All my super strength posts on
America and Russia can be found here [x][x][x].
Tonight, what I’ll reveal is that
super strength among the nations isn’t exclusive. While they don’t reach the
same levels of Russia or America – due to how globalized their economic and
political strength was, hence why they have/had greater strength – other nations
have, in fact, become stronger as a result of their country’s power, status,
and influence. There’s also one example that might be evidence of nation’s
being able to attain super strength during times of adversity/ stress.
Post coming up tonight!
Any strip that revolves around independence or revolution is
phenomenal in my opinion.
America – Fighting for independence from England [x].
The Baltics – Declaring independence from the USSR [x].
France – The fear of other European nations in response to
the French Revolution [x].
Italy– Fighting for independence from Austria [x].
The personifications can temporarily hate each other on a
personal level and yet be aligned due to politics.
Or, they can be political enemies and still view each other with
positive regard on a personal level.
Or, they can dislike each other on both a political and
personal level and yet still be allies.
Just to give an example of what you mentioned, we see this
with Austria, Russia, and France during the Seven Years’ War.
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PART 2
Italy:
Loneliness–
Ex: During the Second Industrial
Revolution, Italy breaks down crying when England asks him for help, citing
that it had been a long time since someone had last trusted him. At the time,
he had just unified with Romano, so their relations were even rockier than they
are now.
Fear of being useless and
unwanted, abandonment–
Ex: When Germany makes an
alliance with Russia, Italy gets anxious and suffers from a nightmare. He imagines that his allies, Germany and Japan, want nothing to do with him.
Ex: He makes Germany reassure
him several times that he’s not hated.
Discontentment with looks–
Ex: Italy panics when he gains
weight. Germany has to reassure him by drawing up a poll that confirms that it’s okay for handsome Italian men to have a bit of stomach.
Ex: He worries that he’s not
macho enough.
Prussia:
Fear of being alone + single–
Ex: He never married.
As such, no matter how much he
tries to convince himself that he likes being alone, the fact that he cries
when he sees Austria and Hungary on Christmas proves otherwise.
Fear of being weak + inferior–
Prussia’s life cycle is full
of peak and weak moments.
When he’s weak, he’s meek and
down in spirits.
When he has power, he becomes
cocky and will degrade others to make himself feel better.
Romano:
Inferiority over being
compared to his brother–
Russia:
Fear of being alone +
inability to make friends–
Ex: He’s put-off by America’s ability to make friends.
Ex: He grows disheartened
when many nations are unable/ choose not to visit him during the New Years’ break. A blizzard plays a part in this too.
Ex: He’ll call anyone his
friend, even General Winter who abuses and attacks him on an annual basis.
Ukraine:
Discontentment over looks–
She doesn’t like her big
chest. One strip in Volume 2 is literally titled:
“I Hate my Big Boobs!”
Ex: During the 2013-2014 Halloween
Event, others point out that her costume is too tight and restraining. (It’s to prevent
them from bouncing).
When other nations point this out, she grows uncomfortable and tells them not to mention it.
That said, you can’t say that
these characters don’t have their flaws or complexes, hardly any of which that
you see depicted in the anime. So no, Hetalia isn’t simple. The fandom didn’t
make it any deeper than what it already was.
Oh, there’s plenty.
Russia taking back Lithuania
after the Great Depression + America’s reaction as Lithuania calls out for him.
Canada crying when Seychelles
remembers him as a member of the G8.
Germany promising Italy that
he values their friendship by giving him a cross necklace.
…
The relief on France’s face
when he realizes that Jeanne d’Arc has been reborn into a happier life
It flows
differently for them:
Of course,
being immortal affects how the nations experience time. They’ve lived for
centuries/ millennia and experience time at a much faster pace. A year, let
alone a decade, for a human is nothing to them.
Ex: Canada once
spent an entire weekend in a trance, staring into Kumajiro’s eyelashes. [x]
Ex: Because time flows differently for him, by the time America visits his child/ later teen friend Davie again, the latter’s had both children and grandchildren [x].
Interestingly,
the nation’s immortality can also rub off on other beings.
Ex: Pets like
Hanatamago, Pochi, or the Gilbird’s have extended lifespans as a result of
being around their owner nations. Should they separate, they would become
normal pets again. [x]
Ex: The
situation with humans is similar, but not quite the same. Unlike pets, humans
have a stronger developmental capacity to perceive time. It’s likely for this
reason that being around a nation for too long would cause them to go mad. The
drastic warping of time would be too much to handle.
How the Nations cope with their Immortality:
From what we’ve
seen in the strips, immortality is depicted to be more of a curse than it is a
blessing. There are several instances where nations have expressed regret over
their existence.
Ex: Germania
and Rome, as fallen ex-nations, experience relief over not having to deal with
wars and their leaders.
Ex: As an
Ancient in his own right, China romanticizes about the past, wishing that the
world was the same as it was 4000 years ago.
Ex: Italy
admits that he sometimes gets bored of seeing the same people every day [x]. Also
notice how his boss recognizes that immortality isn’t beneficial in practice,
as Italy’s had to endure countless painful memories and experiences.
While it would
be impossible for them to remember everything, as they’re not perfect immortals
and can get injured and die, the fact that Russia claims that it’s good that
they don’t remember all the bad in their life may allude to an unconscious repression
of memories.
Still using
Russia as an example, given how he’s historically been tortured and punished by
his bosses, it’s easy to understand why he wouldn’t want to remember everything.
The purpose of this post will be to analyze the ways in
which childhood traumas and unhealthy relationships are continuously repeated
in how the nations lead their adult lives.
England:
What you’ll see with England is that the rocky relationship
he has with his brothers is replicated in how he maintains future
relationships. As a child, his brothers, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
had a profound hatred of him. The hatred was so deep that they would send hexes
to England in the mail or attack him with arrows and stones.
The consequence of this, from a psychological standpoint,
would be that England learned to have a hostile distrust of others. Just like
his brothers would send him away, England replicates this through his own
hostility. He denigrates others because it’s something he grew accustomed to –
it’s all he knows how to do.
In other words, he isolated himself and became the Black
Sheep of Europe.
Likewise, this denigration is also imposed on himself. England
has poor self-esteem and deprecates himself just as much as he does to others.
Those who have problematic upbringings unconsciously pass on
their own neuroses (inferiorities) to their children. You can’t expect a parent
to be a true parent if they haven’t experienced what it’s like to be a child
who’s cared for and loved.
This would explain why England did such a poor job in
raising America, despite caring so deeply for him. He’s capable of love but has
a terrible way of expressing it. He was alone in childhood, so leaving America for long periods of time was, in his mind, ‘normal’. It’s not.
This is why I also believe he was so critical of America
post-Revolution. The relationship he shared with America was full of unconditional
love and care on the part of the latter. He could come back and visit at anytime and be able to expect a warm welcome from America.
America was naïve and had no reason to hate him. The hostility came when America declared his independence. England was being pushed away again… The care was gone, and not knowing how to cope with this, England
went back to being hostile.
Notice the repetition in behaviour where England, the older
brother figure, casts a hex on America, the younger ‘brother. ’I don’t think
this was done for no reason.
He attempts to get America to sit in the cursed Busby Stoop chair. Russia sits in it instead.
America:
With England gone for long periods of time, America had to
grow up fast. Of course, this didn’t stop him from [initially] having panic
attacks over being left alone, especially given how young he was biologically.
In more modern strips, America still panics over the thought
of being alone.
Ex: America pokes his nose into other nations’ business to
the detriment of them ‘hating’ him. Desperately, he tries to convince himself
that at the very least he has Japan as a friend.
Germany:
As a nation that was thrust into wars right from birth,
Germany has trouble understanding sincerity in others.
He also has difficulty understanding the concept of
praise and doesn’t know how to react when he’s on the receiving end of it.
Similarly, when he gives praise himself, it takes him a
while to realize that he’s done so.
Russia:
Growing up under repressive rule warped Russia’s conception
of what a healthy relationship should be like. As such, he mistakenly grew to
believe that power is what is needed and essential in a relationship. The
adults [conquering leaders] are giants that can do whatever they please. Russia,
as the child [underling], is both powerless and coercively subject to
satisfying what the adult wants.
He claims that he and Lithuania can’t be friends until they have more power.
This child imagery pops up again during Bloody Sunday. The
way he describes the protestors as children, as something to be controlled and suppressed,
is even more telling of what he perceives to be a ‘normal’ relationship.
Russia is attacked during the 2010 Christmas Event and calls
on General Winter for help. When they’re both defeated, Russia realizes that
his power has been taken away. He’s no longer in control of the situation and tears
up over how nostalgic this is of the past. It’s the perverse power dynamic
that is most important here.
I’ll end on the note that a lot of the ‘childish’ behaviour
that Hetalia is criticized for has meaning and purpose to it. There’s a ton to
unpack if you step past the simplicity of external appearances and dig deeper –
that’s just how detailed Hima’s characterization is. It’s easy to overlook if
you only look.
To understand Russia’s brutal and violent side, it’s
important to step into his mindset, warped as it is. I go into this in greater
detail in another post [x], but to put it briefly here…
During his childhood, Russia experienced severe repression
and violence. As such, he wrongly learned to equate violence as both a show of
love and a solution to his problems. Not only that, but this violence continued
into his adulthood.
Ex: Russia considers General Winter and anyone he meets to be his friend. The key point to keep in mind here is that while General Winter
protects Russia, he also attacks him every year.
Ex: Russia naïvely refers to the other Allied powers are his
friends. Meanwhile, Lithuania has a more realistic view, stating that nations
operate on principles of self-interest.
Russia becomes saddened after hearing this.
Ex: Russia’s bosses are so notoriously cruel that they
torture him when they’re bored.
They once asked him to stop a tank with his own body.
Again, I’m not justifying any of what I’m about to show. I’m
providing an explanation and in doing so, I’m shedding light on how Russia’s
warped sense of mentality makes him incapable of differentiating between right
and wrong. In other words, he’s not able to possess any morals, despite often
having good intentions.
This amorality and confusion of what true friendship, or
rather, what a healthy relationship with another person entails ,are what caused
nations in the USSR a lot of pain, suffering, and fear.
What I don’t see a lot of people mention is that these nations
are fully aware of the fact that Russia is incapable of making these distinctions.
While they may be scarred and still fearful of Russia in present times, not all
of them hold this against him. There’s meaning and reason behind this abuse,
foul and irrational as the reasoning may seem to a normal person.
That said, let’s tie this back to the strips.
What living in Russia’s Home was like:
Nations under Russian control became servants to Russia.
They were indoctrinated into saying what Russia wanted to
hear. There was no tolerance for dissent.
Similarly, while Russia represented them at world
conferences, the controlled nations would either stay home or act as servants
during these meetings.
Just like Russia was forced to build a waterway in impoverished
conditions, Latvia was tasked with building an entire railway on his own.
Notice how Russia pushes down on Latvia’s head when he protests to this.
Prussia is noted to have worked unprofitable jobs during his
time spent in the USSR. [x]
How they were affected:
Lithuania received many scars on his back. This can be both
as a result of violent historical events marking themselves on his body and
Russia physically causing these marks. It’s left open-ended.
The trauma of Russia’s abuse is enough to have him experience
flashbacks.
Ex: Lithuania recalls declaring independence from the USSR. As
he imagines this, he remembers Russia squeezing his shoulders. Still immersed
in the memory, Lithuania begins squeezing Latvia’s and Estonia’s shoulders
without realizing it. He squeezes hard enough to cause them both pain.
In a volume 2 character note, Lithuania is said to be rehabilitating
from his time spent in the USSR.
I’ve said this before, but Russia pushing down on Latvia’s
head is likely a metaphor for political repression. Latvia’s growth was stunted
in the process.
What is of more relevance here is how ignorant Russia is to
Latvia’s suffering. He doesn’t connect Latvia’s trembling to feelings of fear
[of him].
To get Latvia to stop trembling, Russia’s solution is to
snap Latvia’s neck. You can’t honestly tell me that this is the rationality of
a sane person. This isn’t calculated pain; it’s irrational.
The imposition of Russian culture was so strong that Belarus
once forgot her own language.
How they get along now:
The tension and fear are still there, but most of it has to do with the fact that
Russia’s personality is still unstable and unpredictable. He perceived the USSR
as an opportunity to keep and make new friends.
You can imagine how hard Russia took this separation,
childish and unrealistic as his conception of reality is. He was all alone
again.
Latvia is still scared of Russia and is not keen to visit him
on New Years when invited.
Estonia also remains fearful of Russia but is not afraid to
stand up to him if needed.
Ex: Estonia confronts Russia when he believes that the
latter hacked his blog.
Ex: Estonia has no problem hanging up on Russia during the
2010 Christmas event.
Prussia holds a strong resentment toward Russia. The hatred
is so deep that he’ll puke if Russia even so much as lays a finger on him.
With all that in mind, I’d like to end this by pointing out
that while history may have divided the nations [personifications], they don’t only let this effect how they interact
with each other in the present. They may still resent and be fearful of him; however, it doesn’t stop most of them from making peace and acting as if they’re a unit again.
This is seen in the 2011 Halloween event, where most of the
ex-Soviet nations coordinated their costumes together. Perhaps this is one
stride closer to obtaining the true friendship that Russia had originally
sought in them.
Ellawritesficssometimes 