Symbolism of Beatrix

I find that there are quite a few pieces of symbolism surrounding Beatrix (her name, her background, etc). One that I find particularily interesting is her "blindness."

Think of it this way...
She's lost her eye in battle and is partially blind- yet her other eye still remains and she has hope of being able to see.
The way I see it, her service to Alexandria has made her lose sight of herself. She has become so absorbed in her duty that she can no longer fathom the difference between right or wrong, and is incapable of following her own heart. Yet even so, she eventually overcomes her blindness and manages to re-assume her dignity while still holding the scars of the past.

Any other interesting symbols?

Zidane has a tail, and it's his tale..

Beatrix rocks, shes my favorite NPC. I doubt they thought that hard about her eye patch. Famous warrior= one eye. AKA Auron. But I like the idea. I love symbolism. There was also a queen Beatrix in denmark. Beatrix is so loyal to Queen brahne but also to herself when she eventually questions what she was doing. Also her weapon is called Save the Queen which on the surface means Queen Brahne/Queen Garnet but cold also mean herself as thats what is imediatly for, saveing her own ass....and possible steiners. lol

Beatrix is the Queen of the Netherlands

She lost an eye? And Auron has only one eye? I don't remember either of those...

Then I guess you haven't looked at a picture of Beatrix or Auron in a while.

Hardly, I noticed the scar on Auron's eye, though that hardly means he has one eye. And I don't recall Beatrix only having one eye, either. You could use the argument that you can't see it and thus it's covering her lack of an eye, but by that you could also say that Blank has no eyes.

Auron doesn't oepn the eye with the scar on it, so yes, that means he only has one eye. And you can't compare Beatrix's one-eyedness to Blank's eyes being hidden. Hiding your eyes is something consistent amongst all the members of Tantalus except Zidane (and Ruby, if she counts); it doesn't apply to Beatrix. She's obviously supposed to only have one eye.

My point wasn't whether they had the use of the eyes of not, more the fact that they have 2 eyes. I daresay I'll be accused of being petty for saying this, but there is no definite proof that both Beatrix and Auron have only one eye. They may only have use of one eye, yet the fact remains that they had 2 eyes.

You could equally say that there's no proof that Beatrix has 2 eyes, I suppose, however the formation of Auron's face (and how he still has the eye lid itself) suggests that he has 2 eyes.

Back on topic, however, you raise an interesting point WelshWonder, I'd never really considered Beatrix's sword as much, I've only ever noted it as having the same name as a whip of Quistis'.

Save the Queen also appeared in FFT as a Knightsword. The wielder was automatically imbued with Protect. It reappears as a Knightsword in FFTA. For what it's worth, it's also in KH.

Beatrix is very similar to FFIV's Cecil in many ways. Both are loyal knights who diligently serve their monarchs, only to suffer crises of faith and confidence after learning that they and their loyalty were manipulated for evil purposes. I think that Beatrix is, in this way, another of FFIX's 'references' to other FF titles.

I suppose that Final Fantasy Fashion is pretty weird, epesially as it is FFIX, but I think it is meant to mean she has only one eye. Isn't there one bit where it says abut depth perception...or am i comfusing it with something else. I still think that square probibly doesnt think this much onto it but its cool to theorise. If you dont remeber beatrix only has one eye....look at my avatar! lol

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Originally Posted by Big D

Beatrix is very similar to FFIV's Cecil in many ways. Both are loyal knights who diligently serve their monarchs, only to suffer crises of faith and confidence after learning that they and their loyalty were manipulated for evil purposes. I think that Beatrix is, in this way, another of FFIX's 'references' to other FF titles.

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Except Beatrix seems to be a Paladin all the way through. And as 'The true Paladin sheaths his sword', Beatrix saying she massacred 100,000 men single handedly kind of contradicts that.

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Originally Posted by Big D

Beatrix is very similar to FFIV's Cecil in many ways. Both are loyal knights who diligently serve their monarchs, only to suffer crises of faith and confidence after learning that they and their loyalty were manipulated for evil purposes. I think that Beatrix is, in this way, another of FFIX's 'references' to other FF titles.

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I agree about her being a reference. Possibly a combination of Cecil and Celes, much in the same way that Zidane is basically a combination of Locke and Edgar, only with a tail.

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Originally Posted by Old Manus

Except Beatrix seems to be a Paladin all the way through. And as 'The true Paladin sheaths his sword', Beatrix saying she massacred 100,000 men single handedly kind of contradicts that.

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It was only 100 men:

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Beatrix
"Ha ha ha. I've never been so humiliated in my life."
"I once killed a hundred knights single-handedly... To me, you two are nothing more than insects."

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Granted, still a lot, but nothing on the scale of 100,000.

Beatrix also closely resembles General Leo (FFVI), Celes (FFVI), and perhaps Cidolfas Orlandu (FFT), as well as Cecil. This is likely another example of implicit (as opposed to explicit) reference to past Final Fantasies.

While there are numerous differences between Beatrix and Leo, all that is necessary is the effect of recalling the fallen general. To this effect, certain similarities jump out at us. General Leo's special ability, in the short time he was playable, was called Shock. The best ability of Beatrix, in the short time she was playable, was also called Shock. General Leo was a man of firm moral convictions; nevertheless, he long demonstrated loyalty to Gestahl's Empire. Similarly, Beatrix has clear positive qualities, yet remains loyal to Queen Brahne.

Beatrix also has ties to Celes, like Leo a general of Gestahl. Beatrix's White Magic also recalls Celes' Esper-empowered abilities. Celes' love story is recreated in that of Beatrix and Steiner. Both worked on behalf of a corrupt figure of power, but both ultimately fought for the forces of Good.

Finally, Beatrix is also tied to Orlandu, another overpowered general. He maintained loyalty to Goltana out of a sense of duty.

The comparison to Cecil, of course, still holds.

Of course, there is the comment by Beatrix about the slaughter of a hundred men. However, this does not defeat the Paladin metaphor. Rather, it simply reaffirms the ties between Beatrix and Cecil. Cecil carried out repugnant acts on behalf of his King, though he questioned them the whole time. In becoming a Paladin, the former Dark Knight was able to essentially exorcise his demons by putting the burden of guilt and self-doubt behind him. Similarly, Beatrix might seem to be a Dark character when first you fight her. Nevertheless, as she and Steiner battle beside one another, we see her as a Paladin.

Therein, of course, lies the meaning and symbolism of the "half-blindness." For much of the game, Beatrix is blind to what she knows deep down to be right. Nonetheless, she is not fully blind to it, and is thus able to redeem herself.

Ultimately, Beatrix recalls Cecil, Leo, Celes, and Orlandu, while maintaining her own character and adding to the rich world of FFIX.

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Originally Posted by Squall of SeeD

It was only 100 men

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Well, you get what I mean.

Freya and Burmecian/Cleyran race are referred to as 'vermin' by Queen Brahne and her army. The term 'vermin' gives me the impression of dirty, uncultured persons with no sense of justice. To me this seems ironic as it is the Queen and her minions that are declaring war on a peaceful and highly cultured society which places great importance on values and norms within that society. This seems hypocritical of the Queen, but then again she never was one for self reflection.

This brings me on to my point about Beatrix. Just because she has been labelled General of the royal army (just as Freya and her people were labelled vermin) it does not necessarily mean they will grow to fulfill these labells. Inside everyone is the knowledge of who they truly are, and no exterior influences can change it. Beatrix had this knowledge of who she was, just as Freya had it inside of her, it just took Beatrix slightly longer to discover it. Luckily she managed to find the courage inside herself to break free from the socially imposed shackles and she became an individual with a liberated mind which enabled her to see the truth of her actions and the effects they were having on the world.

Interesting points. Beatrix is blind sort of like justice is blind. Blindly following the orders of the crown.

When I think of one-eyedness in FF I always think of the Odin in Norse Mythology removing his eye and putting it in Mimer's well in order to gain more wisdom...
There ARE a lot of ties between the FF games and norse mythologies... maybe? I rushed through FFIX (tried to beat it in one sitting... played for 49 hours straight and got to Necron.) so I can't really remember the storylines...

yes, physical blindness is generally symbolic of inner wisdom, either Odin's one eye or Tiresias's oracular blindness. So I doubt Beatrix's eye patch is symbolic of her inability to see right from wrong.

I don't know if this is true... But I heard that a patch of wolf's skin over ones eye, was believed to make the wearer either invincible, or invisible I don't recall which one though.

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Originally Posted by WelshWonder

Isn't there one bit where it says abut depth perception...or am i comfusing it with something else.

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Having the use of only one eye does impair depth perception. I'm familiar with that imparment because I only use one eye at a time. Without depth perception, it becomes very hard to judge distance. One can learn to compensate over time, but it is a visual imparement.

The fact that her one eye is symbolic of her partial blindness to the evil around her is an interesting theory, but I don't see that personally. Oh yeah, the arguments are there, but I think it is more of an accidental symbolism, than an intended one.

Either that, or my personal visual imparement is keeping me from seeing the truth. :p

Beatrix is Latin for 'she who is blessed'.

Like much of the symbolisim in all FF's it probibly is accidental.....It works better that way in my opinion. Its like in English Literature, you probbibly come up with random stuff that the author never even thought of but because its more accidental it's more natural and belivable rather that a personality trait to illustraite something.

p.s. the depth perception bit was from Futurama......why i thought that was from FFIX i'll never know

I'm not saying the creators couldn't have chosen that to be symbolic. That is very common in literature as well. I just don't think they put that much thought into it for the Final Fantasy secondary characters. (IMO)

Tantalus is in an ancient greek tragedy..It's a small tribe or something..

I thought Tantalus was the king who thought it'd be funny to serve a banquet to the gods that included humans on the menu. They were not amused and sentenced him to dwell in Hades where, surrounded by a pool of water that receded when he tried to drink and branches of fruit trees that would bend just out of reach when he wanted to pick fruit to eat.

Which is where we get the word 'tantalize'.

yay, arn't we all learning lots!! lol. I think I've heard that story about the meaning of tantalise.

I personally think it was accidental symbology, and not intentionally. It does form quite a coincidence though.

I think names are chosen specifically, and the meanings associated with them.

Another name would be of Amarant, which appears to derive from the the word "amaranthine" or amaranton, meaning immortal, undying, or unfading.

It could also appear from the word "amaranth" which means "red dye" (appropriate considering his hair colour)