Grey Warden Hawke Siblings
Figured I’d follow up on this post with another book lol. I also found it interesting how different the twins were in their responses if they become Grey Wardens. This is also another copy/paste from the same Dragon Age Wiki discussion I linked in the original post.
I don’t fully agree when some people tend to assert that Bethany is “too delicate” for the Wardens as her reason for her complaints. I actually feel like that’s a bit of a disservice to her character arc personally. Bethany and Carver are different people granted, but I never once got the impression that Bethany was “too soft” or “delicate” or “dependent” to be a Warden.
Carver and Bethany have COMPLETELY different desires out of life and that’s the primary reason why they have such opposing reactions to becoming Wardens IMO. Carver wanted to be special and was desperately looking for purpose in his life. He adapts quickly to the Wardens because it’s a place free of political difficulties (Wardens are supposed to be neutral and focused on defeating Darkspawn and the Blight) and a place where he can become the warrior he always wanted to be without worrying about drawing too much attention to his family for being apostate mages and finally have a life outside of elder Hawke’s shadow and he finds purpose and meaning he was desperately craving. With that, he’s able to leave behind that “annoying bitter little brother inferiority complex” that he had beforehand and its apparent that his time with the Wardens has humbled him over the years (he sees it as an honor and a chance to do some good and it’s pretty awesome to see him finally able to devote himself to a cause and get that stick out his butt…).
With Bethany, however, she longed to be “normal” (but later it becomes apparent more if she joins the Circle that “normal” wasn’t really the right word so much as being accepted in a world that fears magic). Being with the Wardens robs her of any real chance of normalcy in almost every way (and coupled with being born a mage in southern Thedas, the part of the world that despises magic and basically takes the opposite extreme with magic that Tevinter does), it’s no small wonder that she sees her fate in life as a Warden (and being born a mage) as nothing more than a cruel joke.
A lot of people that played Origins (myself included) tend to see the Wardens through rose tinted glasses and think it’s totally awesome IMO because that game made being a Warden feel like a cool fantasy hero journey. In between Blights, however (which is when Bethany/Carver join), that’s very much not the case and when one stops to really think about it, life as a Warden really does suck.
A Warden has to cut all ties to their previous life (and being a warden essentially robs anyone of the chance for any modicum of normal life), become tainted by Darkspawn blood, forever plagued by dreams of the Archdemon (and Bethany is stated to be one of the more sensitive ones so she’ll probably have trouble sleeping for the rest of her life) spend the rest of their lives hunting down Darkspawn raids for a world that will never truly thank them, next to impossible to have children and all they have to look forward to is either the Calling (die young) or turning into a ghoulish being like we see with Larius….Not to mention that Hawke went into the Deep Roads just like she did and s/he came out of it just fine while she nearly died and was forced to change into something unnatural to survive and they weren’t….yeah, I think Bethany has more than enough reason to be pissed off and depressed in that scenario. Not everyone wants to be a hero or badass warrior (make no mistake though, Bethany still can kick a lot of ass) and I think Bethany took after her father on that front (hell, he just wanted to be normal and free too lol).
That’s why I personally don’t think it’s as good of a fate for Bethany anyway (or anyone if I’m being honest but at least Carver finds meaning in it even if he’ll suffer the same consequences all Wardens do too). Her being in the Wardens does add a different feel to her relationship with her elder sibling that can be interesting granted (the whole sibling resentment angle thing and it makes Varric and Isabela’s nicknames of “Sunshine” and “Sweetness” pretty tragically ironic later and that can be pretty appealing in some ways), but I like the idea of her being free and untainted by the end of DA2 because I tend to side with mages anyway and the transition into the life of a Warden for Bethany is just less natural and overall less rewarding to her (similarly to how Carver is on the Templar path compared to the Wardens). Not to mention:
SPOILERS FOR DRAGON AGE INQUISITION AND TRESPASSER
In light of Dragon Age Inquisition and Trespasser, if one plays their cards right, with Leliana as Divine Victoria, and with certain other choices in the game (mage allies), the Circles of Magi can be dissolved and Circle Bethany can finally have her freedom and acceptance she’s long for alongside her elder sibling (provided they weren’t sacrificed in the Fade), especially with Varric becoming Viscount of Kirkwall, her elder sibling being the Champion and Bethany being a very respected mage in her own right (I could easily see her being the new First Enchanter sort of character while helping the world to better trust mages and magic)….yeah it takes a bit but she can have a very happy ending after its all said and done…but regardless of which sibling people prefer, I hope we see more of them in future Dragon Age games.
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