The cannon reason why Link doesn’t speak
any npc: link why are you so quiet link: [dissociating] what
Ookay so just, for the reference, the French text* has a very interesting different nuance here.
*(which, for the record, is absolutely amazing, I’ve no idea how close a translation it might be but it throws in puns and quirks and beautiful turns of phrases and is generally a joy to read, a lot of work and love has clearly been put into it.)
“J’ai fini par lui demander pourquoi il était toujours tellement silencieux, et j’ai bien vu que la réponse lui coûtait.”
“I finally asked him why he’s always so quiet, and it was obvious that answering took a great effort from him.” (~almost “it pained him to answer”)
“Le royaume a toujours beaucoup attendu de lui, et c’est la crainte de décevoir qui l’a finalement enfermé dans le mutisme.”
“The kingdom has always expected a lot from him, and it it’s the fear of disappointing that ended up locking him into mutism.”
“Quelle surprise ! Moi qui pensais qu’avec son talent naturel, il n’avait jamais dû connaître l’angoisse de l’échec…”
“What a surprise! Here I thought that with his natural skill, he must have never known the fear/anxiety of failure…”
please note FEAR and DISAPPOINTING and LOCKING HIM and MUTISM and FAILURE
It sounds a lot less like it was a conscious decision for Link, and much more like… selective mutism caused by stress and anxiety.
Which is why Zelda goes on to basically go “!! SAME DISORDER!!” — it’s not just the fact of being under a lot of expectations that means you’ve gotta appear strong / focus on your task: this wording sounds more like it’s literally Link’s coping mechanism in response to the stress and pressure.
“En réalité, nous avons tous nos soucis. J’étais tellement centrée sur les miens que je ne voyais rien autour de moi.”
“In truth/It turns out we all have our own issues. I was so focused on mine that I didn’t see anything around me.”
Idk if/how this is worded in the English version, but this sounds very much like she feels Link is also miserable (perhaps as much as her).
Basically, the French version goes beyond “Link is constantly dissociating” to “anxious and depressed children find each other and proceed to realize it’s ok to feel like they do and they’re not alone”.
