Analysis Of The Lucky Charm Bracelets
Awhile ago, I did some in-depth research on the meanings behind the lucky charm bracelets. Honestly, I still can’t get over how these bracelets perfectly embody certain aspects to the characters and thematic elements of the show.
Starting off with the bracelet that Marinette gave Adrien in Gamer.
The four-leaf clover on the green central bead…oh wait…did I say four-leaf clover? Don’t I mean a green flower? Well…well…
It’s actually a common misconception that the design on a bead is a green flower. But if you look more closely, it’s a four-leaf clover. What is meant to be the fifth petal, is actually the stem of the four leaf clover.
Although, even if it was a green flower, it wouldn’t really matter much as both have very similar symbolic meanings.
We all know what four-leaf clovers are famously known for. They represent hope, love and luck.
Wait a second. Don’t ladybugs also represent love and luck? That is very intentional and sneaky. Holding connotations of good luck immediately link the bracelet for what it is: a “lucky” charm bracelet. It can be also linked to Marinette in a form due to having similar connotations with ladybugs.
Moving on to the colour scheme of this bracelet. It’s mainly pink and green: look at the what these colours represent…
Pink: sensitivity, feminism, positivity, tenderness, care, love and compassion.
Green: creativity, productivity, practicality and ambition.
These characteristics clearly represent Marinette as a person. These are very vivid characteristics that I’d link with Marinette as a person. And what is interesting is that pink seems more Marinette whereas green seems more Ladybug. The bracelet represents both sides of her mask to represent her as a person. Even though, I mentioned that each colour prominently presents one side of the mask, it’s still very important to note that Marinette is as much as green as Ladybug and Ladybug is as much as pink as Marinette. They’re the same person. The reason why some characteristics are more apparent in one side than the other is due to the differing situation: it’s not because Marinette changes when she becomes Ladybug. She is Ladybug. She acts differently based on situation so some of her characteristics shine more than others according to situation. However, Marinette can be creative, productive, practical and ambitious as herself too, and Ladybug can be tender, compassionate and loving as well. They’re the same person. All these characteristics portray Marinette/Ladybug in a wholistic manner.
Coming to the bracelet that Adrien gave Marinette.
The most prominent charm on the bracelet is a golden goose.
The symbolism for this comes from the popular idiom “kill the goose that lays golden eggs”. This originates from a popular fable. One which I think most of us know or at least heard of. Well, I definitely know it.
Anyways, the idiom pretty much means getting rid of something that is profitable to you/performing a short-sighted action that destroys something precious to you. This does represent destruction and loss…but it’s very ambiguous…and interesting. It doesn’t stand for destruction in its own. It stand for destruction out of doing something out of greed/short-sightedness that causes the loss of something very precious.
Now…now…it’s blatantly obvious that the creators did their research into these bracelets whilst designing them. Why use something so ambiguous and complicated like a golden goose as a charm in this bracelet and use something as obvious as a four-leaf clover in the previous one. The golden goose isn’t as obvious. Why use it? Plus, if it’s a popular idiom only described to refer to destruction in a certain situation. Why not use a universal symbol for destruction?
I remember reading an analysis about the tests in the origins.
https://sairenharia.tumblr.com/post/154979642749/the-tests-in-origins
Destruction is a dangerous power. And it can be used terribly in the wrong hands. As mentioned, Adrien’s test included him choosing between desire and heroism. What he wants vs what is right. In that situation, he chose heroism.
That’s why I think there’s a very particular reason why they don’t use a more universal symbol for destruction but rather using destruction in the appropriate and right way.
The Black Cat wielder cannot afford to destroy something out of greed or short-sightedness otherwise it could lead to the loss of something very precious. And when you’re the hero of destruction, that’s what you need to make sure of. Miraculous NY already showed as the implications of how dangerous the power of destruction can be. It’s a very difficult power to have. As the Black Cat hero, one slip-up and you’re getting blamed for all the destruction that happened. And we’ve seen that happen in the show. In the New York Special and in Timetagger too. People immediately pinpoint this to Adrien being irresponsible and unworthy of the miraculous which is really irritating as they completely ignore that Marinette has made huge flaws too.
What makes Adrien a hero is that he’s selfless enough to not use his power for the wrong reasons, he’s patient enough to go through all the difficulty his power has put him through (poor Cat getting little recognition yet goes through all of it because he’s used to it) and he’s responsible enough to know that he’s made a mistake (New York Special, Desperada).
All that being said, destruction is represented in a particular manner here, and it ties to Adrien’s responsibility/role as a superhero. Which I’m absolutely loving at the moment.
Pondering away from the charm, let’s move onto the colour scheme.
Blue: loyalty, trust, faith, peacefulness, sorrow, sincerity, and devotion.
Gold: sophistication, courage, compassion and prosperity.
You know what I’m going to say. These characteristics represent Adrien as a person. All these characteristics can be associated with Adrien/Cat Noir as a person. Over here, I feel Adrien is more blue and Cat Noir is more gold. As I mentioned for Marinette, they act differently according to situation, certain characteristics are suppressed according to the situation. As Cat Noir is able to have more freedom than Adrien, he’s less calm and livelier. It is interesting to note that blue holds symbolisms of sorrow whereas gold holds symbolism of success and prosperity. It kind of represents Adrien transforming into Cat Noir, to get away from his sad home life, and be more open. Also, I really really dislike the “Cat Noir is Adrien’s real self” argument. I’m sorry. I’m not a fan. I believe that you are your real self all the time. Just because you’re reserved on one side and open on the other, it doesn’t mean you can’t be your real self. Both sides are accountable to being someone’s real self because they’re the same person dealing with different situations. Just because Adrien’s more suppressed and reserved, it doesn’t mean he’s completely fake in his civilian form. All sides of a person contribute to your real self.
This anticipated to be longer than I thought. I’ve been writing for over an hour. I’m still not done with it.
The bracelets are bound with red string.
In Chinese lore, red string is used to portray two people being tied together, connected by the red string is shown that two people are meant to be.
The “red string of fate” represents soulmates. No surprise there. But the bracelets are these lovely symbolic representations of love in the show. Wholesome.
The first bracelet represents Marinette. Initially, it was hers, it holds her colours, the symbolic meanings represent her. She gives Adrien that bracelet and he wears it every day. He holds something that represents her, and it’s almost like he holds something that is a part of her.
The second bracelet represents Adrien. And he made it for her. It’s the bracelet that hold connotations that represent him. He gave her a part of himself. Now, she carries a part of him too.
Red string of fate. The bracelets are an elaborate symbolic portrayal to show that they’re connected to each other. To explore the meaning of love and connection. I see a lot of posts where people say “Adrien would only like Marinette because she’s Ladybug” and “Marinette would only like Cat because he’s Adrien”. But it’s not as simple as that. It’s complex. The connection they share is complex. By possessing the lucky charm bracelets, a part of each other, it represents that love is a wholistic concept and it’s more complicated than this nonsense where Marinette and Ladybug/Cat Noir and Adrien are treated as two different people. When you feel a connection with someone, you feel it with the entire person, sides don’t exist. You can’t love half a person. That’s such ridiculousness. That is not love. The only reason why Marinette and Cat Noir can’t seem to consider each other is because they just can’t believe they could love each other when they already love Ladybug and Adrien. It’s because they don’t know their identities. Their head defies their heart. Even though, homeboy Adrien gives Marinette goo-goo eyes on a daily basis and Ladybug gets jealous in the presence of every girl Cat interacts with, they can’t seem to accept that with the knowledge that they think they’re different people and they already love “someone else”. The reason why they consider Luka and Kagami when choosing to move on more is because they’re an easier choice than each other. Marinette has denied to be in love with Adrien multiple times. Isn’t that a bit impractical to chase after her? Especially when he hurt her feelings as Cat Noir in Weredad. Plus, with Cat Blanc happening, there’s no way Ladybug’s considering Cat Noir. It just shows that they hold a complex connection with numerous obstacles. The lucky charm bracelets are the wholistic and symbolic version of the connection: where they can see the entire version of each other. However, in reality, due to all the obstacles and complications they still have to work for that.
(And…it’s been too long since I’ve sat here writing this. And I doubt anyone’s going to read this now. I really enjoyed writing this anyhow).
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