Trauma, Memory and Relationships, an examination of Mercedes von Martriz
CW for themes of SA
A big aspect of Mercedes's character that goes overlooked is her tendency to downplay her own trauma for the sake of being a rock for the younger lions, a clear tendency from the older-sister persona she latches on to. We see it in her support with Sylvain that whilst she's willing to impart her story, she places little emphasis on her personal feelings, brushing the events off as if too assure Sylvain that they don't affect her.
Probably the biggest example of this is with Jeritza. When we learn of Bartels's sick plans towards Mercedes, she has little reaction to Jeritza's revelation - rather, she expresses surprise towards this being Jeritza's motivation for murder. This gives the impression that Mercedes was unfortunately already familiar with their father's desires, further implied by how swift she describes her escape with her mother. It's moments like these that highlight the intersecting elements of crests and misogyny among the Foldan nobility - whilst male nobles also face political marriage pressures, characters like Sylvain are not (textually) depicted to deal with such assaults and forced marriage enabled in the same manner as Mercedes and Ingrid. (The exception is Yuri's adoption, but his crest didn't play a role.) Leaving Emile for the sake of protecting herself is her biggest regret, leading her to dismiss her own trauma from House Bartels.
"Regardless of reasons, a demon is a demon" - is he just talking about himself or also their father?
Mercedes seems to cope by indulging in the few happy memories she had in House Bartels, namely her relationship with Emile. We see how she practically adopts most of the male Lions as symbolic younger brothers. While she isn't intentionally looking for a substitute for Emile (which Felix accuses her of), she definitely seeks to indulge in the nostalgia of caring for her brother. A notable moment is if you view her support with Felix after her paralogue, in which she displays this yearning for nostalgia. This is also evident when they reunite with Dimitri, and she offers to bake him treats to calm him down - she struggles to accept the shift, just as she did with Jeritza/Emile.
Now onto the theme of romantic relationships.
Mercedes is constantly presented under the thumb of her father figures in political affairs of marriage, likely leading her to having a conflicted relationship with her own feelings of attraction, as well as a tendency for self-defence. She often flirts in ways with plausible deniability, which we see in her supports with Dedue, Lorenz, Felix, and probably others.
(Her line delivery here really sounds teasing)
She does this with Byleth too, declaring her love for her as an prepared excuse to her father, before stating "I'm just teasing." Mercedes yearns for a romance free of the pressures of political marriage, status and strategy, yet still struggles to bring herself to be sincere with her feelings. Finding the freedom among her friends in the army, she is able to declare her lack of a desire for marriage yet, as well as her aspirations, but cannot admit romantic feelings to her interests.
(Again with the 'teasing' write-off)
Speaking of her conversations with Lorenz, you can even interpret her airy way of speaking as having some semblance of self-defence, putting up an innocent facade as she drags this arrogant noble with her words. I've seen some people dislike Mercedes's voice acting direction, but I think it works really well when you really think of her character - not only her overpowering kindness, but everything that lingers underneath.
Even her choice to come to the Officer's Academy despite her age hints at her desire to return to youth. Especially as an adultified child, both in her caring role for Emile as well as both her fathers' awful expectations, Mercedes just wants to be treated like the younger students - which is the first thing she says when you meet her at the Monastery. This is probably why she has so much value in her friendship with Annette, and why she got so angry at her for treating her differently from the other capable Lions (even if the timeskip gives the support a weird tone).
There's a lot more to probably say, but I just wanted to show some appreciation for Mercedes's writing.
Always thinking about how for all her..... everything, Bernadetta Does Not Want To Be Coddled. You get support points for calling her out on faking a cold. Her motivation rises if you critique her when she does badly during instruction. In her B support with Hubert, she tells him not to go out of his way or limit himself to make her comfortable. She's really trying to become stronger and braver!
why does intsys hate claude so much to give the other lords dope ass figurines and when its supposedly his turn they give it to hilda…?!?! i understand pretty girls sell but dimitri is not pretty nor a girl and he still got one so. why does everyone hate claude. i know the answer and it is racism but my god (also. i already made a post about it so i wont rehash the whole thing but skipping over claude for the IN HOUSE RACIST is crazy work)
Does anyone else remember the era of FE3H fandom when a bunch of people were head cannoning Kronya as Ferdinand’s illegitimate sister?? Why don’t I see crazy theories like that floating around anymore
A part of the reason Hilda is so worried about Annette in their supports is because she can relate to her. These girls both grew up in noble families with heavy expectations on them and Hilda knows what a burden they can be. Luckily for Hilda, she has her older brother to shield her from these responsibilities, but Annette has no one. In fact, not only does she have no one, but her own father left her. So she has this hole inside her she feels she can fill by proving she’s good enough. But Hilda knows what it’s like to have those anxieties, to think nothing you ever do will be enough, and she knows working yourself to the bone to prove yourself is not the way to fix this insecurity. She’s worried about Annette, worried she’s going to get burnt out or taken advantage of, and feels a need to step in and help her. That’s why she tries to give Annette some advice, tell her to be selfish, and when Annette is resistant to this Hilda does what Hilda does best. Use her charm to manipulate people into doing what she wants. This time, it’s for good though. She will teach Annette basic self care if it kills her, and one day Annette will be thankful she took this extra time to nap or get a nice drink or do her makeup or whatever else Hilda says. Because what is life without these small pleasures?
I really don’t like Petra x Hubert as a ship because I feel like it just reinforces the idea that Petra and Brigid will always be below Edelgard and Adrestia.
Their C support is already off to a bad start because Hubert feels the need to throw in some micro aggressions to Petra saying she seemed like she “grew up in the wild” which considering how Adrestians in general treat Petra and Brigid is a little yikesy. And their B support gets worse. Hubert can’t simply compliment Petra’s leadership qualities, he has to assure her she is far below Lady Edelgard and, if she were to revolt, she would be easily crushed. Considering the fact that this support is supposed to happen pre time skip, I think this is Hubert’s way of trying to scare Petra into compliance when the war starts. Petra is a very confident and proud woman, she knows her worth and her country’s worth and is insistent on the fact that Brigid and Adrestia, and even her and Edelgard, are equals. The only reason Adrestia was able to prevail over Brigid was because they had better circumstances. But Hubert doesn’t like this confidence and he has to cut it down. Sure you’re fine, he tells her, but you can never compared to Edelgard. And this causes a complex in Petra that we see in their A support. And sure, Hubert apologizes for this slight, but it’s just not enough for me to be able to get behind them. And Hubert’s apology is a little half hearted. He straight up says he can’t stop comparing the two. And then their paired ending… to me that’s what seals the deal on me not liking this ship. Why is their shared house in the empire? Should they not at the very least have a shared house in both territories. To me, it just reads like they’re very much a political marriage (the ending literally says as part of the deal to end Brigid’s vassalage the two of them got married) and it’s still a way for Brigid to stay under Adrestia’s thumb. I think endings where Petra can proudly rule over Brigid are much better for her.
Hilda x Annette is an underrated pairing in this game. Their support on the surface is very typical for their characters, Hilda being lazy and pawning off her work and Annette over working herself and messing up. But there’s some interesting things to mine here.
First off, I think it’s interesting that their C support starts with Annette saying “Hilda I’m coming in” then waltzing into Hilda’s room without waiting for permission because this indicates that these girls are fairly close and that it’s normal for them to just enter each other spaces. I think this already sets it apart a little because they’re not just class mates, they’re friends, and that provides some context to their decisions. Annette doesn’t just offer to help Hilda out of some sense of obligation or feeling like it’s the right thing to do, she cares about Hilda and wants what’s best for her so why not take a little off her plate. And while Hilda does let Annette take up the job, when Annette messes up and is hard on herself Hilda doesn’t let her dwell on this. Hilda is a pretty positive person and doesn’t like to dwell on the bad side of things, and she also respects Annette a lot so she sees no reason Annette should be so hard on herself.
These two girls really are such opposites in a way that they can provide each other with the perfect opportunity to grow, with Hilda learning to apply herself more while Annette learns some self care.
Petra x Caspar is a ship I was really into when I first played FE3H, in fact it was the canon ending for both those characters in my first play through. And I was recently reminded of one of Dorothea's lines in VW about Count Bergliez laying down his life for his soldiers, and this got me thinking, what would a VW Petra x Caspar relationship look like?
Petra's motivation for joining the alliance is pretty straight forward, she doesn't believe Edelgard's promises to free Brigid after the war and decides to take matters into her own hands and oppose the empire. Caspar's motivation for joining the alliance took me a little longer to figure out. As we all know, Caspar's dad is one of the empire's greatest soldiers and, as a result, is responsible for a great deal of suffering. Caspar is aware of the role his father played in fighting Brigid and Dagda, and he feels guilty for this. Despite his tendency to rush into battle, Caspar is also someone who is intimately aware of the suffering war causes and I think it's fair to say he wants no part in this war. This motivates him to leave the empire, not wanting to be like his father and fight as the aggressor, and seek out an alternative route. While there's no completely neutral party, all three countries get sucked into battle eventually, the alliance at least attempts neutrality, and this is something Caspar can get behind so he decides to flee to the alliance.
Petra is shocked to see Caspar at one of the alliance war meetings. As much as she had insisted to him that she was fine, that she held no ill will against him for his father's role in her father's death, there was still a sense of unease inside her when she was around him. It wasn't fair, but how could she be sure he wouldn't turn out like his father? But now he's here, taking a stand against his home country.
After the meeting, the two of them get to talking. Petra had the opportunity to revisit her homeland after being away for so long during the time skip and she tells Caspar about how magical it was. Eventually, Petra works up the nerve to ask Caspar why he's here. He talks to Petra about the death his dad caused, and how he can't do the same. The empire has brought so much suffering on Dagda and Brigid, he has to step in now before things go too far and stop them from causing the same harm to Faerghus and Leicester, even if it means turning against his friends and family. Petra is moved by Caspar's conviction and his willingness to push his own feelings aside to fight for the greater good, and the two begin to grow closer as the war progresses.
Finally, as the war comes to an end, Petra catches wind of some news. Count Bergliez has laid down his life to protect his soldiers. And her first thought is Caspar. She runs out and eventually finds him quietly sitting by the pond, an odd sight, and she approaches him. He confides in her about his feelings, how he admires his dad for being willing to lay down his life to help others and feels like he can never fill his dad's shoes. And Petra is able to relate to Caspar in a way she never thought she'd be able to. She talks about when her father died to protect Brigid, about how she wasn't sure she could fill his shoes either. How could she be a better leader than the man who died for his country? But Caspar protests, Petra may not have died for her country but she was willing to risk her life time and time again throughout this war to bring freedom to her people. And Petra tells Caspar she could say the same about him, he risked his life to fight for the greater good. And together, the two of them realize that while they will never be their fathers, they can cut their own path forwards together, honoring the good their fathers did yet fighting to do better.
We all know that pre time skip Fodlan was not a very nice place to live in. From endless class struggles to racism, misogyny, and just general corruption, they really had it all. But how much control did the people of Fodlan (specifically Adrestia, because that's my favorite one to talk about) have over their reproduction and did the men and women have an equal amount of control?
I think a reasonable place to start is with arranged marriages, which we all know is common place in Fodlan. Arranged marriages are often done for political purposes, especially among the upper classes, but there is also the component of people arranging marriages with the intention of producing a good heir. This is especially relevant in Fodlan, where crests are something you obtain genetically, making who your child ends up marrying and therefore having children with very important.
There are many examples we can look to for arranged marriages but I want to focus on Ferdinand and Bernadetta here as their A support reveals a sort of double standard when it comes to these marriages. Ferdinand reveals to Bernadetta that his father arranged for him to marry a girl he found frightening due to the rumors about her, leading him to "dissuade" his parents from going through with it. This girl, of course, ended up being Bernadetta, something she was completely unaware of. She says the girl Ferdinand was set to marry sounds "frightening" and is shocked when Ferdinand later reveals that this girl was her.
So, what does this little story reveal? Well, both Ferdinand and Bernadetta were set up to be in an arranged marriage, indicating that arranged marriages in and of themselves were not gendered. However, the freedom each of them was given in this situation varied wildly. Ferdinand was informed of this marriage and given a say in whether or not he wished to go through with it. When he expressed his concerns, his parents listened and pulled out. Bernadetta, on the other hand, was given no say in the matter. I think it's safe to assume this is something her father planned to just spring on her out of nowhere and to totally ignore her concerns. This indicates that, while men and women (or, in this case, boys and girls) could both be subjected to arranged marriages, the men were given more autonomy over their situation while the women were simply expected to accept it. It's also not far fetched to assume that, had Bernadetta been married off against her will, she would have been expected to produce heirs with her husband regardless of how she felt about him. This indicates a lack of reproductive freedom as women, or at least those in the upper class, were given no control over who fathered their children.
I would also like to discuss the story of Edelgard's parents. In her Goddess Tower speech, she explains that her parents fell madly in love but could not marry due to her father having already married for political purposes, leading her mother to instead become "one of his many consorts." Whether or not Edelgard's story is true is much debated fact, were her parents genuinely in love or is this just a girl romanticizing her parents story? Regardless of this truth behind Edelgard's story, this does reveal an important fact. That being that her father had "many consorts." A consort is technically defined as the spouse of a reigning monarch according to Oxford dictionary, although we know Edelgard's mom was never her dad's wife. Therefore, I think it is fair to say Edelgard's mom, and all the other consorts, were more similar to a concubine, or a "woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife." Now, Edelgard clearly believes her mother chose this life, but if we look at historical cases of emperor's (or whatever the equivalent to an emperor is in the society) concubines, they often were not given the freedom to choose. If the emperor wanted a woman to be his concubine, she simply had to oblige or likely risk punishment. While we are not given many details on what the emperor's concubine system and the rules surrounding it, I think it's likely it followed the general trend I described above, meaning that, even if Edelgard's mom chose to be a concubine, many women in the system likely did not. And once you became a concubine, there really was very little reproductive freedom. Again, we don't specifically know what life was like for Adrestian concubines, but let's look at some rules that existed for real life concubines to get the best understanding of what it might have been like. There is of course variation in these rules depending on where you look but some reoccurring rules I noticed were an inability to deny the king/emperor, rules against engaging in relations with other men, and many were expected to give birth to potential heirs (assuming they were in a society where concubine's children could be heirs, which we know as the case in Adrestia considering Edelgard's status). This means the concubines were likely given little to no control over their ability to have sex, they were instead forced to have it with one man regardless of their attraction to him and to have it whenever he wanted. Their feelings about becoming pregnant and bearing a child were also likely not taken into account.
Next, I want to focus on Hanneman's sister, who was born with a crest and whose story is revealed in Hanneman and Edelgard's A support. Hanneman's sister was said to have been "married off" to a noble whose power was waning. I think the use of the phrase "married off" is very important here due to the implications. Hanneman's sister did not "get married" she "was married off." The use of passive voice instead of active voice, in a way, positions Hanneman's sister as being an object that was being passed around by men. She did not have agency over her life, much like Bernadetta in her support with Ferdinand, we see here how she was expected to bend to the whims of the men around her. Furthermore, this phrase implies that she left her house and family to join her husband's. While this is not inherently a bad thing, I think it's important to note that a lot of patriarchal cultures expect women to essentially abandon their own families to join the man's. She is not expected to maintain connections to her old life but to meld seamlessly into her husband's world, almost as if she is not her own person but an object. This is especially jarring because Hanneman's sister was the one with the crest and her husband was from a noble family whose "influence was waning." We hear all the time about how people with crests are given preferential treatment and, while certainly true, this situation indicates the situation may be more complex than that. If we believed Adrestia was simply defined by the belief that those with crests are superior to those without crests, Hanneman's sister should've been the one with all the power. Her husband should've joined her house and followed her orders, but the opposite happened. This indicates some intersectionality in Adrestia's culture. While having a crest grants you status and power, this status and power looks very different for men and women (and can sometimes put you in a worse position if you're a woman, as seen by Hanneman's sister). Anyways, after her marriage she is expected to have children with her husband, but none of them bare crests. Her husband began to abuse her as a result of this and she was forced to continue trying to have a crested child until she eventually died. I'm sure this was not what Hanneman's sister wanted. Having tons of pregnancies back to back is not good for anyone, especially if you have a medical condition which we know Hanneman's sister did. She was likely exhausted and wanted to stop, but she had no say in the matter. Whether or not she got pregnant was entirely dependent on what her husband wanted.
So, what happened after children were born? There is less content to talk about here but I want to focus on the concept of child support and other social systems to help single mothers. It's no secret that having children is expensive, and for many young women, experiencing an unplanned pregnancy all alone is enough to completely upend their life. Even if they do manage to scrape by and provide them and their children with what they need financially, they will likely need to give up on many of their hopes and ambitions. Meaning forcing women to raise children without any help is a great way to control them. And who do we know who had a child as a single mother in poverty? Dorothea's mother.
Dorothea reveals in her support with Hanneman that her mother was, at one point, a noble's maid. Until she got pregnant with that noble's child. I do think we should acknowledge that there's a good chance Dorothea's mother was raped, but that's not the point of this section and has no evidence besides just the general way power structures work so we can ignore that for now. Instead, let's see how Dorothea's father treated her and her mother. Did he decide to step up and be a good father or, at the very least, use some of his ample wealth to make sure Dorothea and her mother were taken care of? No. He kicked Dorothea's mother out of his house, meaning she lost her employment and source of income once she was impregnated, forcing them both to live in poverty. And her father, seemingly, faced no repercussions. In many countries that are considered to be relatively good in regards to gender equality, there is some sort of legal system requiring men to help take care of their child(ren) at least financially to try and minimize selfish and irresponsible men's ability to ruin women's lives (since obviously it's much harder for a woman to run away from a pregnancy than a man). The actions of Dorothea's father indicate that there is either no system in Adrestia similar to child support or that there is a system but it is extremely ineffective. Dorothea also mentions how she "lived in the allies" meaning she had no shelter. This indicates a lack of shelters for homeless people in Adrestia. Furthermore, Dorothea also mentions starving as a child, indicating that there likely weren't any programs meant to help single mothers feed their children.
Overall, the lives of the Adrestian characters indicate a lack of reproductive freedom in the country, especially among women. There is not nearly as much information about what reproductive rights look like in post time skip Fodlan, but considering that fact that there are women who have endings where they are able to attain power on their own, either completely free from a husband or with a husband who is not their superior, I do think it is safe to assume that, after the war, some reforms are instituted to improve this aspect of life.
The Catherine/Ingrid pairing is so interesting because Catherine is who Ingrid can become if she continues down her path. They're both characters who are largely driven by their loyalty, as we see in their support chain. They are both willing to commit atrocities and "let innocent bystanders die" if it's a means to their end.
At this point in the story (pre-timeskip) Ingrid has never really been faced with this dilemma in real life. Sure, she's had to kill, but the people she would've had to kill always posed some sort of threat (eg. bandits, Miklan's gang, etc.). Catherine is one of the first people to offer her insight into what being a knight actually entails. We also see similarities in their backstories, in that they both lost loved ones and search for ways to justify their deaths as a source of comfort, as we can see in various support chains.
They are both assigning meaning to their loved ones' deaths, Ingrid insisting that it shows what an upstanding knight Glenn was and Catherine insisting that it was necessary for Rhea's safety. It's important to note, though, that neither character takes a moment to really, properly, mourn what happens. They don't want to recognize these deaths as senseless acts of violence, because then they have to cope with the facts that these deaths could have been avoided. Instead, they choose to push a lot of these unsavory details out of their mind and use Glenn's and Christophe's deaths as motivation to push them further down these paths, a path that they stand on two opposite sides of. Catherine is at the end of the path, having already caused a great deal of suffering the name of protecting Rhea and fulfilling her duties, whereas Ingrid is at the very beginning, not yet having committed these evils. But Catherine is reaching her hand out to Ingrid, offering to guide her down this path, and without some sort of intervention, Ingrid in 10, 20 years from now may find herself standing in Catherine's exact position.
I’m so excited for the Fe3h mothers post!!! Linhardts mom sounds so fun! I’m curious though you said she doesn’t like Waldemar do you have more thoughts on their relationship?
Hi! Thank you so much, I’m excited to share more of my thoughts about these women.
As for the relationship, yes I do. I think this was a purely political relationship, and both Adelheid and Waldemar are completely aware of this. Adelheid was never really interested in romance anyways, but she knew she’d eventually have to get married. And Waldemar was interested in marrying an educated woman (Adelheid had the opportunity to study at Garreg Mach before settling down), so as far as she was concerned he was a decent option. And her family was really happy about the prospect, she comes from a minor noble family, so moving up to one of the big names was a huge deal, not to mention they’re a family with a crest!
There actually was a time they were happy together. They were never in love, but they had a mutual respect for the other and cared deeply for them. They’d have these in depth intellectual conversations, and Waldemar was surprised that Adelheid could competently challenge him on many of his beliefs. And Adelheid liked that Waldemar respected her enough to seek out her opinion on these matters. In fact, there was even a time he was invested in her research. But then he started hearing whispers around the palace, people talking about how strange his wife was and disrespecting their relationship. When he brought this up to Adelheid, she wasn’t sure why it should matter if they were happy, plus they had a new born baby boy she had to focus her energy on. But Waldemar wanted to save face, so he begged her to act more like a noble woman in public, and in private they could keep things how they were. She agreed and tried her best to fit in to make him happy, but she just wasn’t good at playing that role and people still gossiped. This eventually led to a heated argument, with Waldemar asking her why she couldn’t just be more like Countess Bergliez (he was always jealous of their relationship, she seemed like the perfect noble woman and always stood by her husband). Adelheid never recovered from this. That’s when she began avoiding Waldemar and any noble obligation whenever possible, focusing purely on her own studies. She even hired nannies to focus on raising her son, they didn’t start bonding more until Linhardt was a little older. One of his most vivid memories of his mom is her telling him he needs to pursue his dreams now and not put his life on hold for anyone else.
Oh and remember how Linhardt talked about his dad potentially having another kid or adopting one to replace Linhardt as an heir? Well this wasn’t based on nothing. As Linhardt got older, Waldemar became anxious about his ability to fill his father’s shoes so he brought up the idea of a second child to Adelheid. She promptly shut it down. He tried a lot to convince her but she didn’t even want the first child and she was done compromising her life for those around her. She didn’t bother arguing with him though, it was a waste of her energy. She just said no and walked away, and at this point she was pretty good at avoiding Waldemar anyways.
Helene Dominic always grew up wanting more. She wasn’t allowed to pursue an education or a career, her family was very traditional after all. So she spent a lot of her time honing her domestic skills, in fact she prides herself on being one of the best chefs in all of Fodlan, and no one in her family would disagree. She likes to be experimental in the kitchen, it’s a small outlet for her to get out her desire for adventure and new things, and unlike her daughter her new recipes usually turn out extremely good. She’s gotten cooking down to a science and she’s a darn good scientist.
Because her opportunities were so limited, she wanted Annette to grow up with a world of opportunities. Yes, she wants to teach Annette to be a good wife (in Helene’s eyes that’s still an important skill to be successful as a Fhaergan woman) but Annette also deserves to get the best education possible and fulfill her dreams. When Annette was little, Helene made a point to read to her every day, specifically seeking out stories with female heroes and telling Annette “look that could be you.” When she ran out of stories like that, she just resorted to making her own stories. She actually got really passionate about it, while none of her stories are published, she learned how to write, illustrate, and bind books so Annette could have a copy of all the childhood stories her mom made.
Once Annette left for school, and with Gustave already being gone, Helene fell into a little bout of depression. She had wrapped so much of her identity up in being a mom and a wife, and now she no longer needed to fill those roles, or at the very least they weren’t all day tasks. One day, however, she reads in one of her dear daughters many (very lengthy and hard to follow) letters about her school’s library and how amazing it is. This sparks an idea in Helene’s mind, and she decides to set up a library in Dominic territory. At first, it’s very difficult for her. She never learned all the skills needed to accomplish a public works project. But with intense dedication and the help of other nobles she knows, she’s eventually able to accomplish it.
Thinking about how Dimitri’s little comment here was likely an intentional effort to get Dedue to open up more. Considering Dedue’s core interest in cooking, Dimitri’s likely wished to start an engaging, personalised conversation, drawing from his own survival training to compensate for his lack of cooking knowledge. Dimitri’s shown to take interest in Dedue’s micro-expressions to help them connect more (such as during dinner cutscenes) and expresses an immediate desire for a more casual, friendly relationship in their early supports. And hey, maybe he heard about how Ashe and Dedue bonded over their cookery. Perhaps a little of his own small talk regarding niche culinary exploits would be a perfect opportunity to see Dedue’s stone-faced-facade finally crack…
And it worked. He did get Dedue to open up…
…by the poor guy exhaustedly telling weed-eater what a total dumbass he is being.
Henrietta Goneril is constantly thought of as one of the most beautiful women in all of Leicester. Before settling down with Duke Goneril, she was a highly desired Bachelorette and got many marriage proposals. She always did love a big strong man though, and Duke Goneril’s pink hair was so adorable (and of course there was a big financial incentive) that Henrietta knew he was the man for her. Despite how desirable she was though, Henrietta actually got married old by noble woman standards. She’s always had a love for traveling and art and she made it her goal to visit the most beautiful destinations in every territory before settling down.
Growing up so desired, however, left Henrietta a very entitled person. She has things to do, places to be, parties to attend, she doesn’t have time for these menial tasks. And unlike Hilda she doesn’t bother charming her other people into doing her work. In her mind she’s a powerful woman and her time is precious so it’s a given that others will “help” her.
As for her relationship with Hilda, she severely spoiled her. She always wanted a daughter, in fact she cried when she realized her first child would be a boy, so when Hilda finally came she bought her all the cutest clothes and made sure she always had everything she wanted. She definitely told Holst it was his responsibility to protect his baby sister. Her and Hilda would constantly have silly little tea parties with Hilda’s abundance of dolls. And Henrietta even bought Hilda a real porcelain tea set for these games! And if it broke? No worries, we can just buy a new one. She was also one of those moms that viewed her kids as perfect little angels who could do no wrong. And NO ONE could discipline her kids. All little Hilda has to do was shed one tear after getting in trouble for spilling her drink all over another noble woman’s brand new dress and Henrietta was instantly swooping in to save her precious daughter.
I was inspired by my Dorogrid post to start a little series analyzing different characters and who they show romantic attraction towards in order to figure out the traits (physical and personality) that they value in a partner, and I decided to start with one of my favorites. For this series, I will not be analyzing every character they have a romantic end card with because three houses has a habit of pairing up random male and female characters. So for Dorothea, here are the characters I’ll be including in my analysis:
Petra, Edelgard, Ingrid, Ferdie, Sylvain, and Hubert
Physical Appearance
If you asked Dorothea her type she’s say she thinks all women are beautiful and all men are hideous. Which is… kinda true. In all seriousness, we’ll need to talk about men and women separately for this.
So does Dorothea think all women are beautiful? I mean honestly kinda yes, but that doesn’t mean she finds them all attractive. For the women she’s attracted to, she tends to prefer more toned/muscular women. I know all the three houses women have very similar body types, but let’s use our imagination for little bit. Edelgard, Petra, and Ingrid are all women who use actual weapons for physical combat so they’d all be more muscular than Dorothea and she’d love that. She also loves seeing them freshly after their work outs and being all, "oh dear you look tired, could I get you some water?" She likes longer hair too, it’s not a deal breaker by any means, she still thinks post time skip Ingrid is beautiful, but she likes being able to play with her girlfriend's hair and help her style it.
For men I imagine she’s very picky. Like in general you have to be the top 1% of men for her to consider you attractive. I think she tends to like a Prince Charming kind of aesthetic in her men, which fits Ferdinand and Sylvain very well. Obviously Hubert sticks out here, but I don't think any feelings she has towards him would be based on physical attraction which I will expand on later.
Personality
Okay let's get the obvious out of the way. Dorothea wants a partner with money, we all know this, it's essential to her character struggle. But it's also been talked about to death so I won't dwell on it too long since I don't have anything unique to add.
A big trait Dorothea values in a partner is loyalty. Growing up, her only family member was her mom, who died when she was young and her father had no issue casting aside his own family. The first 'relationships' she ever had experience with were with the noble men who pursued her when she was in the opera, and the word relationship is used lightly here. They would use her then move on. When she was young, she was naive enough to think that maybe she actually meant something to one of these men, but as she's gotten older she's realized this is a common occurrence, that noble men use and discard young women, and this is one of the core tenants of her insecurities. She wants a relationship she can feel secure in, so when she sees signs that someone is loyal, it piques her interest. It makes her think well maybe they could be a good partner. And in a way, all the characters she ends up with show great loyalty to something. Edelgard and Ingrid are loyal to their ideals, Petra is loyal to her country, Ferdinand is loyal to his position/duty, Hubert is loyal to Edelgard, and Sylvain...Well he's an outlier I'll talk about later but despite being generally disloyal he does at least display a great deal of loyalty to Felix so obviously it's something he's capable of.
Dorothea also like people who are stronger than her and people who command authority. Again, she's seeking security in her relationship. There is so much uncertain about the world so having a partner that can make her feel safe and protected is so important to her. In the chapter 12 explore dialogue, she gains support points with Byleth when she asserts that you guys will not lose the war, not when you share in her worries and same with the chapter 16 explore. She already knows about the things that can go wrong, she wants a partner who will take control of the situation and make her feel safe.
As for her role in a relationship, Dorothea loves to spoil her partner. Many of her supports revolve around her trying to spoil her partner. She wants to write Edelgard an opera, she wants to help style Ingrid, she wants to help Petra stay connected to her culture. To be honest, she doesn't spoil her male support partners as much. I think this is because she's been so burned by male nobles, she by default doesn't really view them as worthy of her attention/energy. However, if a noble man does manage to capture her attention and earn her love, she will start to spoil him.
Relationships
In this section I will focus on exploring her potential pairings and how I see their relationships evolving. Some ships get less detailed write ups so I apologize in advance if you like these ships, but there are some whose dynamics I don't care for as much so I have less thoughts on.
Edelgard: I mean, talk about stability, right? At least from the eyes of a pre time skip commoner. Edelgard is literally set to hold the most important position in the entire empire. Something about Edelgard is able to quickly draw Dorothea in during the academy phase. She isn't sure exactly what it is, maybe it's Edelgard's strong conviction or the air of confidence, or maybe the fact that she has such an ethereal beauty. Either way, Dorothea does allow herself to get wrapped up in the fantasy of being married to the emperor for just one day, before deciding to be more realistic. As she gets to know Edelgard better though, it's harder to fight the feelings. Who would've thought Dorothea could meet a noble so invested in the plight of the commoners that she was willing to throw her life away for it? Not to mention, Edelgard's good at helping Dorothea feel safe despite the danger she knows they're in. And she loves flustering Edelgard, she thinks it's adorable to see Edelgard get bright red.
Petra: Dorothea's initially drawn to Petra because they're both outsiders in a way to the Black Eagle class. Sure, Petra may be a princess, but she isn't treated as one. So they become quick friends, as they both feel that they can just be themselves around each other. They don't need to stress about other's judging them, and this is one of the few times they can be open about their issues with Adrestia's politics. When Byleth decides to have the two of them participate in the mock battle together in the first month, Petra is the one who promises to protect Dorothea. In fact, she even offers to teach Dorothea how to sneak around like a proper warrior. And these lessons are what allows Dorothea to hide out after a particularly intense encounter before rejoining the battle, and she thanks Petra as being the only reason she made it to the end. They continue their platonic relationship, until one day Petra saves Dorothea mid battle. And Dorothea isn't going to have any crazy fantasies about this, but were Petra's arms always that toned? And how is her hair always perfectly braided? This really is something out of a fairy tale. Dorothea sometimes subtly floats the idea out in front of Petra, trying to gauge if Petra even would date a woman, but either Petra isn't able to pick up what Dorothea's laying down, or she just doesn't feel the same. Either way, Dorothea doesn't want to ruin the friendship so she just lets her feelings sit, swearing not to act on them. That is, until the war starts. Dorothea doesn't know if she'll ever see Petra again, after all Dorothea wouldn't blame her for going back to Brigid. So before storming/defending Garreg Mach (depending on the route), Dorothea confesses her feelings. And Petra feels the same. They share the most magical kiss Dorothea's ever had, but are rushed off into battle too quickly. They then go five years without seeing each other, but when they reunite it's like no time has passed at all. They fill each other in on all the happenings and, huh, Petra hasn't mentioned any romance in past five years... And while Dorothea's pondering what this means, Petra flat out says that she wants to continue things with Dorothea. And while it's difficult to give their relationship the time it deserves during the war, they make time for each other. And one day, as the end of the war is nearing, Petra wonders if maybe Dorothea would perhaps be interested in living in Brigid? And of course Dorothea says yes. She has no love for Fodlan, so being whisked off to a foreign land by a beautiful princess is a dream come true for her!
Ingrid: I think Dorothea falls for Ingrid quicker than the other ladies, I mean Dorothea's physical attraction does play a role in their whole support chain. When Dorothea sees Ingrid for the first time, it stops her in her tracks. Ingrid is such a natural beauty, even without spending all this time on makeup and hair like Dorothea does. And to Dorothea, this seems like a sign that Ingrid is confident and comfortable in her skin. As far as nobles go, Ingrid is one that's easier to talk to. Despite her status, Ingrid's family is also poor. Ingrid can understand a lot of the struggles Dorothea has, she's gone to bed hungry and dealt with less than kind noble men for the sake of her future. So there's a sense of understanding between them. But Dorothea also feels a sense of sadness. They both need to marry for money, how could a relationship ever work between them? If they choose different sides during the war, romance never ends up blossoming between them. But in a CF time line, they begin to find even more comfort in each other. They make fun of the nobles complaining about the war rations, after all this is still more food than they were used to eating on a good day. And Ingrid is able to confide in Dorothea about her fears in fighting her family and her homeland. Eventually, these women just can't deny their attraction anymore and anyways, they don't know if they're going to live another day so worrying about financial security can wait until after the war, right? But of course, their relationship persists after the war. They've both achieved higher positions afterwards giving them more individual security and after their shared experiences, they decide that living a less lavish lifestyle is worth it to be together.
Ferdinand: Honestly, the only man I could see Dorothea actually living happily ever after with. Of course, their relationship pre time skip is very rocky. Dorothea starts feeling a little inkling of attraction towards Ferdinand at the White Heron ball. He just treats all the women he dances with with such respect, and he looks dazzling. And he has been working so hard to earn her respect... But no, she tells herself, he only respects these women because they're also nobles. And he only asked her to dance with him to try and win her over. I mean, why didn't he dance with Leonie? Oh sure, he'll say it's because he didn't know her then instantly run to dance with her, but that'll just be to save face. Dorothea knows his intentions. But then next month Petra told Dorothea about how Ferdinand was worried about her safety and encouraged her to go back to Brigid. Well that's thoughtful... No, no it isn't. He's just worried about a scandal if the princess of Brigid dies in the empire's care. And this kind of thought process goes on and on, until they all separate before the war. Then, after five years, everyone returns to the academy. And she sees someone with the most gorgeous hair and...no way, that's Ferdinand? And him and Dorothea get talking and Ferdinand is actually willing to get behind Edelgard's cause. And the way he wants to right his father's wrongs, well it's all very admirable. He is so dedicated to proving that he can still do good, despite his family's reputation. And he's advocating for the commoner's to receive a formal education? It still takes Dorothea a while after the war to admit her feelings, in fact the two get together relatively late in life by Fodlan standards. But once they do admit their feelings, they have such a whirlwind romance and it seems like you blink and now they're happily married with kids.
Hubert: Dorothea has absolutely no interest in Hubert pre-time skip. He's just...not her type. He's kind of weird looking and he's a little scary, but her and Edelgard are such good friends and Edelgard always insists on having Hubert around so Dorothea accepts his presence. As they spend some more time together, she actually starts to enjoy him company, but there's still no actual attraction pre time skip (not even thinly veiled attraction Dorothea's scared to admit, like he's just a bro). Post-time skip, Dorothea's lost so much, she's seen so many people die and Hubert's been a nice constant in her life. She starts thinking his sickly rat look is kind of cute, and oh my God this war is definitely making her go crazy. But Hubert cares for Edelgard so much, and she just wishes she could have someone care for her that way. When she floats around the idea of marriage in their A support, it is something she's genuinely interested in. As much as I do think Dorobert has some cute potential though, I don't think this would work out in the long run. I think after the war, when Dorothea gets more stability and forms relationships where the other isn't always dying, her feelings for Hubert will eventually fade away. He has so many commitments now anyways and they don't talk nearly as much, and there's just other people she's more drawn to. But I could see a scenario where they decide to get married soon after the war, Dorothea knowing Hubert will always keep her safe and Hubert knowing Dorothea is very dedicated to his cause. And I do think they can live a happy life this way, even if it isn't a fairy tale romance like Dorothea may have wanted at first.
Sylvain: Fair warning, I am a Dorovain hater so if you like Dorovain you probably won't like my write up of their relationship. But basically, you know those situations when you fall head over heels for a guy that just kinda sucks and all your friends tell you he sucks and you should move on but you just can't for some reason? That's how I view Dorovain. I know they have a sweet ending card but I just don't really see that actually happening because I don't think Sylvain has done the work to be that man. I think Dorothea is eventually drawn in by his good looks and his sweet talking, and Edelgard is telling her how stupid it is to get involved with this man, but she does it anyways. I'm sorry Dorovain shippers, I'm not going to be writing out a paragraph about how their romance evolves because in my eyes it really is as simple as that, but if you enjoy Dorovain to each their own!
Adelheid von Hevring is the countess of Hevring territory, wife to Waldemar, and mother to Linhardt. She is viewed by many as a peculiar woman, she never had much concern for her physical appearance. Save for her hair. She has the signature green hair of those in Hevring territory, although slightly darker than the rest of her family’s, that reaches to her waist and she enjoys elaborately styling. She was actually the one who pushes for Linhardt to have long hair growing up and she spent a lot of time fussing over how it looked.
But she’s peculiar in ways other than looks. She doesn’t care much for politics and rarely attends balls with her husband, after all she hates going through the charades of social niceties.
Speaking of her husband, she never wanted to marry Waldemar. She doesn’t hate him, he typically lets her do her own thing, but she had no interest in this life style and only did it to make her parents happy. They don’t spend much time together nowadays, in fact Countess Hevring’s sleep schedule closely matches Linhardt’s, although for different reasons. She realized early on that if she stayed up into the early hours of the morning and slept during the day, hers and Waldemar’s sleep schedules would be opposite and she’d never have to share a bed.
She likes to spend a lot of time locked away in a little study she set up for herself. She always loved plants and had originally seen herself becoming a horticulturist. She always dreamed of finding ways to modify plants to make them more abundant or more nutritious, but the chances of her being able to do that became very slim once she married a noble and had other responsibilities. That’s why she’s so insistent to Linhardt that he follow his own passions and not worry about what society wants from him, she doesn’t want Linhardt to make the same mistake she did.
