lucy gray baird's philosophy
I want to "yes, and" this great meta post by @burst-of-iridescent. Specifically this part:
by the end of the book, coriolanus gives in fully to dr gaul’s way of thinking simply because it excuses him from accepting blame for his actions. if he killed sejanus, it’s because he had no choice. if he betrayed lucy gray, it’s because she would’ve betrayed him first. coriolanus refuses to believe in the goodness of humanity because that would have meant accepting the goodness that existed within him, and with that came the potential for making a different, better choice - potential that he knew, deep down, he had wasted. attributing his crimes to an innate evil that no one can overcome means that he can’t be held accountable, because it’s out of his control.
This got me thinking about how much Lucy Gray's worldview rejects of this way of thinking (and of a Calvinist*/ableist "some people are just born evil" pov people try to impose on the text, which people think is condemning him but actually... accidentally agrees with him that he was born evil and therefore can't help it??????). The book begins with several quotes chosen by the author, but I believe the one that represents Lucy Gray's worldview is Rousseau, who believed people were born with fundamental goodness.
Here's a source on him:
(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
And here's the quote Collins opens with:
“Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.”
— Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract, 1762
That's Lucy Gray's pov she's come to through living and reflecting as an artist; someone can disagree with it (of course, all of these questions are open for endless debate; they have been debated endlessly!) however, it's important to respect that is where she's coming from, not being foolish or naive. It is a worthy pov that should be respected, even if you disagree. And that she came to this pov through a hard life and from much thinking and she expresses it beautifully in her art.
Here's the key exchange from the book, after Coriolanus has taken on the idea that people are just awful and her articulating her philosophy in response:
(Ballad, 495)
She's not naive. She recognizes the nuance that Rousseau does, that society shapes us. And Panem is pretty clearly a society led by people applying all the pressures they can think of on people toward evil. (And, after his heel turn, Coriolanus' is going to innovate some new pressures...) Clearly there are situations and circumstances that form us before we have much say in it, but that's not the same as being born evil.
The difference between inherent goodness and a corrupt society is, for Lucy Gray, a lot of hard work. It's a struggle. This repudiates both the version of "born evil" Coriolanus himself takes on, which relieves him of responsibility, and the self-righteous, Calvinist and/or ableist pov people keep arguing for, which makes "normal" people feel like they can be sure they're good (and ignore how we are all complicit in evil to some degree or another) because they have a "good" normal brain or they were just born so pure as a soul predestined for heaven. No, for her, everyone has to do the work. To her it's everyone's "life's challenge to try and stay on the right side of that line."
Even more pointedly, the love song she wrote him before his betrayal, "Pure as the Driven Snow," articulates her philosophy in the opening lines:
(Ballad, 481)
Again, we have her personal focus on the work of "staying on the right side" of good and evil after being born good into evil circumstances. She knows it hurts; she's led a hard life herself. "It's rough as a bair" to do that work, it's "like walkin' through fire." But it is doable.
Lucy Gray meant it as a love song but IMO "Pure as the Driven Snow" ends up a lament for the boy Coriolanus was and her love that he betrayed when he betrayed himself. And it is a direct rejection of his excuses, it is inadvertently reading him for filth for the lies he tells himself that all the world is the Games arena, all people are selfish and bad, and he isn't to blame for what he's done because he just wants to come out on top/be the victor of this "natural" "war of all against all" that is Gaul's philosophy (related to the Hobbes quote Collins begins with; I wrote a meta on that here) that he adopts.
I see her demeaned as a foolish girl who just "like bad boys" and I get so frustrated. I also get frustrated by the view that she must not have ever been sincere in loving or trusting him because IF SHE WAS then she would be a fool and his betrayal would somehow be her fault. And she'd reject the idea that she's "good" just because she's so pure or that anyone can claim we're good without doing a lot of hard work.
(Ballad, 482)
She is so thoughtful and interesting as a character. And she didn't just "like bad boys" - Coriolanus showed only his good side to her until the very end, once he'd decided to kill that part of himself. She had no way of knowing. Sometimes you trust someone and they betray you, it doesn't make you wrong, the shame is all theirs.
*Strict Calvinist predestination is some people are just predetermined to be bound for heaven and some for hell, some people are just born good and others are born bad. A lot of people in fandom seem to love Calvinism idk why. The ableism bit of this should be self-evident: there is no such thing as a "bad" brain type completely incapable of morality or a "good" brain and neurodivergence is not the source of all evil!
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You've been filled with anger ever since you can remember. The world is unfair and everyone has an advantage over you. You have to succeed, have to come out on top. Whatever it takes.
You have a party, one you've named yourself, but you're not really friends. Except for one person, your only true friend, none of them would stand by you through thick and thin. But it doesn't matter, they're just means to an end.
You are presented with an opportunity. A way to channel your rage and to make everyone who's ever wronged you regret it. You take it eagerly.
Your party will come with you. They'll have to, anyway. They're presented with a choice. They all choose correctly, like you knew they would.
Now is the time for your one true friend. You've even prepared all the paperwork for her already, to make it easier. It's just the one last step to take before you come out on top, glorious. You can't wait.
You kill your only true friend.
She is presented with a choice.
She doesn't come back.
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One of my most favourite things to do on occasion is check in, and scroll through the bookmarks people have made on this fic. Some of them are just so funny to read, and I am of the personal opinion that the shir people will write in bookmarks does NOT get enough attention. So, here are some of my favourite that I’ve seen thus far:
So fair honestly
What does this even mean?
This one’s just sweet. I try my best to write angst in the angsty way. Glad they appreciate it!
This person just wrote a whole ass essay and I applaud them for it! It actually had me grinning so much (tho I have no idea what ‘Reactions Elsewhere’ means?)
I just checked back on this one recently, only to discover they had gone completely feral XD
Yes, duckling me too! You are just as depraved as me!
And this person… honestly I’m just worried about this person. Like, all they have tagged for this fic is huskerdust, and there isn’t even all that MUCH, it’s just casually in the background sometimes. Like… I worry you didn’t know what they were getting themselves into XD
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Anyways, yeah, thank you all so much! I appreciate every bit of support you all show! Whether it’s through following this tumblr, commenting, leaving kudos, subscribing, bookmarking, ANYTHING. It all just absolutely blows me away. You are all the best.
Take care of yourselves, and here’s a parting Lucifer to take on your travels:
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First of all, I would love if in the show we saw Holly wearing Lockwoods grey jumper instead of and a random old one that we havnt seen before, it would be so impactful visually, but I also want to mention how much this detail does for Lockwoods character.
Most people, but especially teenage boys would too be embarrassed to lend a girl a jumper because of the romantic connotations it's gained through its use to symbolise couples in teen movies. (Jocks give their Girlfriends their football jumpers etc. etc.)
In contrast to this trope, Lockwood is a good caring friend (and employer) to Holly so he doesn't feel strange looking after her and making sure she's well equipped for the case their about to go on, even if that means doing something that's associated with couples.
I've never seen this before, certainly not in a book aimed at teens, and was amazed at how much it impressed me. Such a good representation of men and women (again, especially teenage ones) having caring and platonic relationships, it's such a small detail but for some reason it's made me like both Holly and Lockwoods character way more, as they don't act like it's strange or out of place for them to share things and be kind to one another.
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