So, this is my first post on the forum and please bear with me. I'm such a huge fan of Anime and Manga, so even though I haven't finished reading all of Berserk, I'm only on issue 220 out of the 360 I still have a theory and I am curious as to whether or not anyone agrees with it.
So, the death of the Apostle Wyald stuck with me. Wyald was a frail and weak old man, a fact which came to the surprise of the members of the Band of the Hawk. I have a theory on why the apostle looked that way prior to the transformation and how this is is similar to my theory on Griffiths mutilated body, and how it represents Griffiths character.
We do not have any solid evidence about Wyald's character prior to his life as an apostle, though you can infer from the weak and frail individual whose corpse is left behind, before his body is sucked into the vortex, that this was a man who and didn't get to enjoy his life to the fullest, a weak individual who couldn't get away with acting out his vile fantasies. Wyald's entire philosophy of battling for the excitement, the thrill, ebullience could be due to a lack of that in his human life. He probably was the type of person that wanted to violate women, and murder men with his bare hands but perhaps couldn't? Perhaps Wyald suffered some sexual or physical abuse in his lifetime, causing him to lash out at others when he obtained a position of power?
I assume that all owners of beherit/behelit's evoke the God Hand when at their weakest point in life, in desperate need of the miraculous, 'divine' intervention in order to reinvigorate themselves with power, transforming into a body that represents their intrinsic desire.
How does this apply to Griffith? Well, maybe you will disagree with me but I think that the abuse Griffith endured and the sight of his mutilated corpse wasn't just for shock value or to invoke sympathy in the viewer, but for symbolic or metaphorical purposes.
His abuse was a symbol of his emotional torture from Gut's departure, as was the Hawks decline from potentially becoming Nobles to being wanted for their commander committing treason. To me, the frail and meek Griffith prior to the eclipse is a direct representation of the jealous, controlling, weak person he is and the veneer of confidence that he displayed while being the leader of the Band of the Hawk is somewhat superficial.
Once Guts is gone, Griffith loses the esteem he once had and his methodical nature and keen judgement is absent, clearly, when he decided to fornicate with the Princess.
Griffith was a successful leader, but like all who became a sacrifice at the Eclipse and all the corpses that piled up to create his dream, Griffith has always relied on recognizing strength in others and utilizing those strengths for his own desires. His physical disposition also invokes sympathy in Guts and Casca, causing Casca to cry out to Guts that she can't leave Griffith that way. Just like the person he was his mutilated state directly brings about those emotions. Just like the weak person he was internally, despite however strong and charismatic he may have appeared, he decided to run away from the shocking realization that his prized soldier would leave him, deducing the number of corpses he could rely on and proving that in his lowest moments he had no one to stand on. So, what could he do? Evoke the God Hand during the eclipse and transcend into something that he once was not, a divine being, a deity, a ruler, a member of the God Hand.
I do like Griffith and think he is a very well written character, but I cannot help but hate the person he is slowly revealed to be, and the way that he attempted to deny Guts his freedom from him. It just didn't sit well with me, nor did his betrayal of the Band of the Hawk during the eclipse, self-sacrifice is a benevolent behavior that a malevolent person who would partake in the ritual sacrifice in order to become a member of the God Hand or an apostle, would not practice. Even if you don't agree can you loosely see what I'm trying to point out?
So, the death of the Apostle Wyald stuck with me. Wyald was a frail and weak old man, a fact which came to the surprise of the members of the Band of the Hawk. I have a theory on why the apostle looked that way prior to the transformation and how this is is similar to my theory on Griffiths mutilated body, and how it represents Griffiths character.
We do not have any solid evidence about Wyald's character prior to his life as an apostle, though you can infer from the weak and frail individual whose corpse is left behind, before his body is sucked into the vortex, that this was a man who and didn't get to enjoy his life to the fullest, a weak individual who couldn't get away with acting out his vile fantasies. Wyald's entire philosophy of battling for the excitement, the thrill, ebullience could be due to a lack of that in his human life. He probably was the type of person that wanted to violate women, and murder men with his bare hands but perhaps couldn't? Perhaps Wyald suffered some sexual or physical abuse in his lifetime, causing him to lash out at others when he obtained a position of power?
I assume that all owners of beherit/behelit's evoke the God Hand when at their weakest point in life, in desperate need of the miraculous, 'divine' intervention in order to reinvigorate themselves with power, transforming into a body that represents their intrinsic desire.
How does this apply to Griffith? Well, maybe you will disagree with me but I think that the abuse Griffith endured and the sight of his mutilated corpse wasn't just for shock value or to invoke sympathy in the viewer, but for symbolic or metaphorical purposes.
His abuse was a symbol of his emotional torture from Gut's departure, as was the Hawks decline from potentially becoming Nobles to being wanted for their commander committing treason. To me, the frail and meek Griffith prior to the eclipse is a direct representation of the jealous, controlling, weak person he is and the veneer of confidence that he displayed while being the leader of the Band of the Hawk is somewhat superficial.
Once Guts is gone, Griffith loses the esteem he once had and his methodical nature and keen judgement is absent, clearly, when he decided to fornicate with the Princess.
Griffith was a successful leader, but like all who became a sacrifice at the Eclipse and all the corpses that piled up to create his dream, Griffith has always relied on recognizing strength in others and utilizing those strengths for his own desires. His physical disposition also invokes sympathy in Guts and Casca, causing Casca to cry out to Guts that she can't leave Griffith that way. Just like the person he was his mutilated state directly brings about those emotions. Just like the weak person he was internally, despite however strong and charismatic he may have appeared, he decided to run away from the shocking realization that his prized soldier would leave him, deducing the number of corpses he could rely on and proving that in his lowest moments he had no one to stand on. So, what could he do? Evoke the God Hand during the eclipse and transcend into something that he once was not, a divine being, a deity, a ruler, a member of the God Hand.
I do like Griffith and think he is a very well written character, but I cannot help but hate the person he is slowly revealed to be, and the way that he attempted to deny Guts his freedom from him. It just didn't sit well with me, nor did his betrayal of the Band of the Hawk during the eclipse, self-sacrifice is a benevolent behavior that a malevolent person who would partake in the ritual sacrifice in order to become a member of the God Hand or an apostle, would not practice. Even if you don't agree can you loosely see what I'm trying to point out?
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