characterization in hetalia – Page 2 – Ellawritesficssometimes

As most people already know, the nations’ body parts represent
different geographical landmarks/ land within their territory..

What I’ve found particularly interesting about Hetalia is
that it plays around with the idea of Cartesian Dualism, conforming to its
rules at times, while at other times subverting it.

The basic and essential principle is that the mind and the
body are two separate things. Himaruya, on the other hand, blurs those
boundaries.

I’ve broken down representation of this dualism into a model
consisting of three categories.

1)
Physical body part = geographical elements

2)
Geographical element –> personality influence

3)
The sociological collective –> bodily influence

Let’s break down these categories.

Physical body part = geographical elements

Fairly self-explanatory. As mentioned above, geographical
elements of the nation are reflected in the personification’s body.

Source: Comic Diary 2, Hetarchive.

Geographical element –> personality influence

The body in question here is the
body of land as opposed to that of the personification’s.

In these instances, the geography
and/or climate of the country affects the personification’s personality.

Ex: Iceland’s volcanoes and cool
weather are reflected in his canon hot and cold personality. He’s quick to rise
with anger but just as quick to cool off.

Source: World Stars Chapter 114, Hetascanlations.

The sociological collective –> bodily influence

This last category has more to do with the collective unconscious
of the society in question.

Ex: Both Italy brothers’ curls represent the “sexual
something” of Italians and function as an erogenous zone.

Source: Notes and Etc, Hetarchive.

Ex: Austria’s mole is said to have a similar function to the
Italy brothers’ curls.

Source: Hetarchive (Bamboo Thicket, eng trans., June 26, 2008).

My best guess is that this is a reference to Freud, who
believed that humans at their core are primarily sexual and aggressive beings
and that civilization exists only by repressing these urges into the unconscious mind.

Lastly, although it doesn’t exactly fit into this category, Austria’s glasses also represent his “musical something.” It would stand that this is a larger reflection of Austrian culture considering that classical music is something they are known for.

Source: Hetarchive, Notes and Etc.

In sum, while I understand that Himaruya likely didn’t have
an intent of tracing out and implicating Cartesian Dualism into his characterizations,
it still provides us with an interesting lens to analyze his work. It also proves
that a lot more thought and consideration was put into the characters than he’s
given credit for.

What this post will explore is the misgivings of Poland’s
characterization. This will just be a quick rundown of why he was characterized
the way that he was. I’ll conclude with a brief critique of Himaruya’s approach
to the subject.

Poor Creator Choice:

A common reaction in the fandom is complete bewilderment at Himaruya’s
characterization of Poland. No Polish cultural stereotypes implicate cross-dressing or speaking in a Nagoya (school girl/ valley girl) accent.

Poland’s “high-schooler”
speech was a creative choice made by Himaruya (vol 1 bio), albeit in poor taste.

“Also, his Nagoya high schooler-like speech is just a personal preference of the artist.”

In the
fourth original chapter, Himaruya also confirms that this choice was pointless;
in other words, there was no real meaning or significance to it. He did it
because it was his preference.

Sources: Hetarchive.net/ Poland + Hetarchive, notes & etc + Hetarchive, main story chapter 4.

When
you portray—let alone personify—another culture, a vast degree of
consciousness and discretion must be exercised. While Poland’s initial design as a girl
influenced the cross-dressing trope, it doesn’t make it any less of a bad decision
on his part.

Source: Bamboo Thicket (Eng trans., Hetarchive, July 23, 2008).

Character Notes:

Other criticisms of Poland’s character have to do with how
incompetent, silly, and unserious he comes off as. I’m not here to argue
against that. What I am here to disprove is the claim that this was done with
no meaning behind it.

That’s not true. Again, while it’s poorly done in taste, it
still has a purpose to Poland’s character.

He’s described as a shy and anxious person who becomes weird
to hide this sensitivity.

Source: Hetarchive.net/ Poland

Ex: When he and Lithuania first form their union. He initially didn’t want to talk to Lithuania but later adopts an ‘eccentric’ casing to hide behind.

Avoidance, Underuse,
and Reformulation (?)

As Hetarchive’s profile on him has already pointed out, over the
years, Poland’s tendency to cross-dress has “toned down.” In other words, the
trope isn’t as common anymore.

Source: Hetarchive, Halloween 2006 comic + Bamboo Thicket (Eng trans., Hetarchive, November 13, 2013).

This is an ongoing trend in Himaruya’s content that I’ve
picked up on over the years. It’s clear that he’s learned from his mistakes by
discarding harmful, insensitive, and ignorant portrayals of the characters.
However, what disappoints me is that rather than acknowledging these mistakes,
he has chosen not to comment on the matter. This is more harmful in my opinion
because it lets the pot of discourse stew and boil in an unresolved,
discombobulated mess.

Below will be a list
of events that have contributed to Lithuania’s resilience and strength of
character. There’s a reason why he’s known for his perseverance and willpower
to survive through adversity.

He was routinely targeted by the Teutonic
Knights:

On several occasions,
Prussia attempted to forcefully convert Lithuania. Meanwhile, Lithuania refused
to back down and gained enough reputation to cause Finland to be wary of his
fierce warriorhood [x].

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth:

To circumvent against the
threat of larger powers, he and Poland joined forces. The series depicts
Lithuania as the one who held up their partnership, doing most of the work
whilst being bossed around by Poland [x].

In modern times this
dynamic remains, as Lithuania still ends up doing a lot of running around for
Poland. It’s important to note that Lithuania chooses to do this, as the two
are close friends that have since smoothed out the hiccups from their past.
Lithuania’s just a bit of a pushover and is too kind to say no.

Ex: In the
intermission between the world wars (given the date that these character notes take
place), Lithuania is said to be seemingly enjoying himself whilst being dragged around by
Poland. He is also said to be rehabilitating with Poland after initially freeing
himself from Russia.

Partitions and The Death of the Commonwealth:

Lithuania bore
considerable resentment towards Poland due to the circumstances of their separation.
As Lithuania was being forcefully dragged away by Russia, Poland laughs and
makes fun of Lithuania’s expression [x].

However, it’s likely Poland didn’t understand the severe implications of what
it meant to be under Russia’s rule (e.g., physical abuse and degrading servitude). I say this because after the two gain their independence from
Russia, Poland becomes shocked when he learns that Lithuania acquired many scars
on his back.

Since Poland and Lithuania had just gained their independence and
there’s a mention of Italy having gained his independence not that far in the
past, this leads me to believe that this strip took place between WW1-WW2 [x].

On the other hand,
earlier strips contradict this. Poland is once shown to have found a half-dead
Lithuania after a fatal encounter with Russia. It’s messy to get around, but
you’ll notice that later strips fall more align with the former point.

While Lithuania may
have bore a grudge over Poland’s apathetic reaction to their separation, this
doesn’t stop Lithuania from fretting about Poland and warning the latter of
Russia’s intent to annex him prior to the outbreak of WW2.

Likewise, it seems
that after Poland realized the horrific truth of the adversity Lithuania
experienced under Russian rule, Poland became more protective of Lithuania,
even going so far as to call out Russia on several occasions despite being
scared of him and having also been under USSR influence.

Brief Respite:

Although he was poor
and had to outsource himself for work, Lithuania was able to find a stable and
welcoming environment in America’s home [x] [x].

Unfortunately, America
himself became too poor to host Lithuania during the Great Depression and
Lithuania again found himself being forcefully dragged away by Russia.

USSR:

Lithuania went back to
a life of servitude and lacked full agency (e.g., Russia attended world
meetings on his behalf.)

He was the one who
rallied the Baltics into gaining their independence from the USSR. Afterward, Lithuania
didn’t hesitate to throw away any belongings associated with this period of his
life [x] [x].

During his childhood, America experienced several periods of
loss and loneliness that ultimately impacted his personality. In turn, he developed
a chronic fear of being alone.

The most obvious event that comes to mind is the times where he was still under England’s care. England would leave for long periods of time
without visiting. America was terrified at the prospect of this and would beg
England not to leave.

Hints of the resulting loneliness he experienced during
these gaps in visits become obvious as young America picnics alone and achieves
some condolence by convincing himself that he’s not lonely [x].

While his
experiences in the Wild West may have caused him to harden and evolve from his
previous crybaby personality [x], his fear of being alone remained. I would even
argue against this piece of canon material and say that America’s still a
crybaby as an adult (other material contradicts it).

Another event that I would say had an impressionable impact
on America is the loss that he experienced with Davie. While he may have been
too young to comprehend immortality and mortal death, America still experienced
the loss of a close friend. He had gotten attached to someone only for them to
leave [x].

What’s interesting is that even after America gained his
independence and pushed England out of his political affairs, America was
unable to reconcile the idea of having a personal life without England. It’s
for this reason that I believe America goes to Canada’s house in desperation,
asking that he be able to see England who had fallen ill from the conflict [x].

On the other hand, America also detaches himself from the
pain of the loss that he experienced from the Revolution by storing away
objects that reminded him of his childhood with England (i.e., the toy soldier, suit, and gun) [x].

As mentioned, America’s fear of being alone has remained in adulthood:

He’s jealous of kids who get presents from their fathers on
Christmas [x].

He has a notable habit of asking other nations to sleep with
him after he’s watched/ read scary horror material [x] [x].

He clung to Japan during a time where all other nations
weren’t favourable of him [x].

The last is a speculative conclusion that hasn’t been
confirmed. England ties America’s tendency to mass produce to the fact that
he possessed very little belongings when building new settlements in his
country [x]. What I believe has merit is the argument that America turned to
stuff to help cope with his loneliness.

What this post intends to explore is how Canada’s invisibility
serves as a literary device in fleshing out his character development. While
the approach to this is cruder in older characterizations, it still remains
that Canada’s struggle to establish his independence and form a unique and
memorable identity is integral to his character.

As such, rather than other nations deliberately ignoring
him, his invisibility serves as a reminder of how he struggled to find a place
on the world stage. His entire character arc in World Stars is predicated on
him detaching himself from England’s and America’s shadows and becoming his own
person. Longer posts on that here [x] [x].

Invisibility on the
World Stage:

One misconception that I’ve seen perpetuated is that
England, France, and America intentionally ignore Canada, which makes them
terrible people. This simply isn’t true. The fact that they forget Canada is
completely unintentional. It’s supposed to represent how Canada as a nation
wasn’t very well-known around the world; there wasn’t something distinctly
unique to his identity that would make him stand out.

In older strips, the approach to this is much cruder. Some
examples would include Canada not being accounted for and being sat on during a
G8 meeting [x]. Interestingly, the one country who does recognize him, France, still admits that Canada doesn’t have anything remarkable about him. I did say cruder, didn’t I?

Likewise, after mistaking Canada for America, England
apologizes to Canada. He didn’t intentionally forget Canada. Again, the purpose
of this gag was to illustrate his lacking world identity and how he went from
lurking in England’s shadows to being overshadowed by America’s.

A common rebuttal to this latter point would be asking why
France and England were able to see Canada when he was younger.

The answer to this is simple. France and England had a
vested interest in the fur trade in North America, which is what made Canada a
financial mine for settlers. He was well-known to the world at the time. What’s
sad is that Canada was able to recognize the superficial reasons he was valued
for at a young age.

Ex: He mistakenly believes that England is looking at him
not as a source of resources but as an actual person of value. In reality,
England was analyzing Canada’s hair, which he believes was inherited from
France [x].

Nonetheless, the two do become family and treat each other
as such. However, the irony is that while England cares very deeply for both
America and Canada, he devoted most of his attention to America due to political
struggles (e.g., the American Revolution and the Civil War) [x].

Personal Relationships:

What I haven’t seen someone point out is that Canada’s
invisibility is limited to world meetings and his status as a personification
and not as a person. By this, I mean that when Canada represents his nation, he’s
forgotten, but in personal circumstances and interactions he’s remembered. It’s
for this reason I believe that the narrative goes from G8 countries forgetting
about Canada—which includes America—to America playing ball with Canada in the same strip.

On the other hand, others have argued that America throwing
the baseball at Canada is intentionally rude and abusive. It isn’t. America
throwing the ball too fast for Canada to keep up with served as a crude
political metaphor in signifying how Canada respectively struggled to keep up with America’s rapid rate of growth.

In world stars, this is most prominent as Canada gets
frustrated with America’s tendency to push and expect too much of him. The
problem is that Canada’s lack of identity and affluence is what allowed him to be
pushed around. Point is, later versions of the manga have used less crude methods
to portray this identity complex.

This doesn’t mean that Canada didn’t fight against this, though.

Ex: He reprimands America for overlooking him. The context
is that when America found out that England had fallen ill after the
Revolution, he goes to Canada’s house without thinking to ask Canada how
he was faring too [x].

On the other hand, this doesn’t mean that America didn’t
value Canada as a person either. The struggle between the two emphasized the
difficulty in balancing politics/self-interest and personal relations.

Ex: America’s jealous of Canada for possessing a personality
that makes it easy for him to get along with other nations [x].

Lastly, it’s important to call attention to the fact that
England valued Canada and was grateful when the latter both stepped up to his
defense and later tended to him at his bedside [x] [x].

All in all, it would be unfair and one-sided to claim that
Canada is deliberately ignored by those close to them. It’s far more
complicated than that and instead detracts from his character development.

Interpersonal
relationships:

Their perception of time is different, which makes it
difficult for them to establish close relationships with their citizens.

Ex: Canada spent
an entire weekend staring at Kumajiro’s eyelashes without realizing it [x].

Ex: Young America
befriends Davie, and the two spend their time searching for a blue flower. America
leaves and goes, finding Davie as a young adult and again as an old man with grandchildren.

Since time runs differently for nations, it’s dangerous for
humans to be close to them for too long. Himaruya cites that because time is so
warped for the nations, a human wouldn’t be able to be around one for so long
without losing their mind. Essentially,
the nations’ immortality would rub off on these humans but at a grave cost [x].

Ex: England was
careful not to spend too much time with Howard. Nonetheless, in a blog post, Himaruya claimed that it’s possible that Howard may have retained his youth and lived longer than the average
human [x].

On the other hand, the nations’ immortality can rub off onto their pets without any consequences. Animals don’t possess the same cognitive
skills to comprehend time the same way as a human can. If an animal remains as
a nation’s companion, they’ll age so long as they’re constantly with each
other. Should the pet not be around their nation, they would resume aging [x].

Lastly, another factor to consider is that the nations are
too preoccupied with “diplomatic talks, fights, and being commanded around by
their bosses.” This makes it even more difficult for them to form external personal relationships,
although there are instances where the nation forms strong relationships with their
bosses [x].

Status and Class:

I’ve talked about this before, but the nations aren’t celebrities
warranting high-end protection with limitless wealth.

Instead, they’re treated casually as if they’re any other
citizen.

Ex: They have passports [x].

It’s not “Oh my God! That’s France!”

but more like…

“Yeah, that’s him. Go, see him
for yourself,” [x].

The nations aren’t inherently wealthy either. Their wealth
and well-being depends on their economy (primarily their GDP).

Ex: France experiences an economic crisis and his wallet
runs dry [x].

In terms of housing, Himaruya’s said that the homes the
nations live in change depending on the era.

Ex: America first lived in a log cabin, then an “austere
English-style building in the suburbs, and now lives in an apartment building
near New York. Meanwhile, Italy’s lived in the same house and has remodeled it
over the years [x].

Ex: The American trait of living lavishly is reflected in
America’s present “luxurious” style of life. Using Italy again, he can’t afford
his electricity bill because he spends all his money on clothes instead [x] [x].

Ex: During “periods of peace” (I’m guessing the original
question was referring to eras without political conflict), Japan is said to be
“a young man leading an ordinary life with a strangely high rank that nobody questions
(i.e., for someone so youthful, he’s doing pretty well for himself) [x].

As mentioned in previous posts, we already know that the nations
are subordinates to their heads of state. Said control is very extensive [x] [x].

Ex: England’s boss once limited his consumption of alcohol
and sweets [x] [x].

Work:

The nations all work for their bosses and attend meetings
(e.g., world meetings, EU meetings) [x] [x].

Some nations even go to school for post-secondary education.

The type of work depends on their national industries.

Ex: America has done a hair iron commercial before [x].

What this post will explore is how America’s character consists
of several binaries. In other words, his personality is predicated on contradictions.

Let’s go over them.

Child vs Adult:

What you’ll notice is that even though America fought for
his independence and vied to be recognized as self-efficient, he’s still
equated to that of a child [x].

He’ll also often swing back and forth between a “I need you/
go away, I don’t need you” complex when interacting with England, who served as
his primary mentor/ parent figure.

Ex: He rejects England’s offer to become his friend in the
strips depicting Japan’s Westernization period [x].

Ex: In a volume 2 character note, England and Japan are
listed as America’s only friends. Remember
that this character note isn’t applicable to modern times; it’s dated.

Ex: America arrives at the African Warfront in WW2 and
ignores England’s advice, only to be overwhelmed and defeated by Germany [x].

Ex: Following his independence, America attempts to force
himself into Canada’s home after learning that England fell ill as a result of
the conflict [x].

While he may be an adult, America doesn’t always have an
accurate grasp of how the world really works.

Ex: He comes up with childish world defense plans that any
competent person (let alone adult) would realize is not realistic (let alone
possible) [x]

Ex: He successfully invests himself in the massive economic growth
experienced in his country during the second industrial revolution [x].

Reading the
Atmosphere vs Choosing not to:

The underlying comic gag is that America’s unable to read
the atmosphere [x].

Yet, in one of his character notes, it’s revealed that he
purposefully chooses not to read the atmosphere [x].

There are times where America will act purposefully
oblivious and there are times where he’s completely aware of what he’s doing.
What confuses people is that the latter occasion often involves him appearing
oblivious to hide his motives.

Ex: Not long after Russia switched sides in WW2, America
runs his mouth and refers to him as a “bad guy.” Note again, how childish this
perception of the world is.

However, when Russia confronts America and threatens him for
this comment, America seems to read the situation and feigns cluelessness to
avoid further conflict. You could also very easily read this as America being petty
the whole time and wanting to take a jab at Russia’s character.

Ex: America receives a one-way ticket to Siberia from Russia for his birthday. He ‘obliviously’ thanks Russia for the gift, not
wanting to give the latter the benefit of a reaction and promises to use it as
a tissue if he gets a cold…and then proceeds to do so [x].

Lastly, there’s the comic gag that America’s sense of
geography is egocentric in nature.

Ex: In one strip, he’s reprimanded for using a map of his
country as a substitute for a world map.

Ex: He deliberately omits Mexico from a map he constructed
because of his grudge over Alamo [x].

Point
is, he’s not dumb.

Hero vs Achilles Complex:

This one is fairly simple.
Basically, America’s infamous for being the “hero” of the series [x].

He’s strong yet also very
insecure of himself [x].

He’s insecure about his
weight and doesn’t realize that he’s not overweight at all (you’ll notice that the character note contradicts the strips following it). In fact, he’s just
muscular [x].

Ex: In this strip, he’s
shown to be aware of the fact that he wasn’t viewed very favourably by other
nations [x].

Hero vs Me Complex:

This one is a bit tricky.

There’s no doubt that
America cares about his friends and will go out of his way to make them happy
(e.g., gifts, hosting them) [x].

On the other hand, Himaruya
has to work with the global stereotype that historically American foreign
policy has mostly been of self-interest—a great power that has exerted
pressure to get what it wants.

What I really want to
stress is that much of America’s egocentrism isn’t on purpose. Longer
post on that here [x].

It’s also important to
recognize that the nations have two selves: the personal and the political.
They act differently according to their environment, whether it’s a world meeting
or a casual outing. They shouldn’t be confused as the same thing.

Still, there are times
where America will deliberately attempt to intimidate other nations into
complying with him. Like a child, he lives in his own world and isn’t receptive
to other opinions.

Ex: Canada gets fed up with
post-colonial America, berating the latter for being too domineering, bossy,
and selfish [x],

Ex: He claims to want to
work together with other nations. Moments later, he states that opposing
opinions won’t be tolerated.

Ex: He snaps bundled spoons
as an intimidation tactic to prevent other nations from disagreeing with him [x].

In sum, this post shouldn’t
be taken as an excuse to hop on the bandwagon to point out how flawed America
is. It’s quite the opposite. Be mindful that Hetalia’s whole premise is satirical
stereotypes; it doesn’t hurt to have a sense of humour either. His contradictions
and flaws are what make him funny and relatable.

What this post aims to
do is examine the ways in which the nations are impacted by the chronicity of
the wars they’ve endured as well as the coping mechanisms that they employ to bear
these hardships. Aside from the predictability of physical pain and illness,
there is a disturbing sense of normalization and domesticity in how the nations
negotiate their lifestyles in war. It’s
maladaptive.

That said, let’s go over
some examples.

Physical Pain and Illness:

The most obvious impact
of war and political struggles—both
domestic and international—is the physical strain that it puts on a nation’s body.

Ex: During the Second World War, Germany and Italy are both taken as
prisoners of war. Germany compares the pain of torture to a mosquito bite, as
his daily life is far more painful.

Ex: England falls ill on several occasions following major political conflicts
(e.g., the American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, World War II) [x].

Ex: China complains of body aches, stemming from political infighting
in his country [x] [x].

Sense of Helplessness:

Of course, smaller
powers are rendered vulnerable and pliable to the discretion of larger powers.

Ex: Belgium and Luxembourg discuss their inability to protect themselves
during both World Wars [x].

Ex: The conditions that Russian soldiers experienced were so bad that
Russia becomes ecstatic when Germany takes him as a prisoner of war. He
compares the German POW camps to heaven.

Ex: England’s normalized being captured by
the Axis and pre-preemptively brought a spare change of clothes [x].

Suspicion and Hostility:

War is a breeding ground
for distrust and betrayal. As such, the nations must always be ready to fight
for their lives, even in seemingly innocuous circumstances.

Ex: When the two first
meet in World War I, Germany second guesses himself several times on whether
Italy poses a threat to him.

Ex: Russia shares his tea
ration with England. While skeptical at first, England accepts. The sweetness
of the tea initially causes England to conclude that Russia poisoned him. What
matters here is the fact that England rationalized this outcome as a legitimate
possibility…[x].

Domesticity, Normalization, and Adaptation:

As horrible and gruesome
as war may be, there are still moments where the nations are able to enjoy
themselves and share a good laugh. The problem, then, is that having had
experienced countless wars, the nations bring the domestic into the world of
war—i.e., war becomes their home and the private
and public sphere divide becomes muddled.

Ex: England drinks tea in
the middle of the battlefield. Trivial as this may appear, on a latent level,
he’s attempting to include a routine and sense of normalcy in an environment
that is otherwise chaotic and unpredictable.

Ex: After infiltrating
America’s war camp, Prussia teases Germany for his impression of an American.

Ex:Having just occupied
Rome, America asks the terrified Italy Brothers if they could make him
authentic Italian cuisine [x].

The casualness in the way
America speaks is disturbing considering that from his perspective, taking over
another country is normal. It’s not
something that should produce fear but rather should be accepted as is. He
doesn’t consider the Italy Brothers to be his personal enemies. The personal is not political in this case.

Relief:

The best nations that
illustrate the burdens of war are those who have passed on. Rome and Germania
visit Earth together and upon reflecting on their lives, they reach a similar
conclusion: death gave them a sense of liberation.

They’re no
longer bound by their bosses’ orders and aren’t forced to participate in wars
they have no interest in being involved in [x].

Over the course of the series, I’ve
found several clever ways that Himaruya uses the nations physical bodies and
interactions to reflect wider historical, social, and political circumstances.

Political pressure and suppression:

Typically, I’ve noticed that the
use of physical force between a dominant and subordinate nation reflects
political pressure and suppression. Russia is a prime example of this. You’ll
often see him squeezing, bending, and pressing down on other nations—obliviously,
of course. Remember that he’s unaware of his cruelty [x].

Ex: I’ve speculated before that
the reason Latvia is so short is a symbolic representation of how he has been
politically marginalized and controlled for a significant part of his history [x].

In other words, he lacked the
independence and autonomy that would have allowed him to achieve growth and
flourish on his own. His growth was stunted by virtue of him being pushed down
into submission.

Latvia citing the reason for his
shortness as a result of Russia pushing down on his head, to me, acts as a
wider metaphor for political suppression.

Ex: Russia squeezes and hugs Czechia and Slovakia to end
their dispute over whether they should include a hyphen in their name. In this
context, the hug is Russia asserting pressure over not what he thinks should be
their name but rather what their name will be [x].

Ex: Russia hugs Bulgaria from behind [x].

Ex: In the strips depicting the Baltics path to independence
from the USSR, Russia squeezes Lithuania’s shoulders [x].

Conflicts:

Wars and battles can also be depicted in seemingly trivial
interactions between nations. The battles occur literally but are repeated figuratively
in these interactions.

Ex: To symbolize how France picked at the remains of some of
Austria’s lost territories after the War of Austrian Succession, France also
loots from Austria directly [x].

Servility and Class:

Different classes and social status are reflected in the
clothing that dominant and subordinate nations wear. Nations who are
conquered, annexed, or made to be under the control of another nation are
adorned in servants’/ maids’ clothing.

Ex: Chibitalia becomes a servant to Austria after being
conquered [x].

Ex: Lithuania acting as Russia’s servant while the latter
attended a world meeting on both of their behalves.

Ex: Romania and Bulgaria during the Soviet era.

What this post aims to do is capture England and France’s
relationship at its most basic core. Contrary to popular opinion, France and
England don’t hate each other. There is a discrepancy in what they say and what
they do and feel, and that’s a critical point to understand when examining
their dynamic. What best exemplifies this is a character note from Volume 1.

England is stated to have an “inseparable fight-friendship”
with France. In other words, the whole purpose of their relationship is
predicated on irony. The two ‘despise’ each other due to political ties and
personal disputes, while at the same time, they’ll also find themselves
inexplicably gravitating toward the other. Point is, even when they were
enemies, having grown up together, the two still hold a degree of familiarity that
has made them inseparable, regardless if they’re allies or enemies.

That said, I’ve organized their relationship into three main
themes. Let’s tie this back to the strips.

Rivalry:

Of course, I have to begin with what they’re most known for:
fighting and bickering.

The two grew up as rivals and continue to be rivals in
adulthood. Remember that there’s a difference between being a rival and an
enemy. Historically, France and England bounced back and forth between being enemies
or not but always remained as rivals [x].

When they were younger, the comic gag was that France
desired to conquer England, whom he viewed as “uncute.”

While France did tease England for his hair and fashion, I
don’t think he realizes the extent that this has on England’s self-esteem.
England’s pride is too great to admit that France’s words affected how he
viewed himself, so it wasn’t exactly a topic that they brought up and discussed
openly [x].

Ex: England privately reflects on his lacking sense of refinement
after France mocks his sense of style.

Nonetheless, in the same strip, France still takes the time
to cut England’s hair, let alone compliment him, and reserves a matching clothing
piece for England to wear.

We also know that during the Norman Conquest, England became
a subordinate to France.

Ex: England isn’t willing to admit to young America that
France used to cook for him during this period [x].

Another example that illustrates their rivalry well is how
France sided against England in the Revolution [x] [x].

What I take away from this is the differentiation between
the influence that politics has in the present experience of relationships
between nations versus the accumulation of history and experiences that affect
their personal relationships.

That brings me to my next theme.

Camaraderie:

As mentioned, while England and France fight and bicker
frequently, enemies or not, they would still be considered to be each other’s
right-hand man. Their history together runs deep. The opposite’s presence is
something that has always been a constant in their life. It’s for this reason
that I believe they always find themselves drawn to the other in a variety of
circumstances.

Ex: In WW2 when he’s occupied by the Nazi regime, England
takes France into his home.

Ex: When he opens a maid café, England has no qualms in
proudly declaring the cook of the establishment to be French [x].

Ex: In Volume 6, we see France reprimanding and confronting
England on how poorly he raised America.

Misnomer:

Lastly, it’s no question that France and England declaring
that they hate each other is a misnomer. The discrepancies in their words and
their actions speak enough volumes to this.

Ex: When they thought the world was going to end in the year
1000, England decides to grant France’s wish and pretends to be conquered by
the latter.

Ex: In the middle of a brawl, France compliments the
material of England’s outfit, and, in return, England offers France a 20%
discount for the same material [x].

Ex: France plans to sightsee in England and asks England for
any hotel recommendations. While verbally refusing to give France the
recommendations, England still emails them to France [x].

Ex: In the well-known “Dream United Kingdom” strip, France
proposes to England after the Suez Canal Crisis wreaked havoc on their
economies. The intention was to establish a union between the UK and France [x].

What’s always interested me is that even though England was
vehemently opposed to marrying France, his reason for not doing so wasn’t an
outright rejection. Instead, he claims that he didn’t want to marry France for
the lame reason of ameliorating their financial circumstances.

In sum, while France and England may be rivals and
extensively get on each other’s nerves, to only look at them in this light
would be to wrongly stereotype their relationship. The two have an interwoven
complex of friendship and rivalry; both components are necessary if their
dynamic is to be looked at in whole.