a character study on wei wuxian
Mar. 21st, 2021 08:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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suibian_gongzi's thread about their interpretation of Wei Wuxian's characterization this morning, and how it differs from the predominant fanon characterization, and it made me think about my own ideas of who Wei Wuxian is, and how that differs from the prevailing fandom interpretation.
I definitely think my interpretation of Wei Wuxian's character differs from the "feral ADHD gremlin" characterization that's common these days (though my modern characterization of him maybe utilizes some of the same elements that found the basis for that reading?). I don't hate it or anything, though I do sometimes find it boring, but to me, it really misses some of the core concepts of what makes Wei Wuxian such a fascinating character.
Like one aspect of Wei Wuxian's character that I think gets sorely, sorely underexplored is his history as a homeless beggar on the streets of Yiling, and how that informs his personality (and politics!) later in life. His family died when he was five years old (5! A tiny baby!), and he spent the next 5 years as a beggar child on the streets of Yiling, stealing food, rooting through garbage cans, and getting mauled by feral dogs over half-rotten scraps.
How many people in Yiling, do you think, looked at him—a very small child, starving and hungry and cold, sleeping in alleyways—and just looked the other way? How many people looked at him and—in his own mind, by his own childish approximation—saw someone who wasn't worth feeding, loving, helping, or taking care of? How much of that do you think he internalized, wondering what they saw in him that made him less than other children, than made him undeserving of love or care or food or a family?
And you kind of see that pan out on Wei Wuxian's first night in Lotus Pier, when Jiang Cheng locks him out of the bedroom: Wei Wuxian doesn't want to tattle on Jiang Cheng, and is desperately afraid of causing a scene, because he's afraid that the Jiangs will realize that they made a mistake in bringing him back, and they'll send him away. He finds an alleyway to sleep in, but ends up giving himself an anxiety attack because he's so terrified that the Jiangs will see whatever is badwrong about him, which manifests as him being afraid that there are dogs in Lotus Pier.
When Jiang Yanli finds him in the tree outside of the compound's walls, she notes that his shoes were much, much too big for him—Wei Wuxian hadn't told Jiang Fengmian this, however, because he was terrified of asking for anything, and specifically that Jiang Fengmian would realize that he's more trouble than he's worth. Jiang Yanli adapts to this fear by telling Wei Wuxian that they can fix the shoes so that they fit better, and that way they won't have to buy another pair, and that's the point when Wei Wuxian latches on to Jiang Yanli.
He desperately, desperately wants to be loved, wants it with a feral fervor, but is simultaneously terrified that people will see something in him that's terrible—whatever it was that those shopkeeps saw in Yiling.
So he attempts (very loudly) to present all the best aspects of himself first, to portray himself as the best, as the strongest, as the smartest, as the cleverest, hoping that all his bravado and false-arrogance will convince the people around him that he's not only worthy of being there (something he himself isn't even sure of), but also that whatever is badwrong about him is outweighed by the good things—things that he's desperately painted over himself like a suit of armor.
So it's interesting to juxtapose that insecurity, that desperate need to be liked, with Wei Wuxian's troublemaking, with his prankster nature, with his flagrant disregard for authority, and with his politics: that ten-year-old boy who wouldn't tell his adoptive father that his shoes were too big grows up to flout the authority of the entire cultivation world. If he wants, more than anything, to be loved and seen as worthy of love, then why is he so god damn annoying all the time? Why doesn't he try harder to win people over via good conduct and following the rules, like Lan Wangji (whose character also, I might posit, comes by a lot of his characterization via a desire to prove to people that he's better than whatever badwrong might be inside him)?
I think, in the end, that this comes down to the starving little boy in Yiling who had to steal food to survive. Stealing, loitering, sleeping in alleyways, breaking into barns and stables for shelter from the rain or snow: all of those things are against the rules, but if he hadn't done them, he would have died as a very small child. So I think that creates an environment where he begins to question the rules, question authority, question what's more immoral—that he had to steal food and break the law to survive, or that he was ever in that situation at all?
And it creates a sort of internal war, for him, where he desperately wants to be loved, but he's not willing to compromise his values for that love. He refuses to ever look the other way, he refuses to defer completely to authority in any sense, instead constantly, loudly questioning things for himself (and getting frustrated, I think, that others don't do the same). A lot of this comes off as arrogance, when in reality it's more along the lines of self-righteousness and a refusal to ever put politics above immediate lives, and whatever genuine arrogance he portrays is more like a front.
Another aspect of his character that I think stems from this—and another aspect of his character that's frequently ignored—is just how manipulative Wei Wuxian is. In the book, he's absolutely ruthlessly clever, and a lot of that cleverness really gets lost in the adaptations.
When Wei Wuxian first posits the idea of demonic cultivation in Lan Qiren's class, what actually happened was that Lan Qiren called Wei Wuxian's flagrant flouting of the rules a sign of arrogance, annoying Wei Wuxian. In retaliation, he baited Lan Qiren with wild, extremely controversial heresy until Lan Qiren was so flustered that he kicked Wei Wuxian out of class. Wei Wuxian then gleefully left, and Lan Qiren realized exactly what he'd done moments too late. (This is explicitly stated, by the way, this isn't even just my interpretation.)
When Wei Wuxian shows Lan Wangji the porn book, he realizes that Lan Wangji intends to show it to Lan Qiren, and doesn't want to get in trouble. He thus goads Lan Wangji—rightfully assuming that Lan Wangji would be flustered and upset at insinuations that he masturbated or looked at porn—into tearing the book up, thereby destroying the evidence.
Later, when Lan Wangji gets drunk and discovers Wei Wuxian talking to Wen Ning in the courtyard, Wei Wuxian isn't sure if Lan Wangji remembers seeing Wen Ning, and is afraid that Lan Wangji will report him to the local authorities or try to hunt him down. In order to test how much Lan Wangji remembers, Wei Wuxian takes his clothes off and curls up in bed with Lan Wangji: when Lan Wangji wakes up and assumes, in horror, that they'd had sex (instead of knowing for certain that they hadn't), Wei Wuxian knows for sure that Lan Wangji doesn't remember anything from the previous night.
Little things like this—direct examples of Wei Wuxian's extremely quick cleverness and ability to manipulate people and situations into his favor—really fall by the wayside in a lot of depictions. I think that people assume that Wei Wuxian's occasional bouts of awkwardness or misunderstanding with Lan Wangji are because he's awkward or socially inept, and not because Lan Wangji's relationship and feelings about Wei Wuxian are complicated and hard for Wei Wuxian to understand (both because of his insecurities and because Lan Wangji doesn't communicate them well).
Like in the end, Wei Wuxian is deeply charismatic, extremely capable, very clever, sometimes manipulative, flirtatious, quick-witted, extremely full of bravado (a good bit of it false, but hard to see through), and dislikes any variation on unquestioned authority. His downfall after the war didn't stem from political ineptitude, really (and I think a lot of people assume it did), so much as a refusal to ever capitulate to politics (which I think he sees as an arm of "authority" or the prevailing power structures) in favor of what was obviously, clearly right. It was a genuine tragedy that Wei Wuxian's desire to do good, no matter how difficult or seemingly impossible it was, is what earned him his status as a villain.
I definitely think my interpretation of Wei Wuxian's character differs from the "feral ADHD gremlin" characterization that's common these days (though my modern characterization of him maybe utilizes some of the same elements that found the basis for that reading?). I don't hate it or anything, though I do sometimes find it boring, but to me, it really misses some of the core concepts of what makes Wei Wuxian such a fascinating character.
Like one aspect of Wei Wuxian's character that I think gets sorely, sorely underexplored is his history as a homeless beggar on the streets of Yiling, and how that informs his personality (and politics!) later in life. His family died when he was five years old (5! A tiny baby!), and he spent the next 5 years as a beggar child on the streets of Yiling, stealing food, rooting through garbage cans, and getting mauled by feral dogs over half-rotten scraps.
How many people in Yiling, do you think, looked at him—a very small child, starving and hungry and cold, sleeping in alleyways—and just looked the other way? How many people looked at him and—in his own mind, by his own childish approximation—saw someone who wasn't worth feeding, loving, helping, or taking care of? How much of that do you think he internalized, wondering what they saw in him that made him less than other children, than made him undeserving of love or care or food or a family?
And you kind of see that pan out on Wei Wuxian's first night in Lotus Pier, when Jiang Cheng locks him out of the bedroom: Wei Wuxian doesn't want to tattle on Jiang Cheng, and is desperately afraid of causing a scene, because he's afraid that the Jiangs will realize that they made a mistake in bringing him back, and they'll send him away. He finds an alleyway to sleep in, but ends up giving himself an anxiety attack because he's so terrified that the Jiangs will see whatever is badwrong about him, which manifests as him being afraid that there are dogs in Lotus Pier.
When Jiang Yanli finds him in the tree outside of the compound's walls, she notes that his shoes were much, much too big for him—Wei Wuxian hadn't told Jiang Fengmian this, however, because he was terrified of asking for anything, and specifically that Jiang Fengmian would realize that he's more trouble than he's worth. Jiang Yanli adapts to this fear by telling Wei Wuxian that they can fix the shoes so that they fit better, and that way they won't have to buy another pair, and that's the point when Wei Wuxian latches on to Jiang Yanli.
He desperately, desperately wants to be loved, wants it with a feral fervor, but is simultaneously terrified that people will see something in him that's terrible—whatever it was that those shopkeeps saw in Yiling.
So he attempts (very loudly) to present all the best aspects of himself first, to portray himself as the best, as the strongest, as the smartest, as the cleverest, hoping that all his bravado and false-arrogance will convince the people around him that he's not only worthy of being there (something he himself isn't even sure of), but also that whatever is badwrong about him is outweighed by the good things—things that he's desperately painted over himself like a suit of armor.
So it's interesting to juxtapose that insecurity, that desperate need to be liked, with Wei Wuxian's troublemaking, with his prankster nature, with his flagrant disregard for authority, and with his politics: that ten-year-old boy who wouldn't tell his adoptive father that his shoes were too big grows up to flout the authority of the entire cultivation world. If he wants, more than anything, to be loved and seen as worthy of love, then why is he so god damn annoying all the time? Why doesn't he try harder to win people over via good conduct and following the rules, like Lan Wangji (whose character also, I might posit, comes by a lot of his characterization via a desire to prove to people that he's better than whatever badwrong might be inside him)?
I think, in the end, that this comes down to the starving little boy in Yiling who had to steal food to survive. Stealing, loitering, sleeping in alleyways, breaking into barns and stables for shelter from the rain or snow: all of those things are against the rules, but if he hadn't done them, he would have died as a very small child. So I think that creates an environment where he begins to question the rules, question authority, question what's more immoral—that he had to steal food and break the law to survive, or that he was ever in that situation at all?
And it creates a sort of internal war, for him, where he desperately wants to be loved, but he's not willing to compromise his values for that love. He refuses to ever look the other way, he refuses to defer completely to authority in any sense, instead constantly, loudly questioning things for himself (and getting frustrated, I think, that others don't do the same). A lot of this comes off as arrogance, when in reality it's more along the lines of self-righteousness and a refusal to ever put politics above immediate lives, and whatever genuine arrogance he portrays is more like a front.
Another aspect of his character that I think stems from this—and another aspect of his character that's frequently ignored—is just how manipulative Wei Wuxian is. In the book, he's absolutely ruthlessly clever, and a lot of that cleverness really gets lost in the adaptations.
When Wei Wuxian first posits the idea of demonic cultivation in Lan Qiren's class, what actually happened was that Lan Qiren called Wei Wuxian's flagrant flouting of the rules a sign of arrogance, annoying Wei Wuxian. In retaliation, he baited Lan Qiren with wild, extremely controversial heresy until Lan Qiren was so flustered that he kicked Wei Wuxian out of class. Wei Wuxian then gleefully left, and Lan Qiren realized exactly what he'd done moments too late. (This is explicitly stated, by the way, this isn't even just my interpretation.)
When Wei Wuxian shows Lan Wangji the porn book, he realizes that Lan Wangji intends to show it to Lan Qiren, and doesn't want to get in trouble. He thus goads Lan Wangji—rightfully assuming that Lan Wangji would be flustered and upset at insinuations that he masturbated or looked at porn—into tearing the book up, thereby destroying the evidence.
Later, when Lan Wangji gets drunk and discovers Wei Wuxian talking to Wen Ning in the courtyard, Wei Wuxian isn't sure if Lan Wangji remembers seeing Wen Ning, and is afraid that Lan Wangji will report him to the local authorities or try to hunt him down. In order to test how much Lan Wangji remembers, Wei Wuxian takes his clothes off and curls up in bed with Lan Wangji: when Lan Wangji wakes up and assumes, in horror, that they'd had sex (instead of knowing for certain that they hadn't), Wei Wuxian knows for sure that Lan Wangji doesn't remember anything from the previous night.
Little things like this—direct examples of Wei Wuxian's extremely quick cleverness and ability to manipulate people and situations into his favor—really fall by the wayside in a lot of depictions. I think that people assume that Wei Wuxian's occasional bouts of awkwardness or misunderstanding with Lan Wangji are because he's awkward or socially inept, and not because Lan Wangji's relationship and feelings about Wei Wuxian are complicated and hard for Wei Wuxian to understand (both because of his insecurities and because Lan Wangji doesn't communicate them well).
Like in the end, Wei Wuxian is deeply charismatic, extremely capable, very clever, sometimes manipulative, flirtatious, quick-witted, extremely full of bravado (a good bit of it false, but hard to see through), and dislikes any variation on unquestioned authority. His downfall after the war didn't stem from political ineptitude, really (and I think a lot of people assume it did), so much as a refusal to ever capitulate to politics (which I think he sees as an arm of "authority" or the prevailing power structures) in favor of what was obviously, clearly right. It was a genuine tragedy that Wei Wuxian's desire to do good, no matter how difficult or seemingly impossible it was, is what earned him his status as a villain.
