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.
Ellawritesficssometimes 