Sibling dynamics are kind of an untapped gold mine in media. Relationships between siblings can be so weird. We experienced the same childhood but in very different ways. I helped raise you. You helped raise me. You’re the only person I’ve ever really punched. You drive me fucking crazy but if anyone ever hurt you I’d chase them to the ends of the earth. You’re the only one who understands what it was like to see our parents slowly come to hate one another. Stop stealing my fucking socks.
Harbinger names and the Commedia dell’arte Analysis (Part 5: Arlecchino)
So I did an analysis a long time ago regarding this very subject which can be read here, but since then more information has come out, so I wanted to revisit this topic. This analysis will be more in depth than my previous one, and I’m going to take this Harbinger by Harbinger, starting with Pierro and going down the list in order of rank. This series will also contain a fair bit of theorizing due to the fact we haven’t actually met a fair number of the Harbingers in the Genshin Impact Storyline yet. Each post will also start with a brief explanation of the Commedia dell’arte and the role the harbinger’s title usually fills. As such, due to length and fears of potential spoilers, the rest will be under the cut. I hope you enjoy.
So, real quick, the commedia dell’arte is a very early form of professional theatre, that involved specific stock character roles which are largely reflected by the Fatui harbingers via their titles/codenames. Notably, the story of these plays always revolves around two actors that are not reflected by the Harbingers, the Innamorati (lovers), whom the story follows. Our Harbingers are found within the other three classes of actors though. The Zanni, which are the lower class (the harbingers from this group are Pierro, Pulcinella, Scaramouche, Tartaglia [sometimes], Arlecchino, and Columbina); the Vecchi, which are often wealth and/or older characters (Pantalone and Dottore); and the Il Capitano, who are self-styled captains and braggarts (Capitano himself, La Signora, and sometimes the Scaramouche character).
Our Arlecchino, The Knave, is Rank #4 of the Harbingers. This is, in and of itself, automatically interesting since the Arlecchino stock character, often better known as the Harlequin, is arguably the most famous of the commedia dell’arte characters. As such, if we go by the commedia dell’arte, one might have expected the Genshin Arlecchino to have a higher rank. But I digress.
The Arlecchino stock character is yet another one of the Zanni, or comedic servant, characters that make up a large portion of the commedia dell’arte plays. He is easily recognizable in his more modern version by his checkered suit. This character is typically light-hearted, astute, and nimble along with being a fan-favorite. He acts against his master’s wishes and pursues his own love interest, usually the Columbine character, with both wit and resourcefulness. Notably, he often competes with the more melancholic and stern Pierrot character on this front.
Physical agility was an important part of the Arlecchino stock character and was one of the things he was best known for. The character would sometimes range between dim-witted to an intelligent trickster depending on the needs of the play, but the Arlecchino was always nimble and acrobatic in his motions.
Arlecchino’s romance with Columbine is often a large part of the play, as added drama, but he would sometimes pursue the Innamorata (female lover), though he was never successful. Either way, romance is a large part of this character, though not in the same way it is for the Innamorati. Indeed, the Innamorati romance was often very PG and innocent while the Arlecchino’s might be more sexual in nature.
Notably, there is an early version of the Arlecchino character in which he was more cowardly, superstitious, and plagued by an eternal lack of food and/or money. However, this role did not stick and he became the amorous character that is recognized in later commedia dell’arte plays.
It is worth mentioning here that the Arlechinno character is described as going from incredible flashes of brilliance to intense moments of stupidity in even the later variants of the character. Furthermore, while he antagonizes his master, he typically also fears them.
Our Arlecchino at first only seems to fit the stock character in that she is very nimble and acrobatic in her motions. Furthermore, she comes across as both very astute and resourceful. However, she appears to wholly lack the amorous nature of the later Arlecchino stock characters. As for the early Arlecchino variants, it can be argued that our Arlecchino is somewhat superstitious, in her utter (and admittedly well-placed) faith in the prophecy even early in the Fontaine archon question. Similarly, it can be argued that she shows a mild degree of cowardice and/or astute decision-making in her outright refusal to confront Wriothesley, opting to instead avoid him by sending Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet to the Fortress regardless of the risk this put them in.
It can also be argued that our Arlecchino does slip between intelligence and ignorance. Indeed, she outright called Furina out on not having a plan which, at least initially, made very good sense and was very fair. But then, upon reaching the end of the Fontaine archon quest, it became painfully clear that Arlecchino, and pretty much the entire rest of the Fontaine cast including Traveler, had been wrong about Furina. As such, it could be argued that while our Arlecchino is often portrayed to know a fair bit about the broader scheme of things, this may not always be the case. Indeed, it may be the case that she often knows similar amounts to the rest of the cast and simply seems to know more than that. However, it will be interesting to see if this is the case for her future appearance in Nod-Krai.
There is the question of who our Arlecchino’s master might be as well. The most obvious choice is the Tsaritsa, which could be interesting if Arlecchino antagonizes her in some way while also fearing her to a degree. Additionally, Arlecchino’s relationship to Columbina will be very telling as that is a major part of the Arlecchino's stock character’s role. Indeed, it is due to that relationship that the stock character Arlecchino is put at odds with the Pierrot. As such, Columbina may hold a very large decision making role in how the interactions between Pierro and our Arlecchino go. It is possible that the events of the upcoming Nod-Krai story will result in friction between Arlecchino and Pierrot, though it is currently impossible to say.
Finally, as a small aside, if we say our Arlecchino will pursue the Innamorata (female lover) character instead of Columbina, the question becomes who is this Innamorata? So far, it does not appear to be Traveler or anyone else. However, as Lyney is portrayed as somewhat flirtatious and appears to be headed towards taking over the House of the Hearth in Arlecchino’s story quest, it could be argued that he will be filling the more amorous role of the Arlechino stock character than our Harbinger Arlecchino. In which case, the Innamorata could be Traveler since Lyney is noted push for an at least somewhat favorable relationship with Traveler. However, this is something else that is largely just theoretical at best due to lack of information regarding who our Innamorati might be.
I would love to hear other’s thoughts on this entire situation with Genshin Harbingers vs. their Commedia Dell’Arte counterparts, and where Genshin writers might take these characters in the future, so feel free to comment and share!
A cat is a small creature in the middle of the food chain that is fully aware that you are a very large thing that could stomp its head in at any moment and yet it chooses to rest its tiny little head on your leg for a nap and spreads out on the floor near you exposing its belly and its most sensitive organs. It brings dead mice and bugs to you to share food.
Don’t you get it? This tiny thing trusts you. It wants to help you too. It licks your leg thinking that it’s helping. It kneads on you to find comfort. It shares its body warmth with you in the cold and gives you your space in the heat. It hisses at other mammals it sees outside including other cats in an effort to protect its family.
Cats love you so so much. But they will keep trying to eat plastic.
i hate it when you're heating something up in the microwave and it starts to go snap crackle pop so you take it out but it's still completely cold. shut up then??
the idea that people have romantic attraction to people who aren’t their friends is so weird to me. i dont even know if i like you as like a person why would i want to play boyfriends with you
the idea that people could have romantic attraction to people who are their friends is also weird to me. Like wdym you wanna play boyfriends we know each other. Your making things weird bro
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