On Awakenings in The Legend of Zelda, Part 2: BotW Link
(If you missed part 1, you can read it here).
BotW Link is under far more social pressure than in any other Zelda game. Everyone knows he's the chosen hero. He's the Princess' Appointed Knight. He's been designated the Hylian Champion. He has a unique uniform marking him as such for all to see. He tries to live up to all of that.
It messes with him. I think there's a clue as to how in the screenshot.
In the first awakenings post, I explained some things that make me think Link could not hear either Hylia or Fi pre-Calamity. (In short: if he could, he could've helped Zelda).
I think the screenshot above is an even bigger clue. I also think the conversation leading to it reveals more about Link's situation than it seems to at first.
1.) Our Best Hope
At the start of the memory at Lake Kolomo, Zelda's talking about helping Daruk improve his ability to control Rudania. Then she says this:
Then, her entire demeanor changes. She holds the slate against her stomach, curls in on herself a bit, and has a distinctly not-happy look on her face. There's a pregnant pause, and she stops walking.
Why does she stop? Why does she look upset?
It's true Zelda's worried about awakening her own power. She doesn't consider herself the best hope to turn back the Calamity, and I'm sure that was what she intended to express when she said this, but...
That's not why I think she paused.
I think she suddenly realized she'd just said something awful to Link.
"These Divine Beasts... they're our best hope" - not you, Link.
Not you.
The camera focuses on Link for a few seconds after this, and Link blinks, which is pretty normal... but right before he does, he narrows his eyes, just a little. (It's a tiny reaction, but from this nearly-expressionless Link, even a small change is a big deal).
I think this is why Zelda then begins to talk about Link. She does not talk about herself. Here's the rest of her dialog in order:
Not just can you hear it. Can you hear it yet.
The fact that she asks if he can hear it yet suggests that at some earlier point in time, something made Zelda think he couldn't hear it. (It took me so long to pick up on this that I didn't even consider it for my own previous writings. Oh well).
Few have missed the tone with which Zelda says, "hero" at the end of this. It's doubtful at the very least. In Zelda's mind, Link has not proven himself to be a hero at this point.
Now, let's consider this from Link's point of view. - The prophecy that started the excavations of the Divine Beasts said the power to oppose the Calamity lay dormant beneath the ground. (The power's not with you, Link. You don't have it). - Zelda thinks the Divine Beasts are the best hope against the Calamity. (Not you, Link). - You haven't proven yourself to be a hero yet, Link.
As a Hylian might say, Dear Goddess. It would be absolutely no mystery why Link might doubt himself, even if he's fantastic at swordplay.
(I don't think Zelda meant to be hurtful, but I think the dialog in this memory is a prime example of constant low-level doubt signals Link's getting from people).
(Also - that prophecy was clearly false and intended to help the Calamity. I have more thoughts on that... for another post, though).
I'm going to pull two punchlines from all this stuff: - The signals from outside tell Link to doubt himself. - It's doubtful that Link could hear Fi.
(The first awakenings post has some other reasons for that 2nd one).
2.) Zelda's Diary and So Many Eyes
A good deal of Zelda's diary in BotW is about Link. It describes him as a silent knight, and she believes at first that his silence means he despises her. After the Yiga attack, she gets him to open up to her bit by bit. Here's something she discovers when he does.
Link has a difficult time telling Zelda about this, which means it bears a lot of weight. Link has strong emotions tied up in his answer (if he didn't, it would be easy to talk about).
Link says with so many eyes on him, he feels he has to stay strong (and silent). The fact of so many people watching him is making him change his behavior. He's worried about what they think.
The punchline: BotW Link is spending a lot of emotional energy on what other people think.
3.) To Stay Strong and to Silently Bear Any Burden
Let's break the strong and silent part down a little.
Link feels it necessary.
This is not what Link wants. It might not even be what he thinks is best. He just thinks it's necessary: something he must do.
He must stay strong.
Saying this means some part of him doesn't want to be strong all the time. He'd like a break. He doesn't think he's allowed to have one.
What kind of strength is he referring to? Does he mean physical strength to fight monsters (and the Calamity)? I don't think that's what he means, because he goes on to say:
He must silently bear any burden.
Saying this means (a) he is tempted not to stay silent and (b) the thing he wants to break his silence for is his burden. He wants to talk to someone about that weight-of-the-world on his shoulders, but he thinks he mustn't.
He thinks talking to someone about it would mean he's not staying strong.
This may seem obvious, but I'll point it out anyway: Link does feel burdened.
The punchline: Link thinks he can't tell anyone how he feels.
4.) Not Facing Fear
So, why does Link think he can't tell anyone how he feels about his burden?
I'd think if Link had mostly positive, optimistic-type thoughts about the coming Calamity, he'd have no problem telling people that. So... I tend to think the fact he feels he mustn't talk about it means the thoughts aren't so good. So, what could those not-good thoughts be? Two things seem very obvious. - Fear of losing the battle. - Fear of failing to protect the Princess.
There's a 3rd that's less obvious, but that I think is hinted at strongly: - Fear that if people knew how he felt, they would react badly. (He's worried about what they'd think. Why bother worrying about it if it doesn't matter? Link thinks it matters).
Link's not talking because he's afraid that if he does, the reaction will be bad. Exactly what bad reaction he expects isn't clear--maybe he doesn't want people to lose hope, or maybe he thinks people will hate on him, or maybe he thinks he'll cause a panic if it gets out that he's not 100% sure of himself. But regardless:
Link is scared... and he feels alone.
That's so important I'm going to say it again. Link is scared.
Is Link facing this fear?
No. He is not. The only way he could face what people would think of him is to break the silence--which he feels he mustn't do.
The only way he can face fear of losing against the Calamity is to fight it. And here... we run into a host of other problems for BotW Link (next section).
The punchline: BotW Link is having a courage problem pre-Calamity.
(The courage problem is primarily social in nature, but it still exists).
(Zelda... seems to have come so close to starting to help Link resolve this. Starting to open up to her was the first step toward facing the fear that caused his silence, but they ran out of time).
5.) BotW Link is Conforming to Societal Expectations Instead of Preparing Himself
What is BotW Link doing with his time pre-Calamity? We of course see some of what he does in memories, but we get an overarching statement in Daruk's "training journal":
We know Link did brave things pre-Calamity. He slew the Lynel of Ploymus mountain. He killed a mighty pile of monsters in Eldin while traveling with Zelda. He stopped a monster from backstabbing Daruk. He stopped Yiga footsoldiers from killing Zelda. There may be other things we don't hear about, but... the entry in Daruk's diary seems to indicate... not much.
So, rather than being the person at the front repelling every monster attack, rather than constantly pushing himself to become stronger, he is mostly a bodyguard. Vigilant and dedicated, yes, but also stagnant.
When Zelda shows Link the silent princess flower, she explains they're an endangered species, but all efforts to grow them domestically have failed--the princess can only thrive in the wild. This is a metaphor regarding Zelda's inability to unlock her power while living a sheltered, ordered, protected life, but I think this metaphor also applies to Link.
Link, who follows the king's orders, works a professional, orderly job, and follows Zelda in silence for a long time.
Link who is not out in the wilds slaughtering monsters left-and-right and simultaneously assuring himself (and everyone else!) that he is in fact a badass, and will be able to slay the Calamity when it comes.
The punchline: Link's conformity prevented him from preparing for the Calamity in more meaningful ways.
6.) A Fine Line Between Courage and Recklessness
When Link kills all those monsters in Eldin, Zelda tells him there's a fine line between courage and recklessness, and that as brave as Link is, he's not immortal.
This, I think, is yet another clue that something's up with Link.
In Skyward Sword, we learn that the courage of a true hero is meant to be the willingness to do anything, to make any sacrifice, to save someone else. NOT to prove yourself.
Proving yourself is a selfish act.
Saving someone is a selfless act. Saving someone while believing it's likely to kill you is the mark of a true hero. (This 2nd bit is why saving Zelda from the Yiga isn't quite enough--which I get to further down).
(Saving someone in order to prove yourself is still a selfish act--and this matters for yet another thing I'll talk about in a later post).
If Link was behaving recklessly (and considering the size of the dead monster pile, he may very well have been), that sounds more like having something to prove than trying to save Zelda. The best way to survive a fight is not to have one in the first place. I submit that Link was on the recklessness side of the line in this memory.
The punchline: Recklessness is a selfish act - not aligned with the courage of a true hero.
(Before anyone yells at me, I'm not saying BotW Link isn't brave. Of course he is! But the Triforce pieces have strict requirements in order to be able to wield them, and we know SS Link couldn't until he'd met them).
Collecting the punchlines:
a.)The signals from outside tell Link to doubt himself. b.) It's doubtful that Link could hear Fi. c.) BotW Link is spending a lot of emotional energy on what other people think. d.) Link thinks he can't tell anyone how he feels. e.) BotW Link is having a courage problem pre-Calamity. f.) Link's conformity prevented him from preparing for the Calamity in more meaningful ways. g.) Recklessness is a selfish act - not aligned with the courage of a true hero.
And also a punchline from the first awakenings post:
h.) There's a good chance Link couldn't hear Hylia or Fi pre-Calamity.
(Double-supporting Link not hearing them both from this post and that one).
This... does not sound like someone who is ready to wield the Triforce of Courage--not yet.
And I'm going to make one assumption that I think is totally reasonable: - I assume that in order to fully wield the power of the Master Sword and to hear Fi, Link has to be aligned with the Triforce of Courage. He doesn't have to have the Triforce. But he has to be in a state in which he could wield it. (This is a little different from Skyward Sword, but I think it's reasonable because in that game, Fi was a being that everyone could see! She'd come out of the sword and other people, such as Headmaster Gaepora and the robot Scrapper, could see her! That doesn't happen anymore in other games, and I think it's because Fi 'goes to sleep' at the end of Skyward Sword - so interacting with her requires more effort--and magic--from the sword's wielder).
Punchlines b and h would be a result of the others, meaning Link's not in full alignment yet pre-Calamity--not until he entirely selflessly steps between Zelda and that guardian on Blatchery Plain, knowing that shot will kill him. That is a selfless act demonstrating the courage of a true hero, and would have put him in complete alignment. (Just like it aligned Zelda right afterward).
Link's always been strong on courage when facing physical danger. In BotW, social courage challenges him. In my opinion, this is great character development for Link and an interesting social commentary on how forcing people into roles dictated by society can be harmful. (I think.. maybe that's for another post, too).
I think Link was so wound up over what people were thinking and so unwilling to face that fear it put him further from the courage of a true hero than any of the other Links had ever been. I suspect if BotW Link had never been a knight and no one had any idea what the sword on his back was, he'd have done far better--but if he had, ultimately he wouldn't have grown as much as a person.
I am not knocking BotW Link. He had the deck heavily stacked against him.
This one's more nebulous.
This post is dealing with feelings and sometimes inactions rather than the first one which was based on pre-existing lore and entirely solid actions. I'd say everything in this post is less cut and dry, and there's more than one way to interpret it. But.. this is how I do! [And it's therefore how it works in my fanfic].
There's still more, but this is already...so... long.
Read Previous: On Awakenings in The Legend of Zelda
Read Next: On Awakenings in The Legend of Zelda, Part 3: Can’t Fi Just Talk?
[Ultimately, I'm writing these because of my fanfics and people asking stuff about why things happen the way they do in them.]
