the women in his life! It's paternalism, plain and simple. He doesn't see Maya as a person with agency! And the consequences of this paternalism were catastrophic! Maya, Pearl and Phoenix are forever traumatized, Godot and Iris are going to jail, and Misty Fey is fucking dead! That's what I mean when I say you can't remove Godot's misogyny from his character. If you try, the entire narrative collapses! And you can talk about other characters all you want, but the fact remains that Edgeworth's misogyny never got anybody killed.