amielleon | Archive from the old journal: Sanaki: A rejection of divine right?

amielleon (amielleon) wrote,
@ 2011-03-12 11:06:00

Sanaki: A Rejection of Divine Right?

Despite the fancy title, this is not as formalized or organized of a post as I'd like.

I was thinking about Fire Emblem and Japanese cultural attitudes toward ruling families. I don't think I need to spend a terribly lot of time pointing out that in the earlier games (that is, everything but Tellius) agency is almost always in the hands of rightful rulers. I find it especially noteworthy that in FE6, even the liberation of some oppressed colonies has to be led by a blind lost prince who just showed up half-dead in their hands one day because clearly they lacked the brains to do anything before he showed up. And the idea of inherited divine right is ... obviously strong in Jugdral.

And of course, there's some digs in the games about how single noble-hearted rulers are superior to councils/democracies/whatnot. (Have you visited the house in Carcino in that chapter where you get Innes on Eirika's route, where the guy says "We're awesome! We have a democracy! Anyone can be a ruler! ... Maybe this is why we're messed up!"? And of course, let's not forget the council in Crimea and the Senators in Begnion and how they're depicted.)

Tellius is somewhat better about this, as proven by the fact that Ike exists. However:

- Within the laguz, although there are claims that the ruler is the strongest, there are many unspoken assumptions about the inheritance of power. (See: the existence of formshift; ruling families in Gallia, Serenes, and Goldoa; Tibarn making reference to Naesala being in line for the throne)
- After a lot of puttering about, attempts to cover it up, and a war that is sort of a big deal, Elincia is ultimately installed as the rightful ruler of Crimea, instead of her uncle, who by blood should be later in line for the throne. An uprising and a revived Renning later, she's still widely accepted as the proper queen (granted, for reasons other than her birth).
- Pelleas is not actually Ashnard's son and this makes itself apparent in everything from his delicacy (as noted by Tibarn) to his failure as a king, whereas Micaiah (who is equally ignorant of the trials of being the ruling monarch) apparently takes to the role with unprecedented brilliance.
- Well... Micaiah, who was born to rule and ended up ruling (albeit somewhere else).

And then we have Sanaki.

Sanaki hails from the royal family (arguably next in line after spiritedaway!Micaiah), so this is not quite as radical as Pelleas working out, and yet this is still noteworthy I believe because after the "rightful" ruler (who literally has some form of "divine right") is identified, Sanaki is not nudged aside, but reaffirmed in her position:

Sanaki: If I am not the true apostle, have I betrayed my people? Even
unknowingly? You two are my most trusted friends. How would you feel about
me if I were not the apostle? Be honest with me.

Sigrun: You would like an honest answer? Very well. It would change nothing.

Sanaki: What?

Sigrun: If you thought that our allegiance was to the office of the apostle,
well, you were wrong. Even from a young age, you have been working with
Lord Sephiran to fight the senate on behalf of the people.

Tanith: Our loyalty lies with you, Empress Sanaki. You will always be our
empress. Please do not forget that.

So... what's up with that, man? Is Sanaki a partial rejection of the Japanese subconsciously accepted notion of Divine Right? Is it just because Micaiah is already engaged with a different country? (The epilogue seems to support this idea: (Micaiah) It's true. Inside the tower, I heard the voices of many hearts, and I knew. I am descended from Lehran and Altina. Misaha, the former apostle, was my grandmother. /(Sanaki) Yes, I thought so. In that case, my sister, please consider staying in Begnion. With your power and charisma, you could do so much good here.)

Edit: it just occurred to me that Sanaki's age is proof that Misaha's child survived the assassination thing, further supporting the idea that he was male and therefore a carrier.

hooves
2011-03-12 12:44 pm
...Interesting thoughts, actually. Now I wonder what might have happened had Micaiah stayed in Begnion/gone to Begnion as per Sanaki's request. Actually that'd be interesting. Really, really interesting.

I think honestly in answer to your last question? It's because Micaiah's already engaged with Daein. Though in this way it's really convenient. And...I can't help but wonder what the people of Daein might think if they knew/found out that Micaiah was actually royalty from Begnion. Hahaha. She's pretty much proven herself to be awesome, though.

Now I can't remember something, so maybe you know: Is it ever mentioned how much older than Sanaki Micaiah is?

amielleon
2011-03-12 12:48 pm
Micaiah is over 22 (probably 22-26 given her lack of memories) at the time of RD as dated by the Serenes Massacre. Sanaki is 14 at the time of RD as stated somewhere in canon.

hooves
2011-03-12 12:57 pm
Cool, thanks! Never know when I'll need that information. :B

myaru
2011-03-14 05:33 am
This is why I dislike Micaiah's heritage so intensely. The implication is that her association with Daein is the only reason she doesn't return to "do good." What capacity she would return in is up in the air, though - considering Sanaki's decision to change Begnion's focus from Ashera to something else, maybe it doesn't mean that inviting Micaiah back equals inviting the "real" Apostle back. Or-- I've entertained the notion of a division between the offices of the Apostle and Empress, which seems like a smart decision post-game if you want to keep the traditions intact.

The way Sanaki was talking with Sigrun and Tanith, though, her intentions are... kind of opaque to me, actually. She isn't stupid. Giving the empire to an inexperienced ruler, even if that ruler is her older sister and technically has a right to the throne, would not help Begnion. Sanaki probably realizes that. I also don't think Micaiah would accept such a gesture if confronted with it. However, I also think Sanaki is in an awkward emotional space at the end of the game, whether Lehran survives or not.

Re: Misaha, a male relative does make the most sense. He would be in no position to take the throne, and might be able to reproduce longer. I've always wondered how Altina's descendants managed their family, though, since emphasis was placed on the girls with marks. Did they purposely limit themselves to only a few children - or perhaps only one at a time? - to control when and where the mark appeared? Or was there a larger family that met a bad end, or mixed too much with other families to maintain connection to the main line? With the apparent technology level on Tellius, it seems impractical to limit children, because you never know when one is going to die on you.

amielleon
2011-03-14 08:15 am
Alas, Japan.

I don't think it's too far-fetched to say that the tradition of Apostlehood ends here. After all, Yune and Ashera vanish from the land for a couple hundred years at least; over a millennium by some readings. Between "Sanaki elected to guide her people in a world without the goddess," that kerfuffle with Ashera, and Micaiah's likely absence of foresight in Yune's absence, I can see Apostlehood being a much smaller deal.

You're right, though. Now that you mention that, Sanaki's proposal to Micaiah is pretty vague...

Re: Misaha, the idea of the Apostles purposefully limiting their children to control the mark and therefore their Brandedness against the eyes of the Senate is way too much Begnion intrigue for me to handle. But it's an interesting thought.

myaru
2011-03-14 08:01 pm
I just realized I didn't address the major question about divine right. Whoops. It's an interesting one, especially since divine right seems to kinda sorta be upheld by precedents set in the game - but in Sanaki's case, and even in Elincia's, the question of their "right" to rule doesn't really exist, because they're still in direct line to their respective thrones. Sanaki may not have the Apostle's mark, but she's still Altina's descendant and a carrier of the supposed blessing; if we assume Begnion has some rule that only a woman can hold the imperial office (something which probably exists, if not in writing, just because of the occurrence of the mark), she's still eligible on all counts. Elincia may have been second in line also, but she is a rightful princess of Crimea even so.

Actually, I feel like Elincia is more of an odd case than Sanaki, because in the latter situation, Begnion ends up with the more experienced and appropriate ruler, whereas in Crimea that would be Renning-- and he decides not to do it, so there's nothing to fight about.

Japan has a tradition of divine right, but Japanese succession has not always been assumed to move to the eldest son, or even to the eldest male. They have laws about that now, but there are at least a dozen competent ruling empresses in their history, just as there have been splits within the imperial house and times with the title of crown prince has been given to seemingly unlikely candidates (i.e. whoever was born to the favorite wife). Sanaki and Elincia are kind of in line with the reality, if not the ideal. But I believe they embody a more important idea of peace and harmony with their nations, rather than being strictly "legitimate."

To be fair, I'm thinking pretty far back in history.

I think you're probably right about Apostlehood being less important without a goddess to premonitions, though Micaiah still has the advantage of reading hearts - if you consider that an advantage. But I wonder about the wording of Sanaki's ending. She elects to guide her people... instead of Micaiah? Is the emphasis on the beginning or end of that sentence? Because it's kind of assumed that the Tellius of the next several hundred years will be without a goddess. If I recall correctly, the Japanese ending just said she united the continent with treaties, but I would have to check it again.

There's no such thing as too much Begnion intrigue. :P

amielleon
2011-03-14 08:09 pm
Actually I picked the example of Elincia as an affirmation. In a Divine Right reading, her parents tried to shuffle Divine Right under a carpet for political convenience, but their decision ended up being subverted in favor of the Divinely Rightful ruler ie Elincia.

United the continent with treaties to hints of opt-outs and secularism... oi.

As for my sentence, the emphasis was on "for me to handle." :P You figure it out and write fic!