What I really enjoy about Wind Waker's Ganondorf monologue is that, even when taken as literally as possible, it is vague enough to be inherently deeply subtextual. Despite weird accusations of him saying that to manipulate sympathy out of his opponents (?? why, what for, also no he isn't doing that actually??), it is deeply anchored in his own perspective, and also... very subdued?
For example: never does he state clearly that he was king of his country. It's maybe implied, but never stated.
You could argue that this is him downplaying how bad he fucked the gerudos over (which, fair --this is the only part I can actually see him slightly lying about, which could help him make himself look slightly better, or avoid confronting the guilt --but it would also mean that he is capable of feeling guilt, or understanding this was something he should have prioritized more (and care about being judged for failing to do so properly), which, I don't think many people would believe him capable of these kinds of internal tension points, so you know), but I think that to me, it helps evade that notion that he was acting out of kingly concern for his people's wellbeing. He never states that he was even remotely interested in that (even if I do consider it a valid interpretation too, it just is one possible among others). All he says is: I saw suffering around me constantly, and I looked over at that fuckass kingdom that didn't suffer in the same way, and I wanted That.
Which to me establishes two things: Ganondorf wanted to escape pain and powerlessness, and Ganondorf knows he was being selfish in doing so. He concedes that he was (the "I suppose" does some serious legwork in the English translation, I genuinely love it). This is what he reflects on, the conclusion that he has to reach in that moment. He faces this, his own selfish pursuit towards that world where he would finally feel in control, and then decides to keep doubling down on that pursuit.
I find it fascinating.
I feel like it pulls at a very uncomfortable thing that may not resonate with everyone but does with me at least: that assumption that, if you are from any underserved community to any extent, what is perceived as good is that you must always prioritize community and gratefulness, which can be a great thing in most cases, but can sometimes carry the implicit demand that you must know your place, and perform your role within the boundaries negociated within the community and the outside world (see: Rhondson, a somewhat perfect example of that attitude executed to a T, at the cost of any consideration for her own fulfillment --at least in the context of the gerudos under the vasselage of Hyrule). I don't think it's always wrong per say, but I do find it interesting that we understand Ganondorf's selfishness and his commitment to his own sense of fulfilment over everyone else's as something that is worthy of scalding disdain, which by definition demands that we do away with his statement that he was not only unhappy and envious, but also traumatized by a set of circumstances that, while unclear/debatable in their causes, did lead him to obsess over an absolute sense of agency. And, also, we don't give that same disdain to the probable causes.
I think there's something... almost too easy in disregarding what he talks about, the "winds carrying death", as a lie. While there's very solid arguments around the fact that deserts aren't nearly as hostile as he portrays them to be, that it is an orientalist cliché in itself (though I have known people from poor regions of Sahara who were profoundly unhappy about living there --though mostly because of the lack of political stability and infrastructure maintainance in a very unforgiving environment, which are problems almost entirely geopolitical in nature --and are therefore quite comparable to Ganondorf's own upbringing actually) his reign did begin during a war, and the Gerudos are barely treated as a proper nation in Ocarina of Time. He was a king, but the gerudos were a "band of thieves", despite having their own written language and religious practices. It would make sense to me that he would associate the entire region and its natural hurdles with its current geopolitical challenges and the pressures and latent anger he must have felt as a young ruler --though I will concede this is mostly speculation on my part.
(and the in-game explanation clearly is: it was the wind's fault you guys!! see there's no one and nothing to blame and CERTAINLY not Hyrule nonono --which is an attempt to soften the blow of what this Ganondorf is gesturing at without the full commitment of actually naming things --not even naming his country, nor his people and their probably unfair and horrible fate during the Great Flood)
And either way: to believe his admission to be a lie (again: why would he lie, to whom, what for, in his head he has already won and what he says about himself isn't flattering by any means) is to refuse to contend with this discomfort. The chafing in the question: what was Ganondorf owed? Beyond what he did, the monster he became, the terrible road he followed down to its bitter conclusion... what dream was Ganondorf allowed to pursue? Where are the limits that we place on that dream, and why? Would we place the same limits on a different, perhaps more privileged character, pursuing the same idealistic, black&white thinking (like, oh I don't know, Rauru, or Zelda, or Hilda, or hell --even Groose)? Ganondorf, if you forget his overwhelming aesthetics of "I Am The Bad Guy!!!", is unbelievably shonen-like in his pursuits. He felt powerless and weak, his life out of control. He wanted an artefact unjustly hoarded that would make him ascend beyond his traumatic limitations. He was ready to do anything for that artefact: become stronger, trick and intimidate what he perceives as enemies into giving him what he wants, humiliate himself while biding his time, one against a thousand, one against the gods themselves... And he was wrong to do so, to be so cruel and violent and self-serving, of falling into tyranny and cruelty and gleeful violence. Of course he was.
But once more... Was he wrong to selfishly, unabashedly want more than what fate deemed him worthy to receive?
I don't know. And I can't stop thinking about the discomfort nested within the very bones of that question.
