Dear Berserk fans, I've been writing a 50-page analysis of Guts for the past few days. While writing it, I've been analyzing other characters as well (esp Casca and Griffith) but the more I read Berserk and analyze it the more I can't help feel how integral to the story Farnese really is. Below is an excerpt from my analysis of Farnese. Please share your thoughts and I'd appreciate any and all feedback :)
Farnese is the true wild card of the group and one of the most fascinating characters in Berserk. Pre-Albion Farnese was a foil to Guts in her religious zeal, her deference to God and her upper-class snobbery. Her sadism and pyromaniac tendency also seem to be a transmogrification of Guts, who whilst a violent man, is by no means a sadist. Both are abandoned, neglected children who keep indulge in one form of sublimation to keep their inner demons and insecurities in-check. Farnese gains a measure of acceptance by using the prosecution of pagans to satisfy her sadism and pyromaniac tendencies while Guts indulges his innate desire for violence through the more socially acceptable art of warfare. Her innate desire for violence and finding solace in it also mirrors Guts’ battle against the Beast of Darkness; both struggling mightily to hold onto what little is left of their humanity. A crucial difference is that without her faith, Farnese appears to have little purpose or drive in life, relying on the authority of God—a stark contract to Guts who carves through life on his own strength and conviction. That is, Farnese externalises her strength while Guts internalizes it, a dynamic best captured when in the heart of battle against a deluge of demonic spirits Farnese attempts to pray only for Guts to shout at her to use her arms for action instead of meaningless gestures. Seeing Guts stand alone against a sea of monsters is what inspires her to follow him, his self-reliance and courage inspiring her.
Post-Albion Farnese remained in a kind of non-man’s land for some time. While some criticize this aspect of her, it makes perfect sense thematically. She appears to be in no-man’s land because she is in no-man’s land. Having given up on God and turning her life around is completely new territory for Farnese who spent a lifetime torturing and burning things that she didn’t approve of. On top of that, she is dealing with mythic creatures that she didn’t even realize existed as much as a few months ago. While all other members of the New Party have set tasks they must excel at, post-Albion Farnese spends a long time with little direction besides being around Guts and being an impromptu nanny for Casca. She finds a measure of direction in being Casca’s protector but remains lost in the shuffle for the most part. Her attempts at learning magic grant her a purpose in the New Party but she’s still not an expert like Schierke. Her main character thrust so far is how much she is trying to turn her life around in a positive direction and her role in a love triangle between herself, Guts and Casca.
That said, however, a more sinister thrust seems to be brewing because of her feelings towards Guts and how, slowly, they seem to be ebbing away at the new persona she has created for herself.
Central to Berserk is the idea that our personal demons turn us into real monsters and that the proverbial road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions. Griffith’s ambitions were inherently noble but succumbing to his inner demons turned it into a grotesque, all-consuming beast. Guts, similarly, wages a heroic battle against demonic entities besetting the world but as the carnage grows, he finds himself at the crossroads of his inner demons that seek endless bloodshed i.e. the Beast of Darkness. The behelit is, if nothing else, symbolic of our inner demons and a moment of weakness where the floodgates are opened and the last shred of our humanity is ripped away. Farnese, like Guts and Griffith, is at war against her inner demons. While her love for Guts has clearly made her a nobler, compassionate person, she harbors a visible jealousy towards Casca. When further examined, we realize that on each occasion that her jealousy manifested, Farnese unravelled on a level deeper than the previous one. Although Farnese undertakes Casca’s protection with selfless courage, her feelings towards the regressed Amazon grow more and more ambivalent the closer they get towards finding a cure.
The first time we see Post-Albion Farnese visibly bothered is when Guts and Casca cradle the Moon Child together. It is the first time she has shown negative emotions since the events of the Conviction Arc and it’s no coincidence that it’s a moment where Guts, Casca and the Moon Child form the picture perfect image of a happy family. It’s only a panel but her reaction says it all being so palpable that Serpico noticed it.
The second time, her spirit inexplicably retreats back from an astral flight after she overhears Guts explain what Casca means to him. Again, for someone who has been keeping herself under-wraps for so long she ends up losing her grip in an instant. The scene is brief but this time she is self-aware, pondering aloud over her confusion and mixed feelings.
Things take a more ominous turn from that point onwards. The third time, is after a severely wounded Guts falls into the ocean trying to save Casca from drowning. With his scars reopening and aggravated by the salt, a distraught Farnese lashes out at Casca for not even understanding how much pain Guts endures for her. Crucially, she laments how despite Casca’s enmity, Guts remains devoted to her. This is the first time Farnese is candid about her jealousy, lashing out at Casca for her indifference to Guts plight. Arguably it’s Guts’ indifference to Farnese that is the source of her pain. For a brief moment, she relapses into Pre-Albion Farnese: volatile and conflicted. Spent and in tears, Farnese calls Casca a “cunning bitch,” a curious word choice given the latter’s childlike state.
Shades of the old Farnese seep through again when Guts is healing from his battle against the Sea God. Using her nascent magical powers, Farnese begins pouring her “warmth” into Guts to soothe the wounded warrior. It’s a genuinely tender moment that is ruined when Guts notices Casca ambling about. Farnese quickly leads Casca away on the pretense that his presence agitates her. Again, it’s a curious (and cruel) choice of words, given how much Guts agonizes over Casca’s acrimony towards him. In reminding Guts of this fact, Farnese appears to germinate the idea that Casca is no longer the woman Guts once loved and what they once shared is perhaps unsalvageable—an underhanded attempt to slowly wean him off her. Cruelty and guile, again, are shades of the old Farnese.
Lastly, when Master Archmage hints that the Elf King can indeed cure Casca, Farnese can only watch dejectedly as Guts smiles for the first time in several volumes. Again, her jealousy and ambivalence towards Casca comes to the forefront where the happiness of the man she loves takes a back seat to her own feelings. Selfishness is another facet of the old Farnese.
This brings me back to her calling Casca a “cunning bitch.” If we consider the hand Farnese has been dealt by Fate, “cunning bitch” is perhaps apt. For one, Casca unwittingly holds Guts in the palm of her hand where the warrior would lay down his life for her without a second thought, much to Farnese’s chagrin. Yet, Casca is also utterly dependent on her, earning her sympathy and pity. To make things worse, Casca’s protection was entrusted to Farnese by none other than Guts himself. It’s an emotional dead-end for Farnese: she hates Casca which makes her feel guilty, which makes her hate herself which in turn makes her hate Casca even more.
Why this is relevant is because Farnese’s jealousy of Casca mirrors Casca’s jealousy of Guts during the Golden Age. Farnese worships Guts in much the same way Casca worshipped Griffith. She too views him as an ideal, a man who saved her and gave her a new lease on life. Her life earned a purpose through the act of following him to his destination. Above all, both Casca and Farnese love(d) a man who didn’t reciprocate their feelings and was with another woman instead. This in turn made them bitter as the purpose of their life seemed to diminish right before their eyes. Casca was lucky enough to find Guts always there by her side in the confusion but Farnese is utterly alone.
There is more though.
We have to remember that Griffith and Casca’s roles reversed following his being crippled. Where once he had been quite literally her knight in shining armor, he now needed her to save him and look after him. Where once his hand could make protect her, he was now an invalid whom she had to look after. Where Casca worshipped him once, she now pitied him. Where she once would’ve died for him without a second thought, she now ached over whether to stay with him or leave with Guts—that she stayed out of pity didn’t help matters. Above all, for the first time ever, Griffith viewed her as a woman he could spend a (painfully ordinary) life with. Much like Casca, who found the purpose of her life diminishing before her very eyes, Griffith too needed someone by his side in the confusion. But he was alone. And the rest is bloody history.
Farnese is reminiscent of Griffith in numerous other ways. She is an extremely beautiful and charming but harbors a malicious, vindictive side. Her blonde hair, blue eyes, her rapier-like sword and ornate silver armor is also reminiscent of Griffith. Even her armor’s color scheme is the same as Griffith at times i.e. silver, white and purple. Coincidentally, the first time she crosses paths with Guts, she is also able to take him down with a single sword strike—although in her case it is sheer dumb luck (and a timely interference from Serpico). In fact, her sociopathic tendencies match Griffith by being prone to cruelty, manipulation, violence and selfishness. She even mirrors his penchant for self-harm, repeatedly flogging herself or asking Guts to cleave her with his sword, puns intended. Her first encounter with Serpico is very similar to Griffith’s first encounter with Guts, down to the line “you belong to me now.” She routinely tortured Serpico and even drank his blood much the same way Griffith “fed” on Guts and the Falcons. She and Serpico being siblings also mirrors Griffith and Guts relationship as that of brothers-in-arms and very close friends. That there have been hints of romantic love between Farnese and Serpico also serves as a parallel to the homoeroticism between Griffith and Guts.
With all the above in mind, it is highly likely that just as Griffith unravelled in the end, Guts-Casca-Farnese may be a retread of the Griffith-Guts-Casca dynamic. Farnese’s good intentions may very well pave the way to hell and what started out as benign emotions end up becoming a storm of demons. One need only remember how in Chapter 185 when Farnese was little she burnt a bird alive. Why? As she says herself, “this bird had not grown to love me.” If we compare her words to those of Griffith’s prior to his second fight with Guts i.e. “if he will not be mine then his life is forfeit” then their already numerous parallels become all the more foreboding.
Farnese’s parallels to Casca are also fascinating since she too was once a woman at the helm of soldiers. In fact both are women warriors from opposite ends of the social (and racial) strata. While Farnese was a noblewoman who was essentially handed the command over a squadron of rich boy soldiers, Casca was an Arab/African/Indian peasant girl who joined a very blue-color band of mercenaries and climbed her way up the ranks based on her own merit. They also seem jettisoned once taken away from their position of authority with Casca reduced to an infantile mental state and Farnese lacking any particular goal in sight besides Guts.
There most important parallel, however, is when it comes to the idea of “faith”. Like Casca, Farnese harbors an unflinching, unquestioning loyalty to God, taking no prisoners in her faith and willing to go to any and all lengths for said idea. In the end, the ideas they worshipped so devoutly turn out to be monstrous, damning them to a life path that is as precarious as it is uncertain i.e. Farnese in her new role with the New Party and Casca in her ruined mental state.
~Sado22
Farnese is the true wild card of the group and one of the most fascinating characters in Berserk. Pre-Albion Farnese was a foil to Guts in her religious zeal, her deference to God and her upper-class snobbery. Her sadism and pyromaniac tendency also seem to be a transmogrification of Guts, who whilst a violent man, is by no means a sadist. Both are abandoned, neglected children who keep indulge in one form of sublimation to keep their inner demons and insecurities in-check. Farnese gains a measure of acceptance by using the prosecution of pagans to satisfy her sadism and pyromaniac tendencies while Guts indulges his innate desire for violence through the more socially acceptable art of warfare. Her innate desire for violence and finding solace in it also mirrors Guts’ battle against the Beast of Darkness; both struggling mightily to hold onto what little is left of their humanity. A crucial difference is that without her faith, Farnese appears to have little purpose or drive in life, relying on the authority of God—a stark contract to Guts who carves through life on his own strength and conviction. That is, Farnese externalises her strength while Guts internalizes it, a dynamic best captured when in the heart of battle against a deluge of demonic spirits Farnese attempts to pray only for Guts to shout at her to use her arms for action instead of meaningless gestures. Seeing Guts stand alone against a sea of monsters is what inspires her to follow him, his self-reliance and courage inspiring her.
Post-Albion Farnese remained in a kind of non-man’s land for some time. While some criticize this aspect of her, it makes perfect sense thematically. She appears to be in no-man’s land because she is in no-man’s land. Having given up on God and turning her life around is completely new territory for Farnese who spent a lifetime torturing and burning things that she didn’t approve of. On top of that, she is dealing with mythic creatures that she didn’t even realize existed as much as a few months ago. While all other members of the New Party have set tasks they must excel at, post-Albion Farnese spends a long time with little direction besides being around Guts and being an impromptu nanny for Casca. She finds a measure of direction in being Casca’s protector but remains lost in the shuffle for the most part. Her attempts at learning magic grant her a purpose in the New Party but she’s still not an expert like Schierke. Her main character thrust so far is how much she is trying to turn her life around in a positive direction and her role in a love triangle between herself, Guts and Casca.
That said, however, a more sinister thrust seems to be brewing because of her feelings towards Guts and how, slowly, they seem to be ebbing away at the new persona she has created for herself.
Central to Berserk is the idea that our personal demons turn us into real monsters and that the proverbial road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions. Griffith’s ambitions were inherently noble but succumbing to his inner demons turned it into a grotesque, all-consuming beast. Guts, similarly, wages a heroic battle against demonic entities besetting the world but as the carnage grows, he finds himself at the crossroads of his inner demons that seek endless bloodshed i.e. the Beast of Darkness. The behelit is, if nothing else, symbolic of our inner demons and a moment of weakness where the floodgates are opened and the last shred of our humanity is ripped away. Farnese, like Guts and Griffith, is at war against her inner demons. While her love for Guts has clearly made her a nobler, compassionate person, she harbors a visible jealousy towards Casca. When further examined, we realize that on each occasion that her jealousy manifested, Farnese unravelled on a level deeper than the previous one. Although Farnese undertakes Casca’s protection with selfless courage, her feelings towards the regressed Amazon grow more and more ambivalent the closer they get towards finding a cure.
The first time we see Post-Albion Farnese visibly bothered is when Guts and Casca cradle the Moon Child together. It is the first time she has shown negative emotions since the events of the Conviction Arc and it’s no coincidence that it’s a moment where Guts, Casca and the Moon Child form the picture perfect image of a happy family. It’s only a panel but her reaction says it all being so palpable that Serpico noticed it.
The second time, her spirit inexplicably retreats back from an astral flight after she overhears Guts explain what Casca means to him. Again, for someone who has been keeping herself under-wraps for so long she ends up losing her grip in an instant. The scene is brief but this time she is self-aware, pondering aloud over her confusion and mixed feelings.
Things take a more ominous turn from that point onwards. The third time, is after a severely wounded Guts falls into the ocean trying to save Casca from drowning. With his scars reopening and aggravated by the salt, a distraught Farnese lashes out at Casca for not even understanding how much pain Guts endures for her. Crucially, she laments how despite Casca’s enmity, Guts remains devoted to her. This is the first time Farnese is candid about her jealousy, lashing out at Casca for her indifference to Guts plight. Arguably it’s Guts’ indifference to Farnese that is the source of her pain. For a brief moment, she relapses into Pre-Albion Farnese: volatile and conflicted. Spent and in tears, Farnese calls Casca a “cunning bitch,” a curious word choice given the latter’s childlike state.
Shades of the old Farnese seep through again when Guts is healing from his battle against the Sea God. Using her nascent magical powers, Farnese begins pouring her “warmth” into Guts to soothe the wounded warrior. It’s a genuinely tender moment that is ruined when Guts notices Casca ambling about. Farnese quickly leads Casca away on the pretense that his presence agitates her. Again, it’s a curious (and cruel) choice of words, given how much Guts agonizes over Casca’s acrimony towards him. In reminding Guts of this fact, Farnese appears to germinate the idea that Casca is no longer the woman Guts once loved and what they once shared is perhaps unsalvageable—an underhanded attempt to slowly wean him off her. Cruelty and guile, again, are shades of the old Farnese.
Lastly, when Master Archmage hints that the Elf King can indeed cure Casca, Farnese can only watch dejectedly as Guts smiles for the first time in several volumes. Again, her jealousy and ambivalence towards Casca comes to the forefront where the happiness of the man she loves takes a back seat to her own feelings. Selfishness is another facet of the old Farnese.
This brings me back to her calling Casca a “cunning bitch.” If we consider the hand Farnese has been dealt by Fate, “cunning bitch” is perhaps apt. For one, Casca unwittingly holds Guts in the palm of her hand where the warrior would lay down his life for her without a second thought, much to Farnese’s chagrin. Yet, Casca is also utterly dependent on her, earning her sympathy and pity. To make things worse, Casca’s protection was entrusted to Farnese by none other than Guts himself. It’s an emotional dead-end for Farnese: she hates Casca which makes her feel guilty, which makes her hate herself which in turn makes her hate Casca even more.
Why this is relevant is because Farnese’s jealousy of Casca mirrors Casca’s jealousy of Guts during the Golden Age. Farnese worships Guts in much the same way Casca worshipped Griffith. She too views him as an ideal, a man who saved her and gave her a new lease on life. Her life earned a purpose through the act of following him to his destination. Above all, both Casca and Farnese love(d) a man who didn’t reciprocate their feelings and was with another woman instead. This in turn made them bitter as the purpose of their life seemed to diminish right before their eyes. Casca was lucky enough to find Guts always there by her side in the confusion but Farnese is utterly alone.
There is more though.
We have to remember that Griffith and Casca’s roles reversed following his being crippled. Where once he had been quite literally her knight in shining armor, he now needed her to save him and look after him. Where once his hand could make protect her, he was now an invalid whom she had to look after. Where Casca worshipped him once, she now pitied him. Where she once would’ve died for him without a second thought, she now ached over whether to stay with him or leave with Guts—that she stayed out of pity didn’t help matters. Above all, for the first time ever, Griffith viewed her as a woman he could spend a (painfully ordinary) life with. Much like Casca, who found the purpose of her life diminishing before her very eyes, Griffith too needed someone by his side in the confusion. But he was alone. And the rest is bloody history.
Farnese is reminiscent of Griffith in numerous other ways. She is an extremely beautiful and charming but harbors a malicious, vindictive side. Her blonde hair, blue eyes, her rapier-like sword and ornate silver armor is also reminiscent of Griffith. Even her armor’s color scheme is the same as Griffith at times i.e. silver, white and purple. Coincidentally, the first time she crosses paths with Guts, she is also able to take him down with a single sword strike—although in her case it is sheer dumb luck (and a timely interference from Serpico). In fact, her sociopathic tendencies match Griffith by being prone to cruelty, manipulation, violence and selfishness. She even mirrors his penchant for self-harm, repeatedly flogging herself or asking Guts to cleave her with his sword, puns intended. Her first encounter with Serpico is very similar to Griffith’s first encounter with Guts, down to the line “you belong to me now.” She routinely tortured Serpico and even drank his blood much the same way Griffith “fed” on Guts and the Falcons. She and Serpico being siblings also mirrors Griffith and Guts relationship as that of brothers-in-arms and very close friends. That there have been hints of romantic love between Farnese and Serpico also serves as a parallel to the homoeroticism between Griffith and Guts.
With all the above in mind, it is highly likely that just as Griffith unravelled in the end, Guts-Casca-Farnese may be a retread of the Griffith-Guts-Casca dynamic. Farnese’s good intentions may very well pave the way to hell and what started out as benign emotions end up becoming a storm of demons. One need only remember how in Chapter 185 when Farnese was little she burnt a bird alive. Why? As she says herself, “this bird had not grown to love me.” If we compare her words to those of Griffith’s prior to his second fight with Guts i.e. “if he will not be mine then his life is forfeit” then their already numerous parallels become all the more foreboding.
Farnese’s parallels to Casca are also fascinating since she too was once a woman at the helm of soldiers. In fact both are women warriors from opposite ends of the social (and racial) strata. While Farnese was a noblewoman who was essentially handed the command over a squadron of rich boy soldiers, Casca was an Arab/African/Indian peasant girl who joined a very blue-color band of mercenaries and climbed her way up the ranks based on her own merit. They also seem jettisoned once taken away from their position of authority with Casca reduced to an infantile mental state and Farnese lacking any particular goal in sight besides Guts.
There most important parallel, however, is when it comes to the idea of “faith”. Like Casca, Farnese harbors an unflinching, unquestioning loyalty to God, taking no prisoners in her faith and willing to go to any and all lengths for said idea. In the end, the ideas they worshipped so devoutly turn out to be monstrous, damning them to a life path that is as precarious as it is uncertain i.e. Farnese in her new role with the New Party and Casca in her ruined mental state.
~Sado22