ysabetwordsmith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2023-03-26 02:25 pm
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2023-03-26 02:25 pm
Entry tags:
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 7: Trust and Betrayal
This installment discusses the themes of trust and betrayal, hope and disappointment regarding Wednesday Addams in Wednesday.
Here is the character study:
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 1: Introduction
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 2: Ethnicity & Linguistics
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 3: An Outcast
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 4: Thoughts and Feelings
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 5: Relationships
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 6: Solitary Accomplishments
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 7: Trust and Betrayal
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 8: Connected Characters
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 9: Enid
See also:
"Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 1: Introduction
The whole mess of relationships in Wednesday relates to the recurring themes of trust and betrayal, hope and disappointment, throughout Season 1. Since these themes also play major roles in both Gothic literature and teen drama, you can see why the two genres mesh so well. Episode 1 starts out with Wednesday's parents Gomez and Morticia hoping that Wednesday will like Nevermore Academy, while Wednesday expects only more disappointment. Enid Sinclair immediately puts her trust in Wednesday, trying to create a friendship out of thin air; this quickly hits the rocks, although they become surprisingly close despite their difficulties. Wednesday routinely betrays people, from breaking school rules to breaking into Xavier Thorpe's art shed. She is betrayed in turn by Tyler Galpin, who eventually raises his level of creepiness to where even Wednesday looks horrified by it. There's a lot of vulnerability in play.
Hope and trust are about expectations. Disappointment and betrayal are about expectancy violation. Part of growing up, or surviving a horror series, is learning to manage your expectations. This requires clear communication, which Wednesday is bad at, Enid is not finished learning, and villains actively avoid. However, it offers tremendous potential for the series going forward. How will characters deal with the disappointments and betrayals? Will Wednesday choose to stay a loner, or try to learn better relationship skills in hopes of maintaining friends or at least allies? Will Enid realize that Wednesday has little experience with friendship and less social perception, thus violating expectations as much out of ignorance as indifference? Solid canonical evidence exists for a range of interpretations.
Wednesday Addams: And just like that, my hopes were dashed against the rocks of bitter disappointment. My foe was no psychotic killer. More like a bunch of high school clowns.
-- Best Wednesday Quotes
Wednesday Addams: How many fathers hand their daughter a fencing blade when she's five?
Gomez Addams: Your saber strokes were an essay in perfection.
Wednesday Addams: Or teach her how to swim with sharks?
Gomez Addams: They found you as cold-blooded as I do.
Wednesday Addams: The right way to flay a rattlesnake?
Gomez Addams: They really do taste like chicken when prepared properly.
Wednesday Addams: The point is, you taught me how to be strong and independent. How to navigate myself in a world full of treachery and prejudice. You are the reason I understand how imperative it is that I never lose sight of myself. So as far as fatherhood goes, I would say you've been more than adequate.
Gomez Addams: Gracias, Wednesday.
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Wednesday’. The scene where this moment comes from is from Season 1 Episode 5, with the title of ‘You Reap What You Woe’
Enid: Wish me luck.
Wednesday: If he breaks your heart, I'll nail gun his.
-- Best Wednesday Addams Quotes
"There are monsters everywhere. And sometimes the monsters we least suspect are the most dangerous. They don’t need teeth and claws to terrify. They hide in the shadows until no one is looking. And then they strike."
-- Wednesday Addams
Wednesday Addams: I always believed relying on other people to be a sign of weakness. That inevitably they would lead me to disappointment. Turns out I've been the disappointment.
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Wednesday’. The scene where this moment comes from is from Season 1 Episode 8, with the title of ‘A Murder of Woes’
Wednesday Addams: Do you always speak in riddles?
Goody Addams: Do you always seek simple answers? The path of a Raven is a solitary one. You end up alone, unable to trust others, only seeing the darkness within them.
Wednesday Addams: Is that supposed to scare me?
Goody Addams: It should.
-- Best Wednesday Quotes
Xavier Thorpe: When I was in the cell I said a lot of... things. Being your friend should come with a warning label. But... I don't know a lot of people who would take an arrow for me. So... Welcome to the 21st century, Addams. (gifts her a smartphone) My number's in there already.
Wednesday Addams: That's a bold move. I hope you're not expecting me to call.
Xavier Thorpe: No, never. I'd settle for a text, though.
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Wednesday’. The scene where this moment comes from is from Season 1 Episode 8, with the title of ‘A Murder of Woes’
10 Weaknesses Wednesday Addams Doesn't Want You to Know
12 Surefire Ways to Get a Creepy Guy to Leave You Alone
Betrayal: The Feeling of Being Broken ... and the Recovery
Communicating in Difficult Situations
Dealing with Betrayal
Dive Deep Into What Makes Your Characters Vulnerable
HEALTHY EXPECTATIONS IN A RELATIONSHIP: LEARN WHAT TO EXPECT IN A RELATIONSHIP – AND WHAT TO FORGET
How to Rebuild Trust
How To Write Saucy Betrayals
Relational Transgression
The Role Of Trust And Expectations In Relationships
Trust Building
We Have to Talk: A Step-By-Step Checklist for Difficult Conversations
What Makes a Guy Creepy? 24 Signs & Types of Men Girls Should Avoid
Women share their best tactics for scaring away 'creepy' men in public
Unlike many misanthropes, though, Wednesday is still somewhat motivated by social emotions like guilt and shame. They're just personally focused more than communally focused, and not always with the usual triggers or interpretations. Where other people feel uncomfortable if they fail to meet society's standards, Wednesday feels uncomfortable if she fails to meet her own standards. This helps explain actions that otherwise seem to conflict with her cold and indifferent personality.
For instance, visiting Eugene Ottinger in the hospital after the monster attacks him isn't something she would normally do. But she thinks of Eugene as a little brother, and she feels significantly responsible for his injury because she went to a social event instead of monster-hunting with him. Failing to protect him makes her feel bad.
Taking an arrow for Xavier Thorpe in Episode 8 is surprising because Wednesday doesn't even particularly like him. After mistakenly accusing him and setting him up to get arrested in Episode 7, though, she feels bad not so much about harming him as about being wrong. That creates an uncomfortable imbalance in the relationship. So protecting him fixes that imbalance.
Wednesday doesn't care much about what other people think, but she cares a lot about being right and being competent, so if others see her as being wrong and inept, that does bother her. She's also very territorial, about people as well as places or things. Those factors influence how she treats others.
Morticia Addams: That boy's family was going to file attempted murder charges. How would that have looked on your record?
Wednesday Addams: Terrible. Everyone would know I failed to get the job done.
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Wednesday’. The scene where this moment comes from is from Season 1 Episode 1, with the title of ‘Wednesday’s Child Is Full of Woe’
Wednesday Addams: I want to assure you that I remain just as cold and heartless as the first day we met.
Dr. Valerie Kinbott: I doubt a cold, heartless person. would be sitting by her friend's bedside. feeling some modicum of guilt for his condition.
-- Best Wednesday Quotes
"For someone who claims to have no friends you certainly go out of your way to protect them."
-- Principal Weems
"There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being proven right."
-- Wednesday Addams
3 Ways to Be More Thoughtful
How To Deal With Inconsiderate People
How to Not Care What People Think, According to 23 Experts
The Importance of Competence
Learn How To Stop Being Mean Unintentionally
Sometimes you have to choose between being right and being effective
Why Shame and Guilt Are Functional For Mental Health
Here is the character study:
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 1: Introduction
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 2: Ethnicity & Linguistics
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 3: An Outcast
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 4: Thoughts and Feelings
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 5: Relationships
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 6: Solitary Accomplishments
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 7: Trust and Betrayal
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 8: Connected Characters
Meta: "Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 9: Enid
See also:
"Why I Love Wednesday Addams" Part 1: Introduction
The whole mess of relationships in Wednesday relates to the recurring themes of trust and betrayal, hope and disappointment, throughout Season 1. Since these themes also play major roles in both Gothic literature and teen drama, you can see why the two genres mesh so well. Episode 1 starts out with Wednesday's parents Gomez and Morticia hoping that Wednesday will like Nevermore Academy, while Wednesday expects only more disappointment. Enid Sinclair immediately puts her trust in Wednesday, trying to create a friendship out of thin air; this quickly hits the rocks, although they become surprisingly close despite their difficulties. Wednesday routinely betrays people, from breaking school rules to breaking into Xavier Thorpe's art shed. She is betrayed in turn by Tyler Galpin, who eventually raises his level of creepiness to where even Wednesday looks horrified by it. There's a lot of vulnerability in play.
Hope and trust are about expectations. Disappointment and betrayal are about expectancy violation. Part of growing up, or surviving a horror series, is learning to manage your expectations. This requires clear communication, which Wednesday is bad at, Enid is not finished learning, and villains actively avoid. However, it offers tremendous potential for the series going forward. How will characters deal with the disappointments and betrayals? Will Wednesday choose to stay a loner, or try to learn better relationship skills in hopes of maintaining friends or at least allies? Will Enid realize that Wednesday has little experience with friendship and less social perception, thus violating expectations as much out of ignorance as indifference? Solid canonical evidence exists for a range of interpretations.
Wednesday Addams: And just like that, my hopes were dashed against the rocks of bitter disappointment. My foe was no psychotic killer. More like a bunch of high school clowns.
-- Best Wednesday Quotes
Wednesday Addams: How many fathers hand their daughter a fencing blade when she's five?
Gomez Addams: Your saber strokes were an essay in perfection.
Wednesday Addams: Or teach her how to swim with sharks?
Gomez Addams: They found you as cold-blooded as I do.
Wednesday Addams: The right way to flay a rattlesnake?
Gomez Addams: They really do taste like chicken when prepared properly.
Wednesday Addams: The point is, you taught me how to be strong and independent. How to navigate myself in a world full of treachery and prejudice. You are the reason I understand how imperative it is that I never lose sight of myself. So as far as fatherhood goes, I would say you've been more than adequate.
Gomez Addams: Gracias, Wednesday.
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Wednesday’. The scene where this moment comes from is from Season 1 Episode 5, with the title of ‘You Reap What You Woe’
Enid: Wish me luck.
Wednesday: If he breaks your heart, I'll nail gun his.
-- Best Wednesday Addams Quotes
"There are monsters everywhere. And sometimes the monsters we least suspect are the most dangerous. They don’t need teeth and claws to terrify. They hide in the shadows until no one is looking. And then they strike."
-- Wednesday Addams
Wednesday Addams: I always believed relying on other people to be a sign of weakness. That inevitably they would lead me to disappointment. Turns out I've been the disappointment.
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Wednesday’. The scene where this moment comes from is from Season 1 Episode 8, with the title of ‘A Murder of Woes’
Wednesday Addams: Do you always speak in riddles?
Goody Addams: Do you always seek simple answers? The path of a Raven is a solitary one. You end up alone, unable to trust others, only seeing the darkness within them.
Wednesday Addams: Is that supposed to scare me?
Goody Addams: It should.
-- Best Wednesday Quotes
Xavier Thorpe: When I was in the cell I said a lot of... things. Being your friend should come with a warning label. But... I don't know a lot of people who would take an arrow for me. So... Welcome to the 21st century, Addams. (gifts her a smartphone) My number's in there already.
Wednesday Addams: That's a bold move. I hope you're not expecting me to call.
Xavier Thorpe: No, never. I'd settle for a text, though.
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Wednesday’. The scene where this moment comes from is from Season 1 Episode 8, with the title of ‘A Murder of Woes’
10 Weaknesses Wednesday Addams Doesn't Want You to Know
12 Surefire Ways to Get a Creepy Guy to Leave You Alone
Betrayal: The Feeling of Being Broken ... and the Recovery
Communicating in Difficult Situations
Dealing with Betrayal
Dive Deep Into What Makes Your Characters Vulnerable
HEALTHY EXPECTATIONS IN A RELATIONSHIP: LEARN WHAT TO EXPECT IN A RELATIONSHIP – AND WHAT TO FORGET
How to Rebuild Trust
How To Write Saucy Betrayals
Relational Transgression
The Role Of Trust And Expectations In Relationships
Trust Building
We Have to Talk: A Step-By-Step Checklist for Difficult Conversations
What Makes a Guy Creepy? 24 Signs & Types of Men Girls Should Avoid
Women share their best tactics for scaring away 'creepy' men in public
Unlike many misanthropes, though, Wednesday is still somewhat motivated by social emotions like guilt and shame. They're just personally focused more than communally focused, and not always with the usual triggers or interpretations. Where other people feel uncomfortable if they fail to meet society's standards, Wednesday feels uncomfortable if she fails to meet her own standards. This helps explain actions that otherwise seem to conflict with her cold and indifferent personality.
For instance, visiting Eugene Ottinger in the hospital after the monster attacks him isn't something she would normally do. But she thinks of Eugene as a little brother, and she feels significantly responsible for his injury because she went to a social event instead of monster-hunting with him. Failing to protect him makes her feel bad.
Taking an arrow for Xavier Thorpe in Episode 8 is surprising because Wednesday doesn't even particularly like him. After mistakenly accusing him and setting him up to get arrested in Episode 7, though, she feels bad not so much about harming him as about being wrong. That creates an uncomfortable imbalance in the relationship. So protecting him fixes that imbalance.
Wednesday doesn't care much about what other people think, but she cares a lot about being right and being competent, so if others see her as being wrong and inept, that does bother her. She's also very territorial, about people as well as places or things. Those factors influence how she treats others.
Morticia Addams: That boy's family was going to file attempted murder charges. How would that have looked on your record?
Wednesday Addams: Terrible. Everyone would know I failed to get the job done.
This quote comes from a TV series ‘Wednesday’. The scene where this moment comes from is from Season 1 Episode 1, with the title of ‘Wednesday’s Child Is Full of Woe’
Wednesday Addams: I want to assure you that I remain just as cold and heartless as the first day we met.
Dr. Valerie Kinbott: I doubt a cold, heartless person. would be sitting by her friend's bedside. feeling some modicum of guilt for his condition.
-- Best Wednesday Quotes
"For someone who claims to have no friends you certainly go out of your way to protect them."
-- Principal Weems
"There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being proven right."
-- Wednesday Addams
3 Ways to Be More Thoughtful
How To Deal With Inconsiderate People
How to Not Care What People Think, According to 23 Experts
The Importance of Competence
Learn How To Stop Being Mean Unintentionally
Sometimes you have to choose between being right and being effective
Why Shame and Guilt Are Functional For Mental Health
Re: Yes ...
I've had people demand I do stuff I don't want to do...and then when I give in, the goalpoasts move and I still am not 'good enough.' Annoying! :/
>>Or at least point her to useful books.<<
Would Nevermore have useful books? Most of the information on this seems to be fairly recent, and a decent chunk of that is on the internet. Most magic school stories posit that the magicals/Fae/whomever have a more traditional mindset, and Wednesday at least seems to hold true to that. (To be fair, Enid and Xavier have smartphones...but that still doesn't imply anything about the library. Maybe one of them could special-order a book, if they know a good one?)
>>I don't see age as a limit. It'd help.<<
I usually hear of people getting them for jobs/social positions that are a bit more demanding than what a high-schooler would have. Plus (while it may not apply to the Addamses,) for most people, hiring an assistant for their kid would not be cost effective.
>>That'd be a disaster, because he is a nerd, and nerds typically don't have great social skills. Certainly Eugene doesn't. Enid would be great at that, but she and Wednesday would have to figure out a lot of other stuff first.<<
Ah, but Eugene would be the most likely person to go along with Wednesday demanding "You! Deal with this [people stuff]!"* It would go horribly wrong, and Enid would likely get stuck trying to sort it all out anyway (though that could be a good nudge towards her prompting Wednesday and possibly Eugene to try new social skills).
*Enid would demand social reciprocity, Xavier would say no in a huff, Biance would say no and laugh.
>>It's like plugging in a lamp, it doesn't run without an energy source.<<
And the energy source has to match. Lamps run on electric, people run on pizza!
>>So I wonder if he's got the "how to manage allies" skills, which he could present to Wednesday.<<
As long as he doesn't try to outsource the lessons to Morticia. (Sometimes people will do this, assuming that other people can fix something because the assigning person wants it to be so - and people don't work that way.)
>>Then again, she is most enthusiastic about Uncle Fester -- she actually smiled when she saw him, as contrasted with her surly greeting of Thing -- which makes me suspect he's the "fun uncle" who does wild things with her and doesn't expect much if any actual work.<<
They seem to be the closest match personality-wise ("Well, I /do/ like stabbing things"), and in most iterations he is the freestyle confirmed bachelor uncle, which would be fairly appealing to a teenager who is in "I-don't-want-marriage-and-kids-and-eff-social-convention" mode.
I wonder if Uncle Fester might teach her some social skills? He'd need some, however unconventional, if he has stayed ahead of the law for so long. Plus he hangs around with outcasts from the Outcast community*, and people like that tend to have interesting perspective on the system and how to hack them.
*He mentioned having a Hyde friend (or girlfriend? not sure) at one point