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-Vandires
Guide To Evangelion |
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Chapter 3-Rei Ayanami
Rei represents the Superego. This is the part of the mind that represents the societal and parental values a person is brought up with- It is a defensive action created by the need for humans to live collectively, and so is unnatural. That is why Nerv constructed Rei, instead of the part being played by a normal character. As the superego, it is little surprise that she ends up being the form of the 18th angel’s perfect incarnation- Perfection requires perfect order. However, perfect order requires perfect rules, and rules for everything- that means there can be nothing new because there would be no rules for it, and therefore, without creation, the perfection of the 18th angel is barely different than death. But considering Seele represent the Thanatos, the will to die, of Freuds theories, thats hardly surprising, seeing how they planned the creation of Lilim) (If you’ve been reading this consecutively you’ve probably noticed by now I don’t think much of the ‘perfect’ form of the 18th angel… I think it was a bit silly, and a bit obvious, after the initial surprise of plot-twist, humans are effectively the same as angels. Anyone who would sacrifice their own existence to become building blocks for some grand order is, in my opinion, committing suicide. You have no sense of self, so in what respect do you exist? No one would make the argument that someone still exists after being eaten. (Well, not while taking themselves seriously, anyway... I hope.O_o;)) In Evangelion, the colour blue generally represents the Superego. The colour red represents the Id, which Asuka represents. Her Hair/Eye colour represent that everyone has at least some of both in them- even the wilderness of nature has conventions which form a rudimentary Superego, and no creature without base impulses is truly alive. Therefore, although a person can be primarily dominated by one of the two, the only way they can properly function as a person, and in society, is by a balance (though homicidal maniacs do sometimes come close to operating without a superego). So, the hair represents the overt, and dominant factor, the Superego, whilst the eye colour represents the lesser, but equally valid, part of her mind- Rei Ayanami’s Id isn’t quite so obvious as in a healthy person, but it does exist. Also the hairstyle is important- Rei’s hair is neat, and controlled. Another sign of order, that helps identify her as the superego. In comparison, Asuka’s hair is wild, and natural- there is no control whatsoever in its style, which helps identify her as the Id. The name Ayanami wasn’t created or chosen at random. It was originally the name of a destroyer battleship, the standard model in the World War 2 era. The Ayanami sank during World War 2. Equally, neither was the gender- Bother the Superego and the Id try to get the Ego to listen to each itself above the other, and so they are a form of temptation. Shinji being male and starting to go through puberty, the fact that Rei is an attractive female is enough for her to be a temptation to him, and so better represent the internal struggle. Being female, Rei suffers from the Elektra complex (wants to kill her mother and marry her father.) However, being dominated by the superego, she has no problems repressing that aspect of her subconscious. It does however, add to the general anxiety and angst of her existence, wanting to earn the praise of Gendou Ikari at any cost, whilst competing against Eva, the weapon with which she fights, for affection. That would be enough to fuck anyone up, I think. Especially since being the superego, and knowing working simply to earn praise is bad, she makes conscious attempts to avoid that as motivation. Rei feels a great deal of angst throughout Evangelion. Partly, this is because she knows that she shares a soul with Evangelion-01, the soul of Yui Ikari. This makes her feel worthless- she believes she is not a real person, and so lets the order created by others (parental and societal values) dictate her life. This is an attempt to give her life meaning, and in doing so, she searches for this meaning in the man who gave her life, Gendou Ikari. However, she gradually begins to realise that being alive means she must be real, though she does not understand this at a conscious level- this is one of the beliefs of Yui Ikari. It is due to this that she gradually turns her attentions from Gendou Ikari to his son, Shinji. She feels a great deal of empathy for both of them, due to Yui’s presence. At times she mistakes this empathy for love- she wants to become one with Gendou first, later with Shinji. However, there is a lot more to her angst than that. The superego works by creating anxiety- If you disobey your Superego, it respond with anxiety- the stronger the Superego, the more anxious it makes you. Therefore, being dominated by the Superego, the simple idea of disobeying Commander Ikari, or any other form of authority, creates huge amounts of anxiety compared to what it would in a normal person. Therefore, all of Rei’s pain becomes angst. This problem is compounded by having to deal with Asuka- Rei has a huge amount of respect for all living things she believes to be real. (Which is why she dislikes eating meat.) But, Asuka tries to force her to live for herself, and becomes offended by her refusal to do so. To offend someone goes against the values instilled in the Superego, but obviously going against the Superego is also on the list of things the Superego doesn’t like. So, through her interaction with Asuka, she is forced to take a serious look at her position in life, and in doing so, endures a lot more anxiety, which becomes angst. It is because of this increase in perspective that Rei eventually realises she is real- It isn’t just how a person is born that defines them, but their interactions with others whilst they are alive. Because her interactions are unique, she also has a soul of her own, and is just as valid a human as anyone else in Evangelion. There is a symbolic meaning to her deaths. Rei Ayanami dies twice in Evangelion- first she is murdered by Ritsuko’s mother, and later she dies self-destructing Eva-00 to destroy the 16th angel, Armisael. Because a human naturally channels their Thanatos (death wish) outwards, there is a need for conventions and rules for humans to minimise the pain that they cause each other, and so the pain they feel. The Superego is the part of the mind formed by these rules. Therefore, so long as there is the same set of parental/societal values in the world of Evangelion, Rei must still exist in some form, because she is the Superego. The process of death is symbolic because it expresses the wish of others to change, and the action of that change- they realise the inherent problems of the Superego being so strong, and their frustration caused by repressed Thanatos causes them to attack the Superego directly. Even with the Superego not condoning violence, and so not defending itself, they are unable to kill it permanently- with every change comes a new order, and so a new superego is formed, usually very similar, and heavily influenced by the previous superego. (The symbolism of Rei being different in each incarnation, but similar due to her humanity, and sharing the memories of all her predecessors.) (This may sound like just an explanation for Ritsuko’s mother, but it explains Armisael as well. It knows that the order humanity created is the only reason they can defeat angels, and so its wish to attack the Superego of the mind. (Through temptation- offering what the Id desires in an attempt to make it the dominant factor of the mind.) This is an attempt to defeat humanity and seize the future for itself.) ((The fact that Rei is delicate,thin,stunningly gorgeous,solitary and so so strong makes me hate her, I think. That and the fact that Vandire will never write a detailed and intricate study about my being and purpose for existence.)) |
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