[EVA] Gendou - man or monster?

[Rachel K. Clark]

@ the topic title: Not to be corny, but I tend to think there's a monster in 
us all. It's just more "expressed" or "pronounced" in some individuals than 
others.


Carl Horn wrote:

>Would it not have been  more proper when the mother of his child vanished 
>for Gendo to MAN  THE FUCK UP and face his responsibilities?

"Manning up"? Careful, there are ladies present!

>> IKARI: I've been waiting for this moment. I can finally see you,  Yui. If 
>> I stayed with him, I'd only hurt Shinji. So, it'd be better to do 
>> nothing.
>>
>> YUI: You were afraid of Shinji, weren't you?
>>
>> IKARI: I didn't believe that someone could love me. I don't deserve  it, 
>> either.

>When you become a father (or mother), you have responsibility  for your 
>child. How can Gendo make the excuse that he didn't believe  "someone" 
>could love him?

I wouldn't call Gendo's little confession in EoE an "excuse" per se, because 
it doesn't justify anything. Rather, he's merely stating the *reason* for 
his (in)action. "This is why -- although it doesn't necessarily make logical 
sense..."

Gendo is clearly a deeply damaged person and probably ended up the way he is 
largely through a dysfunctional upbringing together with a natural 
proclivity towards social awkwardness. Now, emotional pathologies aren't 
rational, nor are the standard coping methods. (That's why they're 
pathologies, after all.) In keeping with the overarching theme of this 
show -- "getting serious help for one's mental woes is flat out" -- he's 
never taken care of himself. As a result, the "common sense" of the masses 
is not intuitive at all, and he uses illogical methods to shelter his 
fragile psyche -- without regard to how it hurts others. Why? He doesn't 
know any other way of getting by. It's pathetic, yeah, but if Gendo had been 
at any point somebody who went see a psychotherapist on a regular basis, say 
bye-bye to the story and whatever Anno was trying to convey with Gendo's 
severe emotional problems.

> Rei loved him (and it seems he had no problem with her growing up around 
> him, either).

Somewhat paradoxical, but I suppose ultimately a child containing Lilith's 
soul who is the key to your single-minded pursuit and needs to be 
"imprinted" on you served as adequate justification. Gendo was probably 
hoping he'd never have to call Shinji in, and that he'd be able to use an 
artificial pilot with Eva-01 instead.

> Why couldn't Shinji have grown up  with guys like Toji and Kensuke, coming 
> home to a nanny and getting  the occasional grunt of approval whenever Dad 
> shows up?

The simplest answer to the question is: Because then he wouldn't be Shinji.

I sort of wonder what Fuyutsuki was doing... Did his dislike of children, 
and perhaps aversion to the concept of constantly being around a reminder 
that he didn't get Yui, prevent him from stepping in where Gendo failed? 
(I.e., seeing after Shinji for "Yui-kun" himself.)

I guess "sensei" wasn't too great of a foster parent, him(?)self.


RJN wrote:

> Does he even love Yui, or just idolise her on a pedestal? Is the man 
> capable of real love?

Since he never learned to love himself, according to the Wisdom of Episode 
#26 he'd be in a grey area at best. For my part, I'll kidnap and alter a 
quotation from "Gargoyles": "I think he loves her, at least as much as a man 
such as himself is capable of that emotion."

> I must admit Gendou's history up to when he was apprenticed to Fuyutuski 
> is an intriguing ponderment.

Full of mysteries, he is. Beyond looking up to Fuyutsuki as a "sensei" as 
per Yui, though, I don't think Gendo was any kind of formal apprentice at 
any point. They never tell you much about what Gendo did/does, but he's 
clearly not a scientist, since he feels at liberty to bash them with Kiely 
during the toad-eating session at the beginning of #21'.


-Reichu