An autistic reading of Pierrot from TFC
Before I begin this analysis I would like to preface it with a few important details:
Many of the core features of autism are also traits that can show up as a result of childhood isolation and severe trauma, both of which being things I can confidently say Pierrot probably has. It is impossible to quantify how many of his behaviors are a direct result of his upbringing & past vs how many might have an underlying mental condition to explain for them. Even if I were to argue that the majority of the circus went through similar trauma and do not present the traits Pierrot does, the fact of the matter stands that different people process trauma in vastly different ways so even then we have no real way of knowing without seeing what Pierrot was like as a child
As of now (no matter how many times I've read the DSM) I'm still not a licensed psychologist, do not take any of this as medical advice or use it for self-diagnosis, I am but a humble autistic fish analyzing the traits of a fictional character
This is just one way to read a character! If you disagree with me or my points that's perfectly fine, interpret Pierrot however you wish
"Autism influences how people experience and interact with the world. … Autistic people are different from each other, but for a diagnosis they must share differences from non-autistic people in how they think, feel and communicate." - https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism
Today I will be doing the honors of analyzing Pierrot under the strict requirements for autism spectrum disorder within the DSM-5
A) Persistent Deficit in Social Communication & Interaction Across Contexts, not Accounted for by General Developmental Delays
Manifest by 3/3 symptoms
A1) Deficits in social‐emotional reciprocity; ranging from abnormal social approach, failure of normal back and forth conversation through reduced sharing of interests, emotions, and affect, and response to total lack of initiation of social interaction. ✅
Abnormal Social Approach
- Unusual social initiations ┐
rather than approaching Y/N directly to thank them for their assistance Pierrot stalks them to their workplace, waits for them to be alone, messes with the electrical breaker, and then silently gives them the flower. he's seen breaking into homes to talk to Y/N instead of waiting for a more socially acceptable way to approach them despite actively trying to at least appear more normal—which I guarantee you none of the other circus members would do if they were trying to seem approachable the way Pierrot is—and is also seen leaning in to whisper when he speaks in ways that even the MC picks up is kinda... weird? even with the knowledge that Pierrot isn't actually able to talk publicly, Pierrot's behaviors still tend to come off as strange or even unwarranted, which I'd say if it's coming from our oblivious as hell MC and even they're noticing that? it means something.
Failure of Normal Back and Forth Conversation
- Poor pragmatic/social use of language ┐
I'd argue this can be seen in the scene where Pierrot takes the ticket from MC and changes it to his own ticket without explanation. of course, when MC asks about it, he does make an effort to give MC a lie about why he did such a thing but even then, the lie "this ticket is incorrect" was genuinely so strange that the MC themselves had to verbally try and fill in the blanks for what he meant, and even after Pierrot doubles down on that explanation the MC is still confused (which Pierrot does not notice and immediately moves on from) A similar but more severe version behavior that he literally never elaborates on is also observed when Pierrot silently places his own pin on your shirt collar above Harlequin's, proving that this is a pattern of Pierrot acting in manners that confuse others without explaining rather than one single awkward interaction.
- Does not initiate conversation ┐
This one you might not pick up on because MC talks to Pierrot so much, but from what I remember MC is always the one to speak first in their conversations, whether they're startled by Pierrot's sudden presence or they're greeting him directly. I have no real evidence to prove that Pierrot wouldn't talk to MC of his own volition if MC didn't do this, except for, of course, the fact that he stalks MC around the circus all day without ever approaching to converse directly. he could've had every chance to make it a date and walk around beside MC the whole day, or even just walked up to MC and pretended he was passing by (which would be perfectly reasonable given the fact he's a part of the circus) and yet he simply follows 15 feet away like a little stalker because.. sure buddy, that's way better, you're doing so good with your social norms.
- One‐sided conversations/monologues/tangential speech ┐
Pierrot is literally so guilty of this that he starts going on a whole ass speech with you drugged and not even CAPABLE of responding. honestly, this one feels so obvious I think I'm just going to leave it at that
Reduced Sharing of Interests (which, for the sake of analysis, I do consider Y/N to be an "interest" of his)
- Doesn't Share ┐
self-explanatory. this one goes beyond just monogamous feelings, Pierrot is shown to be uncomfortable with anybody even seeing MC, let alone speaking to or hanging out with
- Lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people ┐
I find it very peculiar that from the looks of things Pierrot never once told the other circus members (who are the people he is closest to and has lived the majority of his life alongside) about MC. sure you could interpret that he would be worried the others would steal MC away from him or do something, but if he was that scared of his companions harming MC by association to himself why invite Y/N to the circus? why give Y/N a ticket that he knows the others will see which specifically lets every one of them know exactly who he has his eyes on? in fact, it seems especially irrational because other than harlequin all of the others actively respect Pierrot's wish to keep Y/N and back off, so why on earth didn't he just come out of the starting gate telling them all about this figure in his like that is CLEARLY extremely important to him? even with MC themself despite obsessively learning about them and wanting to be closer with them he never really thinks to tell you about his own interests unless you ask him directly.
Reduced Sharing of Emotions/Affect
(mildly unobservable since we only see Pierrot's interactions through the lens of MC, who only ever sees Pierrot through his most reactive state, however I'll go over the point we do see)
- Failure to offer comfort to others ┐
After kidnapping MC Pierrot does a HORRIBLE job at comforting them when he notices they're scared, which at first he doesn't even do until MC literally recoils away from him out of fear. After realizing MC's fear aside from just saying "I won't hurt you" (which still isn't exactly much to comfort a literal kidnapping victim) he does nothing to actually properly console MC. instead he gets all up in MC's personal space while they're freaking out and starts frantically explaining himself in a rapid and obsessive manner that would surely only freak MC out even more. Frankly, the response he gives here would be enough to make anyone even more scared of him, which directly goes against his intention to make MC actually like and feel comfortable around him. This type of drastically poor response in regard to social cues is something we will touch upon even further in A3
A2) Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction; ranging from poorly integrated‐verbal and nonverbal communication, abnormalities in eye contact and body‐language, deficits in understanding & use of nonverbal communication, to total lack of facial expression or gestures. ✅
(this one is also difficult to note due to the genre of visual novel, it's hard to notate the appropriateness of a character's eye contact and nonverbal gestures when they are limited to sprites and dialogue, but even then, despite how difficult it is to convey, there are actually still times when the disconnect is apparent enough to have been noted by the MC themself, such as but not limited to the direct line:
"He's terrifying... He says such sweet things, with this dark... hungry tone?" I highly doubt Pierrot was every intending to come off as dark or hungry in that moment, he said the sweet things and was intending for them to be viewed as sweet, context be damned
Pierrot also presents direct impairments in social use of eye contact, given the fact that this guy STARES, to an uncomfortable level, not out of a desire to make MC uncomfortable but because proper eye contact isn't intuitive to him and he does not realize just how creepy he's being
A3) Deficits in developing and maintaining relationships, appropriate to developmental level; ranging from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit different social contexts, difficulties in sharing imaginative play, and in making friends to an apparent absence of interest in people ✅
Deficits in Developing and Maintaining Relationships (appropriate to developmental level)
‐ Lack of “theory of mind”; inability to take another person’s perspective ┐
It's shown multiple times in the story that despite the fact the circus is deigned to freak people out Pierrot feels shocked when the MC is actually afraid, seeming genuinely remorseful for the fact he scared MC but also showing that he vastly misread how the circus might make MC feel. this most certainly applies to almost all of his interactions, every time he does something out of his obsession for MC that he assumes is going to be sweet or not a big deal, its more often than not something that MC simply isn't comfortable with. it's not because he's intentionally being cruel, he's not like Harlequin who actually want's MC to be uncomfortable, rather Pierrot has such difficulty reading social situations and understanding people that aren't himself that he consistently fails to grasp why someone else would respond negatively to the same things he responds positively to.
Difficulties Adjusting Behavior to Suit Social Contexts
SPEED ROUND! PIERROT HAS LIKE... PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THESE SO I'M NOT GOING INTO DETAIL!
- Does not notice another person’s lack of interest in an activity ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐
lack of response to contextual cues (e.g. social cues from others indicating a change in behavior is implicitly requested) ┐
Keeps pushing for MC to go to the circus and keep coming back despite MC not caring much for the place
- Inappropriate expressions of emotion (laughing or smiling out of context) ┐
When he isn't being directly confronted with MC's dissatisfaction or Harlequin's antagonization Pierrot is almost always seen smiling, this is even the case during his own show where he quite literally kills a woman
- Unaware of social conventions/appropriate social behavior; asks socially inappropriate questions or makes socially inappropriate statements ┐
I... I really don't feel like I have to explain this one. his list of socially inappropriate statements could be it's own novel
- Does not notice another’s distress or disinterest ┐
Completely fails to recognize an MC that isn't interested in him or even afraid of him even when the MC makes it blaringly obvious
- Does not recognize when not welcome in a play or conversational setting ┐
Keeps trying to talk to MC when MC is actively freaked out and afraid of him, or wants him gone, only leaves when directly told and will otherwise assume he is welcome
- Limited recognition of social emotions (does not notice when he is being teased; does not notice how his behavior impacts others emotionally) ┐
despite the fact that Y/N practically had a panic attack in response to his show, after following them out Pierrot does not seem to realize he upset them at all, to the point where he ACTUALLY asks if the MC liked the show when anyone with knowledge of basic social cues could see they most definitely did not. as for the teasing thing, that's part of why Harlequin has so much fun bullying him, don't you think?
SPEED ROUND OVER!
Difficulties in Making Friends ┐
this category is mainly created with children in mind, and we do not know what Pierrot was like as a kid, however I can still confidently say that "does not try to establish friendships" probably applies to him, given his lack of closeness with the other members and his clear lack of experience becoming close with people that we can observe from his attempts to bridge the gap between him and Y/N
Absence of Interest in Others
for this category it's imperative we note that Y/N (and possibly Columbina) are exceptions. Pierrot's interest in Y/N (while well meaning) is for all intents and purposes... an obsession... not unlike my own special interest in the freak circus itself, but we'll get to special interests later.
- Lack of interest in peers (Pierrot never seems to seek out connection with the other circus members, possibly why he never told them about MC in the first place)
- Withdrawn; aloof; in own world (without the involvement of a love interest like Columbina or Y/N it's implied that Pierrot is typically quiet and keeps to himself)
- Does not try to attract the attention of others (as far as I'm aware he only stands in the spotlight as his job, I don't believe he relishes in his role in the same manner others in the circus do)
- Limited interest in others; (there are two, count it, TWO people in all of Pierrot's extensive lifespan that Pierrot has shown interest in)
- Unaware or oblivious to children or adults (I have no clue what the hell this means)
- Limited interaction with others (I mean, he literally doesn't speak, I fail to see how it gets more limited than that)
- Prefers solitary activities (the only activity we know of him enjoying at the moment is cooking, and most of the QnAs imply he does this alone)
omg guys! we finally made it out of the first diagnostic criteria! since we don't know about Pierrot's childhood habits that means we're officially halfway
B) Restricted, Repetitive Patterns of Behavior, Interests, or Activities as Manifested by at Least 2/4 Symptoms
B1) Stereotyped or repetitive speech, motor movements, or use of objects ┐as far as cannon is concerned, I don't believe Pierrot exhibits symptoms of this. of course, I have my own headcanons regarding the matter, but that's not what we're here for... or, at least that's what I would say if not for Pierrots extremely repetitive use of the whole my lord/my lady thing. some might just consider that a pet name, which is a perfectly fine interpretation, but it's also kind of... a weird pet name? "my dear" is a bit less weird, but it's still an uncommon verbal quirk to refer to someone as my lord/lady/dear at the end of at least 50% of all of your sentences. However, since this one is a debatable point, I'll concede and mark this one as a ❓
B2) Excessive adherence to routines, ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior, or excessive resistance to change ✅
Rigid thinking
- Inability to understand nonliteral aspects of speech such as irony or implied meaning ┐
the sheer quantity of instances in the freak circus QnAs where pierrot takes a question too literally is insane, half the time Neko has to add in post that "he didn't get it"
Genuinely, I don't even need to go through the other symptoms, that one speaks for itself
B3) Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus✅
- Preoccupations; Obsessions ┐
gee. I wonder what Pierrot could be obsessed with... quite the unsolved mystery
- Interests that are Abnormal in Intensity ┐
gee. I wonder what obsession Pierrot could be abnormally intense about... indeed, this is an enigma, I haven't the faintest clue. surely the MC hasn't directly called him intense on multiple occasions...
- Interests that are abnormal in focus ┐
gee. I wonder what interest- okay yeah, you get the point, you know where I'm going with this
- Narrow range of interests ┐
putting my sarcasm aside for a moment, other than the MC I feel like we only know of Pierrot having interest in one thing, that being cooking, I would consider "two" to be a pretty narrow range of interests
B4) Hyper‐or hypo‐reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of environment ✅
- High tolerance for pain ┐
Pierrot really doesn't seem to react to pain... like... at all? when he was getting assaulted by that stranger he kind of just sat there and took it, and even when he walks into your cafe bleeding from the top of his head, he doesn't react to that in the slightest either. it might as well not exist to him, even if he feels fondly about the mc patching him up
- In all domains of sensory stimuli (sound, smell, taste, vestibular, visual), consider: Odd responses to sensory input ┐
we can always chalk this up to the fact he's hiding horns under there, or that he's traumatized from people, but it's still notable that he tenses up upon sensory contact when you try to pet him. he's also seen freaking out over MC's scent and the sound of their heartbeat, but you can also attribute that to monster things, or even just his obsessive love
in the end, whether you consider him sensitive to sensory input or not, it doesn't change the fact that... well..
Pierrot has MORE than the necessary traits to be diagnosed with autism, he clearly exhibits everything in the A category in more than one way, and in the B category he only needed two of these traits and has definitively more than that
I have no idea whether it was or wasn't Neko's intention to write an autistic character with Pierrot, but in my eyes he most definitely did.
TLDR: Pierrot meets the diagnostic criteria for autism!
Thank you for coming to my TEDTALK
