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Debate No. 10

Andre or "you only hurt the ones you love"

For all of you who actually bothered to listen to my ramblings and had the good taste to be offended by my stories... I have already written a lot about Andre.  This may contradict, or complement, Debate 2.  It also follows what I discussed about the way I write in Debate 5.

Many of you may have noticed, and indeed let me know (Feedback is a wonderful thing!) that I tend to make our poor Andre suffer, well... a fair amount of times (when I don't kill him off, that is.  And that was ONCE - never again, there...).

First of all, I am not so sure that I make him suffer more than in the original series (this one is debatable), and secondly, I am not a sadist!  I do not enjoy making him go through Hell (that, as well, is debatable, because I think he does it SO well!), but you get the general idea.

Many may think that I have a "love/hate" relationship with Andre, but I don't, I mostly have a "love/love" relationship with him, because you may not see it so much, but on the contrary, I really ADORE the guy.

Before you send me the flames I can feel from here ("Sure as hell doesn't look like it... not showing it much, then... whatever you may think, I have heard it!), I just would like to say that, in my own twisted way (and I am not the only one there), I am giving him a lot more to do, a lot more presence (even if painful), than the actual story does.  And what of the times when I actually paint him as happy?

Why?

Because I think he is a fantastic character.

Why would I think that (and express it the way I do?)

Because everybody is taking gloves and feels the need to be so nice to him.  He is not perfect.  That's what I love about him.  It is OK to put him into sticky situations.

One of the elements that enthralled me about Berubara is the complexity of the characters and the heavy atmosphere so beautifully depicted.

Everybody loves Andre, but many refuse to open their eyes to this "dark" atmosphere, and Andre is not foreign to this.  We all want to see him as the devoted, romantic, hero (the "Fleur Bleue" aspect of the story, a lot more present in the Manga than in the Anime), but there is that dark side of his character, that violent, obsessive part of his mind, and a lot of fans tend to block it out.

He is the only character who can behave in a reprehensible, even violent way, and STILL, we end up rooting for him to have Oscar return his love.  What better proof is there, that it is a magnificently written character?

Now, for the "suffering" part, I think you will agree that Andre is defined by his relationship with Oscar:

- In a social way (being a Commoner and being her Servant)

- In a personal way (Do I really need to mention THAT one?)

The defining elements being his joy (he shares the life of the woman he loves, he is closer to her than anybody else) and his pain (he will *never* get her, well... you know...).  This pain helps to paint him as a tragic figure, and therefore, likeable.  he demonstrates his will and the beauty of his soul through this pain).

What I have done is just insisting on it and let him take the front of the stage a little more often.  This is why, Ladies & Gentlemen, I tend to make him suffer a fair bit.  Not because I am a heartless creature (I am not even going to comment on that one), but because there is so much to say about his strength (and the strength of his love) throughout his life.

I have read the sweetest, most beautiful stories of the "morning after", and this is something I think about a lot, this feeling of pure bliss and completion with the one you love (especially if you thought it would never happen).  A lot of very talented people have made me cry with these (Thanks!  Maybe I am not such a heartless creature after all...).

The reasons I write what I write are:

1 - I am interested in it, and I like it (this is not an assignment, I can actually choose my subject).

2 - I also think a lot about the atmosphere, and it is a lot less "romantic" than it seems.

At any rate, having pulsions makes Andre more "human", more of a man, a more complex character, and, well... more desirable. (People chatting on the 14th of July will know...).

I don't believe that Andre is THAT "goody-goody".  If he was, I am not sure I would like him so much...  There is, though, very little we know about Andre (little bits of his past, or his social activities outside of the Jarjayes's Mansion...).  This is the interesting part.

He also is on the brink of Madness (from pain, his love, his eye...), now this IS disturbing... and very fascinating.  Many even avoid admitting to this part, others are in denial and refuse to see it full stop (Andre is "perfect"...).

I do not have the luxury of denial anymore, but then I love Andre for everything that he is, good or bad.

So, if I write a Fanfic that describes his character as "disturbing" or "not very nice", please read this beforehand, remember that I get me ideas from the original story, and remember: I LOVE ANDRE!

Note to all Andre Lovers:  To show the complexity of the character, Andre is also one of the only dramatic characters with a great comic potential: think about the lines he used with Oscar...
A few stories have been made about this.  Since Comedy is not one of my Prime writing genre, would anybody else be interested in writing another little comic piece?  There are still a lot of ground to be covered (hint hint!).Another thing:  I have been thinking for a while now about doing a piece about Andre's social life.  Many others have thought or done something about it, in more or less details (Miranda, you realise we will have to do this, now! and Morgane, this may not have been the depiction of Andre's activities everybody expected, but well done!  I like your ideas!).  I just never got around to doing it (can you say "busy"?).  Still think this is a great idea (how DOES he know all the secrets of Versailles, and all the bars in Paris...  what a very adaptable man!!!!!).  The great thing about this, is that it can be done many times, according to the point of view of the writer.  Keep them coming! Believe me:  that "writing stuff" is great!

Well, I thought this would do, but then I receive a great mail from Miranda, always a great source of interesting ideas, and she pointed out a "revengeful" aspect of Andre, that I had considered, but not in that light.  She points out that Andre sometimes behave like he wants to make Oscar suffer as much as he does, being near her but unable to share all of her.  It is true that he does make remarks that may seem at least mean, even disturbing, regarding her alliances and her feelings.  It is true that Andre doesn't miss an occasion to make Oscar aware that, at the end of the day, she is a woman.  And he always seem to want to provoke her, even physically.  Mean?  Yes, I would say, it sometimes is, but it is understandable when you know the frustration of his position socially and romantically, especially when the object of his affection is opening her new-found feminine heart to somebody else!  And Andre is a man, as I said, he is not perfect, but at least he does react to his pulsions, instead of being eaten alive (it is when he does shut his feelings off that he slowly sinks into this madness and obsession we see near the end of the series, before Oscar's admission of her feelings to him).

Now, in my mind, there are 3 kinds of remarks that he makes, and some may be unconscious, but most are fully voluntary, and made with the definite intention of creating a reaction.  It is exactly what Andre wants.  The remarks regarding Oscar's allies and feelings are meant to make her realise and take into consideration the views of outsiders.  Basically to make her think and set things straight.

Secondly, Andre consistently makes remarks about Oscar's feminine nature (a lot more in the Series than in the Manga), but once again, it is designed to make Oscar realise that, at the end of the day, she IS a woman, and that there is nothing wrong with admitting her nature and still be a STRONG character and leader (interestingly enough, when she does accept her feminine side fully -we are not talking about the backfiring incident with Fersen here- she does so with Andre, because he is the only one who knows her fully).  It may seen literally haineous at times, but I don't believe that anybody else could make such remarks to Oscar and get that much reaction (they probably would be dead, or at least injured badly), and she would not take their arguments on board.  Andre, thus, has a very decisive, pivotal role in Oscar's mental development throughout the whole story.  It may not be a nice position to be in, but it is a necessary one.

Finally, the way he provokes her physically and encourage her to hit him, physically as well.  Some may say it is a sado-masochist streak, but once again, I feel it is the manifestation of a need to release the tension, both for him, and especially for her, since she has no other outlet, and nobody else knows this better than he does, since he shares part of the pressure Oscar is constantly under.