At 11:41 PM 5/5/98 -0700, K.Yee wrote:
On Tue, 5 May 1998, "Richard D. Lawson" <sterman@uswest.net> writes:
*That's* the real tragedy of "The Bitter End". I was much
more angry at Ranma, Nodoka, Kasumi, Ukyo et. al. for
not forcing Akane into treatment than I was at Akane for
beating Ranma.
-Richard
That's how I felt too, now that I think about it. Nodoka kept pointing the
finger at Ranma, making Ranma feel guilty for something which isn't
entirely his fault, and becomes less and less of his fault as time goes on.
Nabiki realizes Akane's deep well before Kasumi does, and Kasumi refuses
to listen to Nabiki. Ukyou, in her infinite love for Ranma and sticking by
him as a friend, actually provokes Akane, who has nobody to vent on but
Ranma. Not that it would have mattered in the end.
*raise eyebrow* Rather harsh, don't you think Lawson-san? On the whole,
I was actually sympathetic for all involved merely because they ALL were
somehow at fault, and that no one really had the right to blame someone
more than the other.
So because everybody's at fault, nobody's at fault?
Is it Ranma's fault that he loved Akane so much
that he couldn't bear to go against her wishes?
Even if those "wishes" meant bashing Ranma's head in or refusing to admit
she's not perfect? The part where Ranma tries to tell her he wants them
both to see a counsellor, but Akane keeps saying "Are you implying it's my
fault instead of yours?", then the next paragraph where Akane says "I
haven't changed. I'm just stressed." and then "It's not my fault that I
get angry, it's yours."
(Okay, so I paraphrased. I am taking them right out of the fic, though.)
Is it Akane's fault that
she suffers from a disease (mental illness) that obscures and clouds her
judgement regarding Ranma?
No, but it is her fault that she refuses to do anything about it, or even
worse, refuses to admit she's done anything wrong. Alternately, you could
say it was Ranma's fault for propagating the whole thing, but who'd have
thought? Akane feels guilt for almost drowning Ranma the first time, but
she tries to cover that up, too. She briefly explores trying to cure
herself, but then seems to just abandon it.
Is it Nodoka's fault that she is so set in
her ways she cannot see Ranma is not at fault for Akane's anger?
Yes. It killed Ranma and Ukyou. Stereotypes are generally not a Good
Thing (TM)
And is
Kasumi to blame for not being able to distinguish between Akane's
"casual" attacks on Ranma before they were married and her more violent
ones after they were married?
And I thought she was insightful. How wrong could I get. She's just as
stereotypical as Nodoka is. The key word here is "more violent". If she
can't notice "more violent" attacks, then she must be really dense.
(actually, she does notice some, like when Ranma almost got killed. But
does it really take that much?)
What about Ukyou? Should she be blamed
for not doing something about the situation when she knew that would lead
to Ranma loosing enormous amounts of trust in her?
Ukyou did try to help. Although it made the situation worse. Part of her
is competing for Ranma's feelings toward Akane. (Mainly the part in which
Akane says "Ranma is mine!" and Ukyou reacts to it). You know what
should've happened? Ukyou should've challenged Akane to an honor duel for
Ranma, that's what should've happened. Only she would never do it because
she knows Ranma would be miserable either way.
Of course, it's easy
to say "yes" to all these questions, but if you think about it very
closely, it's not that easy for anyone to bring about a change and go
against the flow.
It's not easy, but somebody's gotta do it. That's how revolution and
freedom get propagated (but that's a whole 'nother topic)
Ukyou tried, and for that she is to be commended, but
OTOH, the others shouldn't be blamed for not acting, but just pitied
because they didn't.
So you're saying that "ignorance is bliss"? Well ignorance killed the
people in the Salem witch trials. King Lear's ignorance of advice led to
his downfall. Just because somebody's not at fault doesn't mean that they
deserve pity. I will however pity them for the loss of Ranma and Ukyou,
however.
It's easy to say, "Yeah, and Akane should have
known!!" or "Ranma should have gone and reported Akane or gotten her
treatement if he REALLY cared for her." But believe me, it's a lot
harder to act when you're actually in the situation.
It is hard. It's shown in the fanfic. But the fanfic also says that
sometimes it has to be done. Ranma evidently either didn't know what too
much meant, or was far too loving to acknowledge it.
For your statements...
1) Akane wouldn't have known. She's far too tied up in her anger.
2) Nobody would believe Ranma if he reported Akane.
3) Ranma _did_ try to arrange help for Akane. It's just that he can't
bring himself to say that she's at fault, because of what she did to him if
he had said that. He's scared (perhaps even a bit paranoid).
Remember, hindsight
is 20/20. How do you expect Akane to listen when she is doing something
she believes is normal (ie. bashing Ranma)?
Believe me, sending someone to the hospital is not normal. Scaring someone
out of their wits so hard that said person has to go to a women's group
(especially when that person is a guy) is not normal.
I think it was even
admirable that she was able to acknowledge it, but sad that she was
unable to recognize how much damage she was doing until it was too late.
She acknowledged it _only_ after the most damage had been done. Even when
they hinted something was wrong with her, she shrugs it away and blames it
on Ranma. She even blames Ranma's behaviour (ie sleeping as a girl, etc.)
on Ranma.
Funny, I never thought I'd see myself defending Zen's piece. I mean,
initially, I hated it for what it did to the characters, but after
writing Zen, I merely gained respect for it because of how well-written
it was as well as how it dealt with a delicate subject. If you want a
realistic version of what is very likely to happen, well, TBE is it,
folks. IMO, of course. Ja.
I'm not bashing Zen's fic. It was well done. And I'm not saying anyone in
particular is at fault. All of them were at fault. That's how the cascade
effect happens. They didn't realize anything until it was too late (too
late means actually before death, the point Akane blames everything on
Ranma and refuses to listen to reason) It's just that saying that you were
sympathetic to them because they had their flaws is awkward.
----------------------
Jonathan Ng
jonathan@worldy.com
"Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage, blow!" King Lear, III, ii, 1
"I am a man more sinned against than sinning." King Lear, III, ii, 62-63