#tragic characters

The homeowner helping Wireface out after his unfortunate encounter. I'm sure somewhere in his heart, the homeowner relates to this tragic man more than he'd let on.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Bear with me because this is a very long rambling.

I would love to read your opinions and inputs on the topic in the comments!

I believe Verso to be a dichotomy incarnated, the more I find myself thinking about him as a character.

He exists in a perpetual state of identity and agency crisis, as he was made aware at some point in his life that all of his memories are fabricated, that he has never actually experienced them, and that he was created with the sole intention of resembling and replacing a deceased son in order to alleviate the pain of a mother who has lost her child in a fire. 

He has never been at peace in his whole life, and because he was made immortal, he can't even die on his own terms.

He constantly doubts whether his feelings and relationships are a product of his own, or are instead simply built upon the personality and the experiences he has inherited from the original Verso. 

He doesn't know if he's loved for who he actually is or for who he's meant to represent. 

And yet, although he isn't sure if he deserves to exist, he loves his family unconditionally (even when he sometimes doesn't agree with their actions) despite knowing that the feelings and memories linked to them aren't completely his own. 

His love for his mother, who created him as a copy of her original son, is tainted by resentment: she, his creator, is the cause of his agonizing life as a replacement, and, at the same time, he must live eternally with the guilt of being a reminder to his mother of the son she lost, preventing her from finally overcoming her child's death and moving on with her life.

And both are victims of patriarchy and men.

Sold as a slave by her father as a child.

Used by Alan and later got abandoned after getting pregnant by him.

Her relationship with Sovieshu matches with Ophelia and Hamlet in many ways. He was her first true love. Ophelia gave Hamlet her virginity, While Rashta pretended to be a virgin with Sovieshu, she gave Sovieshu her heart for the first time in her life. And when she found out, he doesn't really love her, that's when everything started the crumble down. That was the last thread that was holding her down to sane world. She was already inching towards madness after her first pregnancy, than being separated from her second baby (we saw her singing like a mad woman with a doll). She already lost her mind but the illusion of Sovieshu's love for her, was holding her down but when he denied of ever loving her, her world crumbled down. Both her and Ophelia suffered from erotomania, and their sexuality plays a big role in their lives.

Ophelia wasn't tormented by her father or brother like Rashta. Rashta was tormented by her former slaver owner lotteshu before and after her becoming the empress. The man that traumatized her from her first pregnancy. But Rashta followed his orders out of fear, Ophelia followed them out of obedience and trusting their judgment. Ergi kinda plays similar role to Polonius and Lesertas. Both parties using women to profit from their targeted man (Sovieshu, Hamlet).

Ergi also misguiding her, laying traps for her and ultimately playing a big role in her down fall. Ergi also somewhat carries the role of Hamlet (disdain for women and their frailty)

All of her biggest offenders and helpers were men. There was no significant woman's touch in her life. Due to patriarchy, women were portrayed as her biggest enemies supported by Lebetti's actions, noble women looking down on her and men's treatment towards because of her beauty and women feeling threatened by it.

She was isolated from women surrounding her.

And when the only woman that tried to help her (Aryan), Rashta was already driven mad, paranoid by the men in her life and she committed a horrible thing.

Her death is equally tragic like Ophelia. Ophelia's death is debated between accident and suicide. But both of their deaths were influenced by the tragedy surrounding her.

Ophelia is loved, because she's a perfect victim. She doesn't stand in the way of the protagonist like Rashta. Even though Ophelia spied on Hamlet, following her father's order, she's still loved (rightfully so).

But Rashta is hated both by the narration and readers because she's not a perfect victim and she stands in the way of protagonist.

She's not a submissive character like Ophelia, rather she bites back, lashes out, acts like the monster they created.

I'm not saying Rashta and Ophelia are same but they're both victims of patriarchy. And both faced tragic ending because of it.

(This needs broader discussion and explanation but that's for another day).

I wonder how the story would feel if it started from Rashta's childhood and ended with her death. A grey protagonist with unstable mind, a narration that doesn't excuse her behavior but doesn't vilify her either. I think if some author that has a good grasp on human nature and isn't narrow minded, can do justice to Rashta's character or a write a character inspired by her.

so please reblog or comment on this post people who fit the following criteria (i've extracted this from the two most common patron saints of one way trips, laika and simon):

They are physically going from Point A to Point B. It is not a purely metaphorical journey.

They were never supposed to return to Point A from Point B.

They had little choice in starting the journey.

we don't talk enough about how much this man suffered. he deeply cared about his soldiers more than anything including his own life & yet so many died under his command. he had no problem making sacrifices despite sparing as many lives as he could. he had to live with the guilt of their deaths, being haunted by the ones he couldn't save & also blamed himself for his father's death until his own demise. he carried great burdens no one could begin to understand. i understand why he died but I still wish he didn't.

this man was an angelic demon in every way. still he deserves all the love & appreciation.

There seem to be people claiming that Ace's death wasn't that sad or impactful because there wasn't any way for him to survive, or because he was rage baited and could've just escaped, and I think that those people are so close to the point yet so so far.

The reason that Ace's death is sad is because his life is a tragedy. There wasn't any other end to the story. He couldn't escape the crimes of his father and he died the son of. If he ran away it would've still happened, just at another point. Ace spent his entire life trying to be someone with his own worth, and I think that people forget that he didn't think he was worthy of living, of people caring for him, because of his crime of being born.

He didn't die as Ace - pirate at his own right, Whitebeard's 2nd devision leader, brother of Luffy. Son of Rouge. He died the son of Roger. The fact that he couldn't outrun his destiny, that it was decided before he was even born - this is why it's so sad. I thought Ace was fun in Alabasta, but the fact that his life is a tragedy, that he didn't get to live, to grow, to meet Sabo - this is what makes him interesting. Even if he became a marine or a revolutionary, he would've been executed for the crime of being born. But he wasn't. He still chose the sea while trying to distance himself from Roger. It would've always ended this way, but he tried to live the life he wanted before. Ace didn't believe that anyone truly cared for him, and he thought that he was not worthy of the war. Characters died for him, but he thought they were worth more than him, that they threw their life away. Ace found out how loved he truly is on the execution platform, and by then, this love was a burden because he didn't find himself worthy of it. So this is why it's sad, why it's tragic. Ace understood that he want to live too late, and he never got a chance to live not on borrowed time, to grow old. He didn't die because he was stupid, or because Luffy needed to grow up, he died because there is no way the marines would've let him survive. He died because his pride is all that he has. So there is no universe where Ace survives because both Ace and the marines don't think he is worthy of surviving, but at the same time, if things were a little bit different someone could've forced him to walk away and chose to live. If Luffy was a little bit stronger, if Whitebeard stopped him from going after Teach in the first place, if Sabo remembered earlier, if Garp was a better grandfather, if Shanks wasn't late.

Both of those things are true, but Ace wouldn't have been able to do it alone. He needed someone to do it for him, to drag him out of this tragic narrative, but no one could do it because the narrative decided he must die because of his blood. In a way, he was dead since the beginning, and this is why he still haunts the narrative in Wano.

Also, note that hubris is essentially characters defying the gods because of overconfidence or pride, so their pride is the reason for their downfall. Sounds familiar?

With the Empire, there is no justice and beauty. It snatches you away, brainwashes you. Brands you. Imprints its evilness onto you. Turns you into a weapon. It traps you, surrounds you, watches you always. Imprisons your soul. Makes you constantly fight for survival in a non-survivable hostile environment. Destroys everything genuine like love so you have nothing left, but its rage and contempt. And if you become ‘dysfunctional’, it throws you away without a second glance. There is no justice and beauty with the Empire. It makes you falling endlessly in the darkness your entire miserable life.~