Guess I'm just awnry at heart but I got ahold of the Heroes & Heroines book and started reading through it. Although I agree Cally is mostly a Crusader-Nurturer, I think she shows definite moments of Waifishness. However, since I also agree this is a Bad Thing in the B7 universe, I can't say I'm in favor of it. Unfortunately, once I got to thinking about why I see her as a Waif, I'm not sure what can be done to cure her.
So, how does a Crusader-Nurturer become a Waif?
In Cally's case, by continually having her identity under attack.
By S3, Cally's Crusader identity is largely in remission. She's been fighting the good fight for years now without victory in sight. As a Nurturer, how many planets has she seen depopulated? Just as herself, she always seemed to take pride in her Auron identity - but the Aurons weren't just wiped out, they were wiped out _easily_ and without a fight by their moral and species opposites in the Federation (and partly because of Crusader choices Cally had made that put her on the LIberator).
Checking over what the book said, "The WAIF was molded by her sense of isolation" and "The WAIF escaped from one disaster after another." Of the two types, I'd say Cally was becoming the Orphan, "the woman with a painful past, the parent-less child thrown out of her home," just as Cally (whose parents are dead) was exiled from Auron before losing it in a more permanent sense, "or [she is] the tortured outcast from society." Again, Cally has been literally tortured and suffers from the basic lonliness of an isolated telepath. Also, both as a telepath and as an alien, she is a borderline outcaste from most of the human societies the encounter.
It also says that "the Orphan defends herself only out of desperation." One of the things I find disturbing about Cally is the lack of self-preservation she has. It's not just that it's lower than Avon thinks anyone's should be, it's that she literally doesn't seem to have one. Granted, part of this is her Nurturer side. She doesn't value her life against someone else's good. But we're not talking about x (her life) being equal to zero in her math. A lot of the time, there isn't any x. It didn't even make it far enough into the equation to be dismissed.
Worse, "the Orphan needs a knight in shining armor." I don't think I'm stretching a point to say that knight is unlikely to be Tarrant. Also, Avon has a weakness for Waifs (a la Meegat). To enter into a romantic relationship, he needs to feel _safe_. Nurturers claim to have his best interests at heart. Whether or not he buys that intellectually, he can't accept it emotionally. As for Crusaders, that's another set of motivations Avon doesn't know whether to despise or distrust. He might accept such a person as an ally but, as something more (assuming he put aside his distrust), it's too risky. He'd be constantly risking rejection either as soon as the Crusader got fed up with Avon's anti-Crusader tendencies or risking loss whenever it became a choice between him and the Crusade.
Removed from a constantly high risk environment, I think Avon might be able to get over this, but that doesn't seem to likely. In his usual environment, it's not happening.
Side thing, I can see part of the appeal Servalan has for him. As far as understanding her motives goes, he's safe. She may have clever plans he hasn't figured out yet, but he he understands her motivations and overall desires pretty well.
The problem with this is that I can't seem to come up with a story where Avon is likely to change his interaction with Cally before she has reached a state of near total Waifishness. In other words, when she has been completely beaten and has lost all connection to her Crusader and Nurturer identities.
I don't like this.
Obviously, I would prefer something that made Avon change. But, since his issue is trust, and since I have already decided he might regain some in a _safer_ environment, it's hard to come up with better story ideas.
In other words, suggestions welcome.
Oh, and debate. But that's half the point of posting.
Ellynne ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.
Ellynne G. wrote:
Guess I'm just awnry at heart but I got ahold of the Heroes & Heroines book and started reading through it. Although I agree Cally is mostly a Crusader-Nurturer,
Now, I don't see the Nurturer part of Cally as very large. Okay, she occasionally did medical stuff, but the Nurturer is larger than physical care. It's bolstering others, putting their wishes and desires before your own. It's warmth and emotional giving & connecting...and I didn't see much of that from Cally. Take her (non)relationship with Dayna, for example. I think Cally was too self-contained and emotionally distant from the other to be much of a Nurturer. [I don't have the book at hand right now, or I'd try to find quotes to back this up.]
I think she shows definite moments of Waifishness.
Definitely, as the series went on. Poor lost little girl, with only a semi-sentient stone as a soul mate.
about why I see her as a Waif, I'm not sure what can be done to cure her.
In fanfic, you mean? She needs something to stiffen her spine, put the fire back into her. A personal cause -- I think she needs the person-to-person connection rather than Blake's more universal rebellion. Hook her up with a specific group that is fighting on valiantly, or being attacked and in need of defense, something like that. I can see her standing up even to Blake if his overall strategy required sacrificing/not aiding a group that Cally had formed a link to.
Just as herself, she always seemed to take pride in her Auron identity - but the Aurons weren't just wiped out, they were wiped out _easily_ and without a fight by their moral and species opposites in the Federation (and partly because of Crusader choices Cally had made that put her on the LIberator).
Another thought: since the Aurons were into cloning, doesn't it seem reasonable they'd have gene stocks/cloning facilites in reserve? Deep underground, on a moon, on an entirely different planet? What if Cally learned of one of these -- don't you think becoming the warrior/guardian of her reborn species might get her back in Crusader mode?
Interesting idea that Cally got waif-ized to make her more appealing to Avon....how sexist of them. Why alter *her* to fit *him* rather than vice versa?
The problem with this is that I can't seem to come up with a story where Avon is likely to change his interaction with Cally before she has reached a state of near total Waifishness. In other words, when she has been completely beaten and has lost all connection to her Crusader and Nurturer identities.
I don't like this.
Mn. Well, I'm not as sure Avon finds Waifs sexually attractive. He was *kind* to Meegat, but I don't think he salivated over her. ;-)
As for the problem of trusting Cally, I think that that arises from Avon seeing her as being akin to Blake: ready to fight, die, and sacrifice others as necessary in pursuit of the greater good. If Avon could be convinced that his own well-being has become of prime importance to her.... How, I leave as a exercise for the writer. One possible angle: Cally chooses some action that harms the rebellion simply to save Avon. Another: somehow Avon's life becomes crucially important to the success of the rebellion, perhaps he has to do some computer magicking on an on-going basis to allow other things to happen undisturbed by the Feds.
Susan Beth (susanbeth33@mindspring.com)