So, uh, this is mostly a rant/counterargument to lots of the things I've seen around the internet. =) You're absolutely free to think I've sorely misinterpreted the man and/or he's terribly mislead.
Also, throwing this in here: http://social.biowar...46067/1#6046116
Insanity
One comment which appears a lot in relation to the new and improved? Anders is that he is insane, or worse, some sort of petulant child who does little but complain and throw tantrums, with exploding the Chantry being his biggest mistake evar.
Though it's not something I entirely disagree with, I'd just like to point out that the entire reason he's obsessive to the point of instability with pursuing his cause is the influence of Justice/Vegenance, who apparantly does very little but whisper in his ear 24/7 about the NEED to bring justice for the mages and how he CAN'T just stand around doing nothing. I can't imagine anyone to bear it for 8 years (at the very least) and not becoming both brainwashed and fragile. For most of the time, what comes out of Anders' mouth doesn't seem like his own opinion at all, but is so black-and-white and matter-of-fact that it's more like a belief instilled into someone by another person. Like an extremist, complex view displayed by a young child who learnt their world view only through his/her parent, they may be convinced that it's the right one, but the belief was not entirely theirs, and was instilled by little aside from indoctrination.
I'm not saying that Justice is the sole reason for Anders' beliefs, as the desire demon even said herself in one of Sebastian's quests that it is far easier for a spirit to draw upon an idea already present in the mind of the human, than to create a entirely new one. It seems quite well established (or at least implied) in the first game that Anders was never happy with the Templars and the Circle and only did nothing because he knew he was powerless and didn't want to die. Justice just convinced him otherwise, stressing the importance of freedom - justice, and the faults of inaction, or sloth, as he helpfully informs a suspicious Hawke, then repeated these ideas in his head for a following 8 years.
My point? Yes, Anders most definitely CAN'T operate the same way as the rest of us do. Like the poor son of the magistrate, the voice in his head pretty much drives him in a direction he has little control over. Do we call that insanity? The consequence of becoming an 'abomination'? You're the judge, but I'm not going to fault him for it.
Justice
Was he stupid and naive to join with Justice? I think it's a yes, but the truth of the matter is that he acted out of pure pent-up frustration and unhappiness. He hated the circle enough to escape SEVEN times in what's possibly 10-15 years (considering he was taken there as an adolescent), and that's only AFTER he passed his harrowing so he wouldn't be forced to become tranquil. Being a Grey Warden is like having another leash already, and he 'still' gets a templar watching his every move, just waiting for him to make a mistake? How would you feel if someone is scrutinising your every decision, your every achievement, just waiting to pounce on that one mistake, one failure so you can be thrown into prison under lock and guard? It's almost like how a teenager is expected to prove to their parents that they're mature enough to handle a midnight curfew, but you're not a teenager, you're 30 years old and it still doesn't end. I'd go for any way out.
Naive? Yes. Unreasonable? No way. I'd even compare his decision to join with Justice to Merrill's obsession with the 'demon'. Look how it turned out for them both.
The Cause
I think most people seem to support the idea that mages should be allowed to be free. Being thrown into a permanent boarding school as soon as the authorities find you which you might never be allowed to leave? Being guarded night and day in case you show anti-establishment tendencies like you're in prison? Forced to obey a 'higher-authority'and go where you're told to do what you're told when you're told to? Having NEVER HAD A CHOICE in any case? Never experiencing a NORMAL FAMILY LIFE? Being feared and hated JUST FOR BEING ALIVE AND WHO YOU ARE? Hating your own skin? NEVER DOING ANYTHING TO HURT ANYBODY AND BEING HATED REGARDLESS? Frankenstein was less justified in being bitter.
Looking at all the tragedies in DA:O and DA2 related to magic, and even blood magic, almost every single act is done out of desperation or fear of persecution. Jowan was terrified of being made tranquil. The elf from DA2, torn from his wife by the circle, ten years, and he only wanted to have her back, his old life back. The miserable mage in the Hanged Man, became an apostate just to have the change to experience what it's like to be with a girl. The little girl who wanted to see her mum and tell her she's okay. Bethany, who spent her entire life running and preparing for the day she'd lose her freedom...
It doesn't take much to see what's wrong with this system, it's forcing mages to become the very thing they're feared for.
On the same note, I'm fairly sure it's not the education aspect that Anders is against, because he surely has never mentioned it in my gaming experiences. From what he's repeatedly told my Hawke, it's the slavery and imprisonment of mages which he loathes - the deprivation of the basic rights of a human being. I have nothing against his cause. Mages can be dangerous, sure, but so can any one of us with the right influence. The circle, the presence of Templars - bad influence. Bad bad bad, judging from what the game has been desperately trying to show us.
Personally I think Anders' entire idea of equality can already be considered ahead of his time. For those of us living in the modern age it's considered the only fair opinion to say that everyone deserves equal rights to freedom, however in his time, in a world ruled by tradition and religion, where racism is rife and popular, it would've been beyond rare to see people posess these views of equality, much less act upon them. The general 'wise' would have been the likes of the Grand Cleric, or Wynne, for a mage example, who does not like conflict but sees both sides of the argument - though this is more my general impression of them, which could be wrong. Peace and tolerance of the established system was considered essential. For anyone who's studied European history, or in particular the Protestant reformation... you can see a similar vein in which people are trying to challenge established systems while still adhering to the 'maker's word'. Though blowing up the church was probably not the best way to go about things...
His 'Rights'
What right does he have to speak for all mages? For one, because he probably knows better. He knows what growing up in a normal world is like, he knows life on the outside, the tastes, the smells, the sounds and experiences, he KNOWS what his fellow mages are missing on the inside, knows the goodness of freedom and life. Other mages are often taken into the circle at a very young age - as soon as they're discovered to posess magic. They've never experienced the outside world in the same way a 'normal' child would have. Though it's fair to be happy with what you have, but being deprived of a choice, a opportunity from the very beginning is a terrible thing... As someone who simply 'knows better', he has the 'right' to help things improve.
Arguably, european colonialists, evangelists, our schoolteachers, all posess the exact same mindset.
The State of Society
Another point I just wanted to make is that Anders' decision to blow up the Chantry did not come out of nowhere. As time progresses in the game, Hawke experiences first hand the deterioration of mage-templar relations within Kirkwall. Though most of it is passed along as second-hand information found out from others. Though the importance may not have been made obvious, the situation IS apparant. Meredith became a tyrant hated and feared, and the mages grew increasingly desperate and turns to the only weapon they posess and in turn only seem to give the templars more justification... it's a CYCLE, which people seem to rarely notice. And unless this cycle is broken, and the scales tipped, nothing will ever have a reason to change. Anders sees the mages, and only the mages as the victims in this situation. Templars, enslaved by lyrium and leashed by the Chantry, most likely shouldn't even exist in his eyes. (The whole lyrium-addiction thing is also a good point acting against 'the system'.)
Though it's not as apparant, you can notice his worsening state (along with the rest of Kirkwall) through a lot of the party banter which goes on in the background, an especially notable one being one between Varric, where the dwarf tries to tell Anders a templar joke, but is rejected. Varric goes on expression concern and disbelief: 'you're always in the mood for a templar joke'. As Anders' resolve is worn down, and the peace deteriorates... none of it helps, and with the clack of the writer's keyboard, the Chantry explodes.
And before you say that this is only Kirkwall, there's a reason even the Divine is paying attention to the place. What happens in Kirkwall (or even the Frelden Circle) is the perfect example of what the faults in the circle/templar system can result in. If it happens here, it may happen anywhere, and the results may be even uglier.
Why the Chanty
Yes, it's terrible to kill innocents, but why the Chantry and not the templars? Anders isn't trying to just strike a blow against templars, he's trying to start a full-out war. He wants to change the world, the only wy being through war, and I have the impression he's said as much. The Chantry is wonderful as a symbol of peace and compassion, but it's the opposite of what he needs. The entire climax scene speaks for itself as the tension between the mages and the templars reach breaking point, but what are they doing? Instead of battling it out and solving the problem, they're 'going to the chantry to get a mediator'. No, this is not going to solve anything, it's only going to stall the tension and let things get even worse.
This even appears at the very start of Act 3, where the Grand Cleric basically tells both Orsino and Meredith to quit fighting and just live with each other. Realise none of this actually solves the problem, and tensions only build up even more until we get to the climax, which only counts as a climax because the neutral third party is removed from the equation and both sides are free to fight it out.
On a modern note, think of the influence of the UN in resolving/stalling every major conflict you can imagine, and how many problems it actually solved, rather than how many it just forced to put on hold. It's not bad, most definitely, but it's not solving any problems either. Deaths are necessary in a war, a revolution, but do the ends justify the means? For Anders, it does.
Why kill innocents?
I'm not going to justify this, because any justification, though valid, will only be cruel. Justice is known to be blind, as is vegenance. They only see the black and white and leave no room for grey. Anders even acknowledged that innocents who are killed in the crossfire deserve their own justice in party banter with Isabela. Anders himself realises what he did is pretty unforgivable, and expects you to kill him, which everyone was free to if they felt betrayed enough.
A popular trope on tvtropes.org is - your terrorists are our freedom fighters. It speaks for itself.
As for the loyalist mages? I'm fairly certain he probably just thinks they're just blinded by their limited experience and could possibly be cowards as well. He wants freedom for all mages and he'll force it upon them even if they don't think they want it.
Modern Connections
Please stop linking it to modern terrorism. I know it's the automatic thing to do most of the time, thinking about all the innocent lives lost, but the reasons for these are entirely different. And the symbolism are also drastically different from what people seem to be commonly thinking about...
Consequences
It's war, it will suck, no doubts are there. I think the guy only hopes, as he says to Hawke should there be a romance: maybe one day, someone like me will fall in love with someone like you, and there will be no one there to tear them apart. That's all he wants, change. Change. Necessary change.
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Just to conclude, I just want to say again that you're absolutely free to think I've sorely misinterpreted the man and/or he's terribly mislead.
As I said before, it's just my idea of what Anders is/was thinking when he did everything. Whether or not you agree with his opinion is your own decision... Personally I feel like I understand why he did what he did, though if I'd ever been given the choice to talk him out of it I'd definitely have taken it. = =
I miss the old Anders, when he was just fun and snarky and not so driven and emo(tional)..
Modifié par Ingu, 27 mars 2011 - 02:58 .
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