Three Reasons Why I Love Guy of Gisborne (That Aren’t About His Looks)
There is a popular idea in the RH fandom that people like Guy primarily because Richard Armitage is hot. I’ve had thoughts about this for a while, but I just caught a glimpse of an old post in which that notion plays a prominent role, and thought, what a good way to procrastinate!
I’m not about to argue with the observation that Richard Armitage is good looking, and I don’t think may other Guy fans would. But the idea that this is the main reason why most of us like him is, frankly, wrong. I would argue that it tells us more about the fans making this claim than it does about Guy fans.
The first two are my personal reasons, which others may or may not share, and a final one that I think probably is a popular, if not the most popular, reason.
1. Guy is a “bad” victim. I’m in the middle of reading a Charles Dickens novel right now, and while there’s a lot I love about it, the characters who’ve undergone enormous amounts of emotional and physical abuse and remain little saints who never have a bad thought about those who abuse them? Completely unbelievable. Guy isn’t like that. The complete absence of any compassion towards him when he was vulnerable shows in his lack of compassion for those vulnerable to him. The abuse he endures in his relationship with the sheriff is manifest in a number of ways, one of them being his abusive treatment of others. I’m not saying this is a redeeming quality; it obviously isn’t. But it adds something to the character’s complexity that we can see how his behavior does make sense to him in light of his own experience.
2. Guy is negatively affected by his own toxic masculinity. This is a show that is rife with toxic masculinity, but not only does Guy face consistent consequences for his bad behavior, he’s also unable to recognize his own vulnerability because of self-deception. It’s very important that he see himself as a person with power and agency, even though he’s mostly lacking in both of those things. When Marian asks him why he works for the sheriff in 2x6, he replies, “I have no one, so I choose power.” First, it’s pretty obvious that he doesn’t have power of his own; all of his power comes form his relationship with the sheriff. Secondly, his not having anyone is not necessarily a choice; he hardly chose for his parents to die. We don’t really know why he sold Isabella; his reason is that Thornton “offered a good price for you.) Yet if she were so worthless to him, why does he disobey Prince John’s order to kill her, the decision that leads to his arrest? Why does he give her poison so she can choose her own death? We might ask similar questions about his declaration to Vaisey that he will “take [Marian] by force in 2x13. It’s certainly what Vaisey wants to hear, but it doesn’t ring true coming from a man who so clearly wants Marian to want to be with him. We see in 1x13 how important pleasing her is to him; not to mention that if he actually wanted to rape her, he’s had two seasons in which to do it. Mostly notably in this case, though, the sheriff doesn’t believe him. He reunites her with Robin so they can die together because he knows he can’t fully trust Guy as long as she’s alive.
Maybe Guy actually believes all of these things; maybe he doesn’t. But all represent his wish to disavow his emotions and vulnerability, which he ultimately fails to do. What makes these lies most harmful, though, is that others believe them. His response to Isabella in particular ruins any chance of a reconciliation between them.
3. Guy is someone with a deep capacity for love, in spite of everything. The most popular Guy and Marian posts feature the scenes in which he jeopardizes his relationship with the sheriff, not to mention his own life, for her, so I don’t feel the need to go into detail about those. In all we see of his relationship with the sheriff, he’s being taught to value position, wealth, and power, so why would he choose a woman who is constantly flying in the face of the sheriff’s values? Even though she is a noblewoman, her behavior obviously makes her a bad choice considering what Guy is supposed to want. And yet he falls in love with her, takes all these risks for her, and then pleads for Meg’s life in 3x9 just because she reminds him of Marian. We don’t know how many years he’s been under the sheriff’s thumb, but given how loyal he is, even at the risk of losing Marian, I gather it has been a while. And while not all of his horrible treatment of Marian is done at the sheriff’s behest, his love for her is at the heart of all his refusals to comply with the sheriff’s wishes, even after her death. He is, to be terribly cliched, a cold-hearted man who is transformed by the power of love for a woman, and that’s has always been a popular story with women (even when the man is ugly. Hi, Mr. Rochester!)
To bring this to a close, there are a lot of reasons to love this character. That some fans seize upon Guy’s looks as the most common reason is, to be honest, rather insulting. There’s nothing wrong with superficial appreciation, but singling that out erases a plethora of more thoughtful reasons. It’s no surprise to me that this argument is made by fans who minimize Guy’s trauma and abuse, and label those who do examine these things “villain apologists,” take everything he says at face value, and are highly selective in the moments from his relationships that they acknowledge. I would say that they are the ones who have a superficial appreciation of Guy, not his fans.
my fandoms (5/7) - tolkien
→ “…that dwarves can be obstinate and pigheaded, and difficult and suspicious and secretive… with the worst manners you can possibly imagine! but they’re also brave and kind, and loyal to a fault.”
