Elena Gilbert (A Defense)
(Not written by me, the original post is here by dreamywriter19). I found this last night and had to share because I agree whole heartedly.)
This essay wasn’t in my plans to write. When I stopped watching The Vampire Diaries back in season 3, due to the absolutely abysmal treatment the female characters/POC/family relationships/friendships get, it was with the intention to never look back. But alas, I couldn’t stop being invested in certain characters, and when season 4 started and there was a flood of TVD on my tumblr dash and a fresh wave of criticism for my favorite character ensued, my protective Elena fan ways kicked right back in.
Thank God for tumblr savior or I would have cracked months ago.
Anyhow. The point of this post is to add my own two cents to the discussion regarding Elena Gilbert and the person that she is. I’d also like to add that, while I did my best to steer away from criticizing other characters here, I do have my opinions and preferences and I did not try to hide it.
The way I see it, Elena is one of the most complex, complicated, misunderstood characters in the show- though I’m pretty sure that’s not what the writers intended. At this point in time, I’d say that I love her despite what the writers are doing, not because of it. Judging from the few interviews I read before despairing and deciding to focus on the actual narrative instead of what the writers say, JP and Co. want Elena to be the quintessential good girl: compassionate beyond belief, the perfect daughter, the perfect friend, but most importantly, the perfect girlfriend. When she makes a mistake or does something selfish, we’re supposed to find justifications instead of accepting it as what it is and moving on.
Perhaps it comes as a real shock to them that even her hardcore fans see Elena as anything but perfect.
She has flaws, a lot of them. She can be self-centered, she can be manipulative (though I’m not entirely sure that this one is actually a flaw, more on that later), she can be selfish. She also has strong points. She’s strong, she can be selfless to shocking extremes, she loves her family and friends (again, I base this opinion on what I’ve seen, not what the writers try to sell).
I was going through my livejournal friends page a few days ago when I stumbled upon a review of TVD. Though I often disagree with this girl’s interpretation of Elena, there is one thing that I believe she nailed head on: Elena doesn’t know who she is anymore. She did once, pre parents’ death, and as much as a sixteen year old girl can truly know herself. But now she’s floundering, questioning who she is. She doesn’t know what kind of vampire she is. She’s even rethinking what kind of person she is. With any luck, and on a different show, that would lead her to questioning what kind of person she wants to be and acting upon it. But alas, this is The Vampire Diaries and its writers are known for denying their female characters all and any kind of agency.
Moving on.
When the show first started, we were introduced to this girl who had just lost both her parents and almost her life as well. The trauma this caused her isn’t touched upon until seasons later, but it’s logical to assume that there was more to her grief than she let on. What we did see, immediately upon seeing her for the first time, is that she was determined to put up a strong front for the world. Being perceived as weak is one of Elena’s biggest fears, as we see time and time again. She wants to be strong. She wants to be independent. And most of the time, she truly is. But that is in spite of the part of Elena that is still the scared teenage girl who lost her parents and wants someone to take the pain away. She won’t admit it even to herself, she will fight tooth and nail to prove herself independent, but part of her wants someone to protect her. But, and this is what stands out to me, she won’t let herself be dissuaded from fighting because of it. She will stand tall, thrust up her chin and do what needs to be done. Every single time, emotional stability be damned.
But it goes further than that. I’ve often wondered if Elena suffers from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as a result from the car accident, and if that was only enhanced by everything that happened after that. The symptoms from PTSD are as follows:
· Persistent re-experiencing: One or more of these must be present in the victim: flashback memories, recurring distressing dreams, subjective re-experiencing of the traumatic event(s), or intense negative psychological or physiological response to any objective or subjective reminder of the traumatic event(s). [Remember when Bonnie and she almost crashed? Elena’s reaction, I think, was very telling.]
· Persistent avoidance and emotional numbing: This involves a sufficient level of:
o avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, such as certain thoughts or feelings, or talking about the event(s). [Elena hardly ever discussed the accident. She only ever told Stefan about it.]
o avoidance of behaviors, places, or people that might lead to distressing memories as well as the disturbing memories, dreams, flashbacks, and intense psychological or physiological distress; [She isolated herself from large chunks of her old life: cheerleading, Caroline and Matt are the ones that come to mind]
o inability to recall major parts of the trauma(s), or decreased involvement in significant life activities; [See above]
o decreased capacity (down to complete inability) to feel certain feelings;
o an expectation that one’s future will be somehow constrained in ways not normal to other people.
I don’t know about you, but this reeks of Elena Gilbert to me.
This is further emphasized because Elena never did have time to recover from all of it when she was made aware of the existence of vampires, then both she and her brother were almost killed (by Vicky), then all her friends were in the verge of dying, then she met her bio mother who turns out to be an evil vampire, then one of her best friends became a vampire, then Damon effectively murdered her brother, then Jenna almost died, then she found out that she was, quite literally, born to die, as well as being the reason many of her friends had to die right along with her, and then… And then. There’s always another ‘and then’ with her. And yet she picks herself back up every time, dusts herself off and moves on. She doesn’t hold grudges, even on the occasions when I personally think that she should. Instead, she clings to the one thing that makes her feel safe (Stefan and now Damon) and she trusts them to stay alive no matter what, to not die on her the way everyone else seems to do.
Elena Gilbert as a friend
I’ve read so many people claim that Elena is not a good friend. That she is, in fact, horrible to Bonnie and Caroline. I understand where these people are coming from, I do. I cannot begin to tell you how much and for how long I have wanted a scene where Elena thanks them for always being there for her. Or even where she takes the reins and organizes a girls night out so that they can all relax from their insane lives. Clearly friendship isn’t the writers’ main strength or interest, as you might have gathered from the somewhat big-ish amount of love triangles (yes, that was sarcasm) we have had in this show, so I’m resigned to never getting what I want in regards to Elena and her friends. But there were examples that have convinced me that Elena truly does, in fact, love her friends.
Let’s start with the obvious one: the sacrifice. I’ve heard people say it was not a selfless move on Elena’s part. That it was an attempt of hers to maintain her humanity while showing that she did not truly care for Caroline or Tyler or Bonnie, because going through with the sacrifice meant endangering them, and the truly selfless thing to do would have been to become a vampire so that there was no sacrifice left to make.
I completely disagree with this perspective.
First of all, Elena was not trying to maintain her humanity, she wasn’t even trying to maintain her life. When she first tried to go to Klaus, she didn’t even know there was such a thing as an elixir. She had no idea that Bonnie would perform a spell to keep her alive. It was a real, no-exit-strategy suicide mission. She was stopped, and yet she kept trying to go to Klaus just so that the people she loved would be safe, regardless of the cost.
Furthermore, Elena heard Katherine’s story. She knew exactly how vindictive Klaus is. If she became a vampire, then her family and friends, hell, the whole town would die anyway and there was nothing she could do. This way, she could try to control the outcome to a more manageable destruction. Because there would be destruction, no matter what, and Elena knew that.
Her negotiation with Elijah comes into play here. Elena negotiated with him, not once, not twice, but three times to ensure her family and friend’s survival. The first time, her success was as much a result of Elijah’s amusement at the novelty she presented as it was of her own accord. The second time is when the stakes raised: she stabbed herself, then stabbed him, so that she could save her friends and family from his wrath after the Salvatores ruined their deal. The third time was a desperate last attempt. By pulling the dagger out she was in double risk of dying- at the hands of Klaus and the hands of Elijah. But she would die either way. This was never about saving her own life, it was saving her loved ones’, most specifically Bonnie’s this time around. She thought she had seen her best friend die for her and she never wanted that to happen again.
I also recall Elena always being the first person to come out and tell their friends not to be too hard on themselves. She did that with Jenna (“It’s not your fault, it’s mine”). She did it with Tyler, though not on so many words; she simply hugged him when he tried to blame himself for being manipulated into telling the werewolf pack her address. She did it with Caroline when she was manipulated by Katherine. She did that with Alaric (“You’re not a mess, Ric, you’re just lost.”). When the writers say that Elena is a compassionate person, I think that’s the only time I agree with them. Because she’s about the most understanding person in the show.
Elena Gilbert as a sister
These are muddy waters and I really do understand why some might think that she does not care about Jeremy or that she does not care about him the way she does Stefan or Damon. She is, after all, very close to the man who murdered him in cold blood right in front of her and she’s still in love with the man who flat out told her he did not care about her brother in S3. She took his right to make his own decisions away from him twice. She also delegated the responsibility of him to Alaric when Jeremy started using drugs again.
But here’s the thing: I believe she loves him. I believed it when she went ballistic on him for doing drugs in the pilot, when she grinned like a fool when she saw him drawing again, and I believed it when she decided to cut Damon out of her life after he snapped her brother’s neck. I hate that she’s close to her brother’s murderer again, I do. But when she started talking to him again, it was out of necessity- to help Stefan or to bring down Klaus. It was just that, at first. Eventually she felt that he proved himself worthy of forgiveness. Do I agree? It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Elena did. I won’t fault her for believing something, regardless of what I think about the matter.
Let’s talk about the compulsions now. Let it be known that I hated the second time she got Jeremy compelled with the fire of several galaxies. It was not her place to decide what was best for her brother, especially because she’s always so adamant about being allowed the right to make her own choices. I don’t know if Jeremy called her out on it later, but if he did, he has my utmost respect for standing up for himself (not that he doesn’t already, but you get the point). But by season 3, Elena was an actual mess. The past year and a half has been hell for her (for all of them, truly, but this essay is Elena-centered, so I’m going to temporarily leave the other characters out), and she had just turned 18. I don’t think I would have made it past Jenna’s death with my sanity intact, I hardly think it’s surprising that Elena is going to crack under all the pressure and end up making mistakes or selfish decisions. And again, I don’t have to agree with everything she does to believe that she is a good person with a fundamentally good heart.
The same goes for asking Alaric to take care of Jeremy. She was exhausted. All her energy was spent in actually getting up every morning. She asked an adult she trusted to take care of her brother because she was simply not strong enough to do it at the moment. I actually think it takes considerable strength to be able to admit that.
Elena Gilbert is the ultimate badass
Every character in the show is badass in their own way, I think, but Elena’s way is one that’s often so understated that people mistake it for weakness. After all, in a world that’s bursting at its seams with vampires and witches and werewolves, what could a simple human girl add to the equation?
A lot.
Elena’s main strength is her intelligence. She has keen observational skills as well, and that, combined with her brains, has gotten her out of tricky situations in such a smooth way that we as viewers are often left wondering what the hell just happened.
Take the way she handled Katherine, for instance. She knew perfectly well that she was no match for a physical fight with a 500 year old vampire, so what did she do? She thought. She picked up a few blood bags and used them in exchange for the information she wanted.
Then there was that one time when the werewolves went after her at the lake house. Even though the guy who tried to kidnap her was not a vampire, he was still a physically strong man who would have easily overpowered her. But alas, Elena used her brain and tricked him.
Again, her time with Elijah becomes relevant. She paid attention and understood what he was not saying, then proceeded to make a deal with him while fooling him into thinking he had fooled her. She lured him into renewing their deal and made sure that he was distracted when she went in for the kill. The episode Klaus is basically an ode to Elena’s intelligence as well. She negotiated with Elijah when things were not at all looking good for her, and yet she came out on top. Why? Because she clicked on what moves to make and what deal he would be most likely to take.
There are more examples. She stalled Elijah when she first met him, too. She used sun to fight off Rose. She delayed the vampire who was after her in episode 1x12 by stabbing him with pencils. She deceived Slater’s vampire-wannabe girlfriend in order to get what she needed to go to Klaus. She retaliated against Damon for killing Jer the only way she could: making sure Damon would know it was Stefan she wanted, not him. Elena Gilbert is a highly intelligent, resourceful woman who thinks quickly and always, always lands on her toes. Does this mean she’s manipulative? Hell yes. But it serves as her main survival tool. And, in my opinion, it makes her the best kind of badass there is.
Anyone who knows me knows that Elena Gilbert is my favorite character in this show. And yet, not everyone knows why. I hope this essay can manage to convey what I see in Elena, all her wonderful qualities that often go unnoticed by the fans. I don’t expect to change anyone’s mind with it, but I do hope I was able to shed some light on this girl’s brain and heart, something that never gets enough focus on the show (let’s not kid ourselves, a lot of screen-time does not equal character development, however much the writers like to pretend otherwise) because it’s too focused on the triangle.
