In previous posts [x][x], I’ve laid out the rules that explain what
affects a nations’ health. This post, however, will elaborate in more detail to
show the different ways in which they can be affected and why that is.
For one thing, we know that the personification’s health is
predicated on their economic and political situation. That is, if they are
suffering from political issues (either domestic or international) or are
experiencing an economic recession, they will fall ill.
That said, let’s go through the symptoms they can experience.
They can get colds or fevers:
Ex: Several nations develop fevers or colds in reaction to
the Great Depression.
Ex: Austria will develop a high fever and eventually collapse if
Germany acquires a cold [from an economic slump].
“A reliable country that likes to approach things with a sober seriousness. He approves of and supports lots of Germany’s ideas so he may look like one of the helper countries, but in reality the level of his dependency is pretty high.
So high that when Germany catches a little cold, Austria goes straight to high fever and eventually collapses, and so he doesn’t have much of a choice than to take good care of himself.”
Ex: England develops a cold after the American Revolution.
They can suffer from fatigue and exhaustion:
Ex: The aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars.
They can die:
Ex: Spain nearly dies during an economic recession before
Romano starts helping him recover with imports.
They can cough up blood:
This symptom in particular is depicted more as a consequence
of war (which includes separate battles/attacks) or civil strife. You’ll often
see the most devastated nations coughing up blood in panels where Hima
introduces different sides of the conflict.
Ex: Prussia, Spain, and Italy during the Napoleonic Wars.
Ex: Prussia during the American Revolution.
Ex: China during WW2 after being betrayed by Japan.
Ex: The disunity in the Holy Roman empire causes Holy Rome
to fall ill and cough up blood. His political situation isn’t stable, which, in
turn, is reflected in his poor health.
Bonus case:
The nations cough up blood and get sick during conflicts,
but are nonetheless able to heal from these wounds with time as their country’s
situation stabilizes.
But, what if a personification never healed emotionally from
a conflict and keep reliving it over and over again?
Wouldn’t that explain why England coughs up blood and falls
ill every year during the fourth of July? The event is still fresh in his mind,
and regardless if it’s over and done with, his body reacts as if it’s still
happening.
Remember that time where Austria wore skirts until Maria Theresa produced a male heir? It’s a joke taken literally.
“’For a long time, Maria Theresa wasn’t blessed with a male heir, and as she gave birth to a third daughter, Friedrich made fun of her saying that ‘Austria is a country that only wears skirts.“’
I think it goes unsaid that how the nations relate to one
another is not only based on their present political relations.
In other words, while they may not be on good terms with
each other, these relations don’t define their relationship in whole. There are
times where nations get along, and there are times where they will fight
frequently and ‘hate’ each other. Point is, the hate doesn’t typically last.
While current relations do cause tensions, their pasts have
the most impact on how they view one another. It would therefore be shallow to
say that if nation A and nation B grew up together, only to go to war centuries
later, that they would unequivocally hate each other and be unable to reconcile.
Relationships don’t work like that, and this is especially the case for
immortals who have lived several lifetimes.
I’ve stressed this in other posts before, but the nations
don’t represent their government. They represent their people – they’re cultural,
not political representations. The irony is that they’re forced to serve their government, which may or may
not represent their peoples’ best interest. [x] [x]
It is for this reason that even in times of war, nations on
opposing sides are shown to be getting along with each other when they’re not
on the battlefield.
Ex: America’s occupation of Rome. He doesn’t treat the Italy
brothers as enemies, but rather friends.
Ex: England, Russia, and Germany share their military
rations with each other.
While humans from other nations may bear present grudges
towards each other, this doesn’t always reflect itself in the personification.
It’s important to remember that they’re people themselves, and have had more experiences
that influence their outlook on life.
That said, what this post will set out to demonstrate is
that nations rumoured to canonically hate each other don’t actually. The hatred
isn’t deep-set or genuine. It’s more like a rivalry between someone who constantly
gets on your nerves…someone who you routinely get into arguments with and can
never see eye-to-eye. On the other hand, old war grudges have been shown to heal with time.
Although, some take far longer than
others.
With all that in mind, let’s go over some of the most common
characters that are mistakenly depicted to be in hate-hate relationships. And
yes, while this is intended to be ship neutral, all of these examples can be
used to counter bashes against your ship.
Russia and America:
While they may have been on thin ice with each other in the Cold
War, their history runs far deeper than that. Unfortunately, we get very
minimal insight into American-Imperial Russia relations. The strips only depict
Russia’s participation in the American Revolution.
Either way, the two countries don’t hate each other,
regardless of how tense their political relations were and still are. They even
acknowledge this tension as they spend time with each other in the present.
Russia in particular admits to how much America gets on his nerves.
China and Japan:
Japan’s betrayal in WW2 caused China to develop a strong
grudge towards him.
Nonetheless, in recent strips, we do see China attempting to
reconcile with Japan through diplomacy.
Hungary and Romania:
The two are noted to fight like cats and dogs. Each nation
depicts each other in a negative historical light. They may have resented each
other, and still do from time to time. However, it’s not true, long-lasting hatred.
Ex: Hungary’s somewhat smug reaction to Romania and Bulgaria fighting with
each other.
Regardless, they’re still capable of getting along.
Greece and Turkey:
The two bicker every time they see each other.
Comic gags
aside, the two still care for each other and are mentioned to be making some grounds
in their relationship.
Ex: Turkey’s form of bullying Greece is taking him to a
bathhouse and massaging him.
Switzerland and Japan:
Switzerland yells at Japan to be more assertive and voice
his opinion. It has nothing to do with hatred. If anything, it’s an aggressive form of encouragement.
Veneziano and Romano:
Romano suffers from an inferiority complex in comparison to
Veneziano, who received most of their grandfather’s attention. As such, he is
often very hostile to Veneziano, referring to him as “stupid little brother”,
or something similar to that depending on his mood.
However, this is only done to Veneziano’s face. When he’s
not around, Romano’s been shown on several occasions to look out for Veneziano.
America and England:
Short story short, the two have been able to reconcile their
rocky relations in the years following the Revolution. England’s bitter and
scathing nature towards America has softened considerably over the years.
It’s said that England once suffered from one hundred years
of heartbreak, presumably a hint to the American Revolution.[x]
Ex: England still goes to America’s centennial celebrations, despite
how sick it makes him.
He also offers to fix a crack in the first liberty bell he
gave to America, and gives him another one for his bicentennial.
Ex: The two are close enough to make fun of each other’s
politics.
America and Canada:
Canada doesn’t hate America. Instead, he hates America’s
egocentrism and often calls him out for this.
France and England:
While these two are notorious for fighting, having their own
designated preserve to quarrel in…
…they can get along with each other just as well too.
Ex: France used to be England’s cook.
Ex: England proudly calls on France’s cooking skills again
when he opens a butler café.
Ex: A summary of how their relationship’s progressed.
Prussia and Austria:
The two don’t get along with each other.
However, that doesn’t stop them from spending Christmas together as ‘family.’ Prussia, of course, initially [teasingly] refuses to accept Austria and Hungary as guests.
…
Real Hatred – Prussia and Russia:
Albeit the fact that it’s one sided, Prussia’s hatred of
Russia is deep. It’s probably one of the only case examples where it’s not a
matter of two nations simply not getting along.
Ex: Prussia will cough up blood if Russia touches him.
Either that, or he will lose four eyelashes.
With all that in mind, long-lasting hatred between nations
is rare in canon. Similarly, while current political relations may have an
influence on how nations interact with each other, the influence of the past –
on a personal level – is much greater.
It depends on their position within the global economy.
As such, a nation’s health depends on their political and economic situation. They catch colds during economic recessions.
The Great Depression strips are a good source for this, as each negative number assigned to a nation has a differential impact on their health. Since America was a manufacturing powerhouse at the time, his stock market crash affected them all.
Ex: Japan obtains a cough, meanwhile Poland runs a high fever.
In modern strips, we’re also provided with the fact that Austria will slip into a high fever and eventually collapse if Germany even so much as catches a cold.
“A reliable country that likes to approach things with a sober seriousness. He approves of and supports lots of Germany’s ideas so he may look like one of the helper countries, but in reality the level of his dependency is pretty high. So high that when Germany catches a little cold, Austria goes straight to high fever and eventually collapses, and so he doesn’t have much of a choice than to take good care of himself.”
As for how serious it can get? Spain almost died from an economic recession.
In an earlier post, I talked about the lesser known sides of
Spain. This post will focus on the more obvious, yet ironically ignored,
positive aspects of his character. Spain has never been a plain character. The
problem is that his personality is often watered down, either as a result of
the anime or people choosing to selectively represent certain aspects of his
personality.
That said, let’s go over some examples.
He’s not a cheerful
ditz all the time:
Ex: He didn’t
take chibi Romano’s constant complaining without any resistance. On several occasions,
Spain’s shown to be calling him an idiot.
Ex: He’s an
emotional or “violent” drunk. It depends on which translation you have, but it
pretty much conveys the same thing.
My translation is a bit different from the one above:
“As long as you keep him away from booze, and don’t get on
his bad side, you should be fine.”
Ex: Prior to the
strip, teenage Romano had a huge obsession with fantasizing about/ role-playing
the medieval chivalric romance novels that he read. In comes Prussia, recklessly
spouting out keywords that seem to trigger Romano’s obsession again, much to
the latter’s dismay. Mother hen Spain quickly swoops in to give a deadly warning.
Ex: He melancholically
looks back on his and France’s rough childhoods.
Ex: When the
topic of discussions falls to what each nation is known for, Spain laments over
being known for cows and tomatoes.
He’s more than capable of reading the atmosphere:
Ex: His reaction
to America after the Stock Market crashes in 1939.
Ex: He’s
heartbroken when Veneziano chooses Austria over him during the Austrian War of
Succession. The scene alludes to the fact that Spain was deeply saddened in the
years following his divorce from Austria. Likewise, the way Spain revs up his
cheery attitude in light of being rejected seems to be more of a defense
mechanism, a guarded mask of emotions, than it is of his true personality.
I say this because Romano finds Spain weeping in the next
panel.
Ex: He solemnly hints to Chibitalia of what’s to become of him right before he and his brother are
both conquered.
His optimism is not out of sheer stupidity:
It’s more like it’s a desperate sort of optimism. The way
that Spain convinces himself to push forward with a smile is eventually
internalized until he himself doesn’t even realize that what he’s doing is
unrealistic and naive. As mentioned above, it’s also a coping mechanism.
Nonetheless, there are moments where he shows a deep awareness
of his economic/ political situation.
Ex:There’s a clear recognition that he’s lost his international
standing due to poverty.
Ex: Once again, his [desperate] optimism shines through in
how he copes with his weakened economy. He sings songs, and acts happy…
…but he’s more than aware of how deep and serious his money
problems are. He’s literally clinging to Germany, albeit for exaggerated humorous effect.
He may have a laid-back personality…
…but once he gets worked up about something, his passion
replaces his typical lazing around.
Ex: He fought to have olive oil continually be marketed as a staple product
of the EU.
Again, with Spain, it seems that the happiness he forces
onto himself allows him to get too carried away in what he does (e.g., over-manufacturing and then causing a property bubble).
That’s why he comes off as naïve and a bit air-headed. You could even argue
that it’s a slight dissociation from reality to help minimize any anxiety that
he feels.
His constant smiling is also a play on the fact that the sun
never set in the Spanish Empire.
He’s selfless:
Ex: Despite all the complaining and constant belittling that
he had to endure with Romano, Spain still saves him from Turkey.
Ex: Spain spent all his money on improving Romano’s
wardrobe. [Please note that Romano was too young to realize this]. Meanwhile,
his own clothes were in tatters.
Ex: When Romano immigrates to America, Spain is the first
person he calls. Their relationship is noted to be much deeper than the one
Romano shares with Veneziano.
Immediately, Spain’s mother hen mode gets switched on as he
asks Romano how he’s been and if he’s been eating well.
He also lets Romano know how proud he is of him working and
taking responsibility for himself for once.
That said, it wouldn’t make sense for a character predicated
on a stereotype of passion to be flat and static. He’s anything but.
Note: This theory will make use of Freudian theory. While I
recognize that Freud’s ideas do not bear much contemporary relevance, that
shouldn’t take away from the fact that many of his concepts (i.e erogenous
zones, childhood memory repression, catharsis) are nonetheless employed by Hima
in the series. The purpose of this post is to give some insight into the
psychologies of the characters.
Terminology I’ll go over: Psychosexual stages, causality, regression, fixation.
Yes, that’s right. Freud’s ideas are very much prevalent in the series. A big area of his work was analyzing the impact of childhood on personality development. Freud believed in causality, meaning that who you are as an adult can be directly traced back to your childhood.
How you’re parented and
brought up is the most crucial factor. I don’t need to go into this in too much
detail, but basically, we go through five stages of development titled: Oral,
anal, phallic, latency, and genital.
For this specific post, we
only need to focus on the early stages of development, which focus on sensual
(sensory) pleasure and stimulation, often for the purposes of soothing and
experiencing relief.
Each stage has corresponding needs. If these needs are not met (under-gratification) or
if they are too easily met (over-gratification), then the person develops a
fixation.
A fixation essentially means that the person is
stuck at that level of development, which causes them to develop a problematic
personality type.
However, it’s only when that individual is met with
confrontation or a stressful situation that they regress back
to the stage in which they developed this fixation. The stress causes them to
revert back to the age where their needs weren’t met, and as such, adopt
childish behaviours.
For example, if you get into an argument with someone and they
start behaving selfishly, like a toddler, then you have every right to poke fun
at them for having Daddy or Mommy issues. Or, there are those who bite their
nails and pick at their lips, something akin to the soothing acquired from sucking
one’s thumb as a child.
Where Prussia Fits into This:
Prussia
appears to be fixated at the anal stage of development, yes anal – ahem, moving
on.
During this stage, children
from 18 months to about 3-4 years undergo a struggle for autonomy. This is the
first point in a child’s life that they have control and an awareness over their
body. What Freud specifically focused on was bowel movements; a biological
need.
Potty training, for most
toddlers, threatens to impinge on the control they’ve only just recently gained
over their body. Some toddlers refuse to let themselves be potty trained and
just go whenever they want, as if they were an infant. Others, through the
encouragement and praise of supportive parents, learn to regulate themselves
when they go to the bathroom.
How a child is parented during this phase is crucial to the type
of personality they’ll develop later in adulthood. Children who are shamed and
ridiculed if they have “accidents” develop an anal-explosive personality type. The over-gratification occurs when the child purposefully has an accident in response to their parents’ hostility.
A
child who is under-gratified still opposes their parents’ authority, but they hold their accident matter in. They refuse to go potty. This leads to the formation of an anal-retentive
personality type.
Prussia embodies aspects of both anal personality types. We have
little knowledge over how he was parented, however, we do get enough insight
into what his childhood experience was like. Rather than having shame and
ridicule imposed onto him by someone else, it’s self-inflicted.
For his whole life, he’s struggled to survive having been
surrounded by larger powers [x].
He constantly adopted new titles and territories
to ensure his existence.
This constant struggle to survive would explain why he has such
a large ego, even from a young age. His self-image is fragile, so he talks big
to reaffirm the strength that he desires to have and occasionally possesses
from time to time.
He wants praise because he likely hardly ever received it.
Notice how selective Prussia’s journal entries are. He doesn’t
acknowledge times where he was weak and only takes note of the “awesome”
moments of his life.
One last example of this fragile self image is more implicit.
Prussia’s use of language is highly political; the use of specific words are subtle,
but the meaning behind them are extremely important.
When Frederick I implores Prussia to become a stronger power in
Europe in light of their faltering industries and lacking culture, Prussia’s
confidence is at an all-time low. Nevertheless, he stubbornly, if not
desperately insists that his clothes are still “cool”.
The arc then proceeds to follow Prussia as he studies France’s
blooming culture. There, Prussia learns to equate aristocratic clothing with
strength.
After improving his nation and acquiring aristocratic clothing himself, pay attention to how Prussia’s use of language shifts. He and his clothes
are no longer just cool; they’re
awesome, if not “cooler”. Further, his self-confidence is notably stronger here.
[Side note: France switches back and forth between thinking that nice clothes = strength in this arc.]
For Prussia, it’s not so much about the specifics of this stage,
but rather the underlying theme of it. Anally-fixated persons struggle with issues
of mastery and control. They’re stubborn and don’t like authority being imposed
onto them. Put another way, they do things their own way, and when they lack
the autonomy to have control over their lives, it has a huge impact on their
self-esteem.
It’s like a toddler that pouts. They want independence from
their parents, and when this isn’t recognized, they feel inadequate and
helpless. They also tend to get defensive and throw tantrums, as would a child who doesn’t get their way.
Isn’t that exactly what happens with Prussia? Before he grew
strong under Frederick I, the confidence he asserted was weak and delusional –
he didn’t really believe that he was strong, but was too insecure to openly
admit to this. After gaining strength, his ego respectively grew.
It would follow, then, that after losing to Napoleon, Prussia
goes back to wallowing in self-pity. Again, he appears to deny how grim his situation
is, and desperately tries to convince himself otherwise despite the fact that Holy
Rome is on his death bed.
Likewise, once Prussia gains back this power in the years
leading up to German Unification, his confidence resurfaces. It’s all about
control and mastery over himself. This mastery extends as Prussia continues in aiming to be
the strongest nation, the best of the best.
He’s the center-fielder, just like a toddler is the center of
their own world.
This doesn’t mean to say that Prussia doesn’t care about
others, because it’s quite the opposite [I’ll get into that in a moment]. It
just means to say that during times of stress and anxiety, Prussia regresses
into this immature, unrealistic, and delusional perception of the world and how
it works.
Let’s end this by going over some of the anal-type personality traits that Prussia embodies.
Personality Traits:
An anal-expulsive
character is messy, cruel, and destructive. They can also be generous and
creative.
As seen in the examples above, Prussia is [self]-destructive.
When he’s feeling down, he deludes himself by vocalizing the contrary.
Ex: He claims that he likes being single, despite crying at the
sight of Hungary and Austria on Christmas.
He’s generous.
Ex: He reads fairy tales to a dying Holy Rome. I can’t imagine how
hard that must have been on him.
Ex: He selflessly steps in to protect Germany when he’s first born.
He’s creative.
Ex: He’s a great inventor.
Ex: He plays the flute.
On the other hand, an anal-retentive character is a stingy
perfectionist. They are also obstinate, neat, and orderly.
Prussia is just as neat as Germany.
Ex: They both keep their uniforms spick and span.
Ex: Coming from a strict military background, Prussia is also
orderly. He’s a very structured person.
With all that said, there’s a much more nuanced meaning behind
Prussia’s egotism. It’s more of an act stemming from his hidden insecurities,
than it is a reflection of his true self. He’s a selfless person who comes across as selfish.
Sure! While I’ve touched on the differences of the nations’ own wills in comparison to those of their bosses, I haven’t really talked about the extent to which they’re involved in their politics. Not to mention that they’ve been shown to be aware of corruption, and yet have very little power to do anything about it.
Post coming up soon!
Keep in mind that the rules I’ve come up with here are not
canon. They’re simply just me compiling examples that form a consistent logic.
Overall, I’ve noticed two principle factors that causes the
nations to mature. There are other sub-principles that fall in tandem with
these categories.
1) They need a strong and autonomous economy, which
usually entails having a large population – If the nation is being taxed as a
colony, then they’re not economically autonomous.
2) They need to achieve political autonomy and
sovereignty (independence) – This includes a self-functioning and officially recognized
government.
Let’s go over a few examples.
America:
At a young age, due to an early economic boom, we know that
America gained super strength. However, because his economy and legislatures
were authoritatively controlled by England, he grew weak for some time.
Now, notice how under England’s overbearing rule America’s
economy is strained. Not only that, but he looks considerably younger.
Then, look at him after he begins fighting for his
independence; there’s a notable increase in age between these two panels.
We also see this same growth spurt in volume 3, where
America ages exponentially right before he revolutionizes.
With control over his politics and economy, America was then
able to become an adult.
Admittedly, in the “Cleaning out the Storage” strip, America
admits that he feels like he’s becoming an “old geezer.”
Lithuania responds by telling him that he’s merely “becoming
an adult.”
Put into context, I interpret this as America maturing
mentally, as opposed to physically. From the example above, we know just how
dramatically he aged.
Likewise, what you’ll see in a moment is that America was considered
to be an adult well before the 1930s (around the time when the outsourcing
strips take place).
Canada:
Canada is another good example of this autonomous economy/politics
requirement.
For one thing, he ages far slower than America, remaining as
a young child while the latter grew up at a faster rate. This is likely owed to
America’s larger economy.
That said, this proves the strong role that the total
strength of an economy overall plays
in the nations’ aging process. America and Canada were both under England’s
rule and were subjected to taxes, but because America’s economy [and
population] was larger, he matured more quickly.
The political autonomy rule is realized once Canada becomes
a Dominion (1867). While it’s not complete independence from Britain, it was
enough for Canada to physically mature from a teen to an adult.
Monarchies vs Constitutional Monarchies and Republics:
This is a more tentative example, but I’ve noticed that the
nations possibly could have aged as a result of a changed structure in their
governments.
Before constitutional monarchies or people’s republics, the
government was strictly run by the church and later monarchs, who ruled by
absolute divine right. Basically, the people had no say in their governments.
I mention this because in this strip here, we know that
Austria, France, and Russia are about 17-18 years old during the Seven Years’
war.
We know now that France is 26 and Austria is just a little
younger than Prussia, who’s 20↑
. We still don’t have a confirmed age for Russia
yet.
Nonetheless, the difference between now and then is that
democratic governments today are supposed to derive their power from their people (corruption
and tricky nuances aside, it’s the structure not the pragmatics that matters
here).
Starting in the late 18th century, this new era
of politics and the subsequent provision of constitutional rights might have
lent to stronger senses of national identities, thus causing the nations to
adapt and age in response.
We also know from France that the nations exist and therefore get
their power from their people.
Latvia:
With the following rules above applied, this explains why
Latvia remains so fragile, small, and young despite existing for far longer
than some of the other nations who are physically older than him.
Latvia hasn’t historically experienced consistent political
independence and autonomy, and has been subjected to foreign control for much
of his existence.
His economy is also considerably poor. He lags behind in
industrial developments and remains largely dependent on agriculture.
So, before anyone says that Hima characterizes a nation’s
age for seemingly no reason, try applying these rules. I guarantee you that you’ll
find some sort of economic or political justification.
Ellawritesficssometimes 