I was reading through this and surprised I never considered this angle to Ushiromiya Battler myself. I never truly recognized his fear of death in my readings, but now my understanding of Dread of the Grave will be changed in a way that I owe to you.
I find it interesting that you focused on Battler's struggle with his own mortality, whereas I saw Battler struggle with the death of Beatrice far, far more within the readthrough, going so far as to recreate her in Episode 6.
At the same time, I think it's very important then to look forward to Ep 7 that Beatrice is put to rest and Battler fulfills his promise to her. While this is carried out between Willard and Claire, I believe it is more than possible to view this as Battler's own image (or Tohya depending on how you'd like to understand the composite of Battler) of who the perfect man is.
And how funny that even in putting Beatrice to rest, he finds Lion which would be Beatrice's ideal form, her form without sin, her form if she grew up loved and was given her birthright as an Ushiromiya. It's like even in putting her to rest, it feels like Beatrice cannot die and perhaps in a way I believe the same of Battler...
Circling back to the layered aspect of the characters within this novel, I look at Battler through a multitude of characters: Battler, Will, Tohya, and finally LambdaDelta. Each one adds a layer of meaning back to the life of the person we ultimately recognize as Tohya, but we know as Battler.
And while I really REALLY love the idea of the Battler "Dying" at the end of Umineko Ep 8, I wonder if that doesn't truly fly in the face of Ange's magic and her identity as a witch (and of course this might be my own preference for my interpretation of the work).
By the end of Umineko, I view Battler as coming back to life as he finds a location (or perhaps Golden Land) where Beatrice could grow up happy and without the burdens that the Ushiromiya family placed on her. When he sees the orphanage existing beyond Kinzo's control, no longer producing "furniture" to serve the family at the mansion but to exist as happy children in a positive environment, Battler is able to forgive himself and make himself whole.
I think that moment in Ep 8 where Battler stands out of the chair is Battler's crystallization of his emotional journey, when he finally becomes a man who is capable of loving Beatrice without anything else interfering. And I think it is Ange who brings back to life this Battler, despite him being lost within the depths of Tohya's soul and emotional regret.
And to be fair, Battler could die there and Toyha lives on because the final moment of Umineko with Lambda and Bern making a promise to meet again has turned into what I think the relationship of Ikuko and Tohya is. They are two "Voyager Witches" (ie fanfiction writers or writers in someone else's "IP" (For lack of a better term) who are returning to their own projects who hope to meet again one day. I apologize for tarnishing this beautiful Yuri relationship by claiming it is the analogue to hetslop.
But more than that, I wonder if the most important part of Umineko is what we do after OUR loved one's die. While we don't know what will happen to us, we can let our family members always live on within our hearts and we must have the courage to let them do so, which I think was Battler's last message to Ange.
And I wonder if Ange's ability to Resurrect Sakutarou is paralleled by her ability to "resurrect" Battler in the final scene as well.
Granted these resurrections are more so healing journeys if anything and perhaps these "resurrections" simply allow Battler and Maria to pass on in peace rather than having their last memories be imperfect.
Thank you for writing this article again. It's given me a lot to think about and allowed me to look at Umineko in a few new ways especially for the Question Arcs and it allows me to see the finale in a new way as well.
thank you so much for reading and leaving such a great comment!!
i do think a major part of battler’s character is his struggle with accepting beatrice’s death as well. stemming from guilt but also because he understands her. he knows how scary it is to face death. he probably also feels guilt for not being able to save his mother and further beato.
umineko is a story about grief and how to cope with it from all angles and types of grief. death of the self, another, an idea, etc. analyzing the story from all different angles can offer different ways of dealing with that grief sprinkled within the story.
Hello Elle!
Fantastic Job here again.
I was reading through this and surprised I never considered this angle to Ushiromiya Battler myself. I never truly recognized his fear of death in my readings, but now my understanding of Dread of the Grave will be changed in a way that I owe to you.
I find it interesting that you focused on Battler's struggle with his own mortality, whereas I saw Battler struggle with the death of Beatrice far, far more within the readthrough, going so far as to recreate her in Episode 6.
At the same time, I think it's very important then to look forward to Ep 7 that Beatrice is put to rest and Battler fulfills his promise to her. While this is carried out between Willard and Claire, I believe it is more than possible to view this as Battler's own image (or Tohya depending on how you'd like to understand the composite of Battler) of who the perfect man is.
And how funny that even in putting Beatrice to rest, he finds Lion which would be Beatrice's ideal form, her form without sin, her form if she grew up loved and was given her birthright as an Ushiromiya. It's like even in putting her to rest, it feels like Beatrice cannot die and perhaps in a way I believe the same of Battler...
Circling back to the layered aspect of the characters within this novel, I look at Battler through a multitude of characters: Battler, Will, Tohya, and finally LambdaDelta. Each one adds a layer of meaning back to the life of the person we ultimately recognize as Tohya, but we know as Battler.
And while I really REALLY love the idea of the Battler "Dying" at the end of Umineko Ep 8, I wonder if that doesn't truly fly in the face of Ange's magic and her identity as a witch (and of course this might be my own preference for my interpretation of the work).
By the end of Umineko, I view Battler as coming back to life as he finds a location (or perhaps Golden Land) where Beatrice could grow up happy and without the burdens that the Ushiromiya family placed on her. When he sees the orphanage existing beyond Kinzo's control, no longer producing "furniture" to serve the family at the mansion but to exist as happy children in a positive environment, Battler is able to forgive himself and make himself whole.
I think that moment in Ep 8 where Battler stands out of the chair is Battler's crystallization of his emotional journey, when he finally becomes a man who is capable of loving Beatrice without anything else interfering. And I think it is Ange who brings back to life this Battler, despite him being lost within the depths of Tohya's soul and emotional regret.
And to be fair, Battler could die there and Toyha lives on because the final moment of Umineko with Lambda and Bern making a promise to meet again has turned into what I think the relationship of Ikuko and Tohya is. They are two "Voyager Witches" (ie fanfiction writers or writers in someone else's "IP" (For lack of a better term) who are returning to their own projects who hope to meet again one day. I apologize for tarnishing this beautiful Yuri relationship by claiming it is the analogue to hetslop.
But more than that, I wonder if the most important part of Umineko is what we do after OUR loved one's die. While we don't know what will happen to us, we can let our family members always live on within our hearts and we must have the courage to let them do so, which I think was Battler's last message to Ange.
And I wonder if Ange's ability to Resurrect Sakutarou is paralleled by her ability to "resurrect" Battler in the final scene as well.
Granted these resurrections are more so healing journeys if anything and perhaps these "resurrections" simply allow Battler and Maria to pass on in peace rather than having their last memories be imperfect.
Thank you for writing this article again. It's given me a lot to think about and allowed me to look at Umineko in a few new ways especially for the Question Arcs and it allows me to see the finale in a new way as well.
See you again.
thank you so much for reading and leaving such a great comment!!
i do think a major part of battler’s character is his struggle with accepting beatrice’s death as well. stemming from guilt but also because he understands her. he knows how scary it is to face death. he probably also feels guilt for not being able to save his mother and further beato.
umineko is a story about grief and how to cope with it from all angles and types of grief. death of the self, another, an idea, etc. analyzing the story from all different angles can offer different ways of dealing with that grief sprinkled within the story.