So as i mentionned before, i wanted to discuss Arasaka from the mythologic perspective
First off i wanted to say, i went through my previous big post and i'd like to apologise because i tend to become passionate when i write on these subjects and dual reading in general
None of what i'm writing about i take for absolute truth, contrary to what my statements may look like
It's easy to get lost connecting dots and end up finding exactly what we're looking for only because we want it
So take all my expositions with a grain of salt, especially considering some of the findings i make end up contradicting some of my own earlier observations
For example i tried to connect the Magician Tarot to Judy - and while i still think there is some value to that theory, i also remembered this
Mr. Hands and Mr. Blue Eyes i think are going to be a source of a lot of discussions in the community for the forseeable future, and i'm hoping CDPR won't lift the veil because sometimes mystery and speculations are more interesting than just plain literal truth (remember Mass Effect's Reapers, for example)
I'll just say this on the subject, the way they are named reminds me a lot of Alex Proyas' Dark City, and could be hinting at the fact that they're soulless puppets
On the other hand, the magician character depicted on the card is a female
Some others while i still think i'm right on point, i would really love you guys and girls input, for the simple reason that i'm the kind of person who looks at things immediately like a big picture and i miss on all the details
One example of that is the Afterlife and Rogue's role in the whole story
I mean, morgue, captive souls, Claire serving the essence of other immortals in the form of drinks, that one i think is really on the nose, thankfully because straightforward cues are needed too to start the engine
Following that one, for example, one could easily start thinking there's something to be said about Rogue as Persephone, and Johnny as Hades, considering the hints the game leaves as to their deity status
But there's also a parallel to be made with Johnny and Alt as Orpheus and Eurydice
Michel Martin Drolling -
Orphée et Eurydice
Especially if you consider how Johnny ends up killing Alt himself while she's in Mikochi (palanquin of a god), pushed to a mistake by his love for her
Which one is it, i don't know, maybe because i'm off the mark, maybe because it's a mix of both
Don't be shy and don't hesitate to add you own observations, no matter how small you think they are
Ok so after this long tangent, sorry, let's talk about the Arasaka family, more specifically Yorinubo and Hanako because i think Saburo doesn't have much more to him than being the very traditional (both from a temper and story perspective) King and Father figure, to a certain degree maybe yet another god; although i tend to place Arasaka in opposition with Night City and the Afterlife gods
First, we learn through various tidbits that they used to be a bigger family, only Yorinobu and Hanako are left, the mother and other sibblings are already dead by the time CP77 starts
There is also Michiko, Saburo's grandaughter but unless i'm missing cues, she's not really relevant, Takemura seems to think so himself
They lead the three main factions within Arasaka, basically tradition (Hanako), liberalism (Michiko) and reformism (Yorinubo), from Takemura's account
So Yorinobu is the rebel, he clashed with his father and went on to become a nomad, the lowest of the lowest, founded the Steel Dragons and even attacked Arasaka
Now, it's our guess why he left, all we know is that he was the ideal son until that one fatefull night and a meeting with his father where all hell broke loose
Maybe Saburo told him about his plans to take over his body, maybe they just highly disagreed about traditions, i don't know, if you do by all means i'm interested
Important point is, we don't know if he originally left on his own accord, or if Saburo denied him to begin with - probably a bit of both
Either way, this is Yorinubo's exile, and that's the first stepping stone of this theory
I'm skipping forward a lot because all the lore until the point i'm about to show, to me, only builds up for that specific moment
That's one second before Yorinobu kills his father
There's a lot to say about body language (Saburo reaching to his son's cheek right before dying is moving, this game's staging during main cutscenes is amazing)
But what we want to focus on is what finally broke the Yorinobu camel's back
Mommy issues
Who in ancient mythology was the son of a King, was exiled, and in a prophecy twist came back to kill his father witnessed only by a low life, crossed path with a Sphinx and an Oracle, and had a lot of mommy issues ?
Oedipus
Son of a King, that one's easy
Killed his father over his mother, albeit in a different dynamic (it's accidental in the myth and he doesn't know that's his father he just killed) but i don't think that's a problem, free form interpretation and representation, etc
He kills his father over a Chariot, by the way, might be coincidental, but food for thoughts
Witnessed by a low life : V the thief is not much more from both Night City and Takemura's perspective than Oedipus' escaped slave
Gustave Moreau -
Œdipe et le Sphinx
Defeated the Sphinx by answering existential riddles, the same ones V will have to answer over the course of her journey
Took over the Kingdom
And depending on which ending you go for, becomes blind and led to his death by his sister Antigone (again, different dynamic, up to you to see a correlation or not)
Keep in mind that wherever there's a prophecy in ancient mythology, there's a god or goddess who is either bored or has a vengeance to enact, and if you've been following this thread you know where i stand regarding the gods involvement in Night City and CP77 in general
That leads us to Hanako, and why she might be CP77's Antigone, except in this tale she's the sister instead of the incestuous daughter, and not a victim
That kind of paradox is not unheard of in the Oedipus myth, since Ismene is both Oedipus' sister and daughter
That leads me to think they writers purposedly mashed Antigone and Ismen up into one character
Remember that Hanako doesn't hate Yorinobu, she is indeed a manipulative porcelain bitch as Johnny so elegantly puts it, but she's also not an evil backstabbing treacherous snake, ans has nothing to gain from lying on that subject to V
There's also something to be said about a possible borderline incestuous relationship between Hanako and Yorinobu, even if purely intellectual (she's only telling him not to embarass himself in this picture, it's not sexual, but the body language although hints at a lot of affection somewhere between motherly figure and lover)
(Hanako is such a brilliant character)
Even if i dearly wish there was more player driven agency through dialogues, i love that the game lets V ask such a stupid question (you don't have to this time, you can simply respect her decision), one thing these screenshots don't show is how insulting it is to Hanako although she keeps her composure, and how she answers with contempt
Clash of cultures, but that's a whole other topic
By Hanako's own admission, she is the heart of the family, she adamantly believes in tradition and the values she was raised in
To cut things short i'll just past Antigone's decription right from the wiki because it's concise and better than what i would come up with on my own :
Antigone, compared to her beautiful and docile sister, is portrayed as a heroine who recognizes her familial duty.
Her dialogues with Ismene reveal her to be as stubborn as her uncle.
In her, the ideal of the female character is boldly outlined. She defies Creon's decree despite the consequences she may face, in order to honor her deceased brother.
In any case, supporting her could be interpreted as lending a hand to Antigone escorting the blind Oedipus to his death
I know that's a lot of weird dots to connect but let me know what you think
I also know absolutely nothing about Japanese mythology so i'm reading the story and finding similarities through an occidental lens
If by any chance someone well versed in Japanese myths and cultures has something to say about all this, i would be very happy to hear from you
Just a last note, many ancient tales we can trace back having siblings in many different cultures
When i started diggin in mythology almost 20 years ago, it was with the Little Red Riding Hood tale, which vy certain accounts can be placed as far back as thousands of years ago in ancient Mongolia, a voice transmitted tale for a long time well before we find its first written versions (that we know of) in the 10th century
All that to say i wouldn't be surprised if the Japanese mythos had its own Oedipus
Bonus material :
Why Adam Smasher might be a mashup of Adam, Cain and Lucifer
That 96% conversion is not just because it's cool, he used to be a merc just like the legends of the Afterlife, but denied his heritage and joined the blasphemous Arasaka like a corrupted (man vs machine, soul vs data) fallen angel
And how coincidental is it that his very first exposition into the game is him calling an Eve(lyn) a fuckable piece of meat
That'd be the subject of a whole other topic by virtue of opposing the Arasaka and Night City in a clash of cultures (as displayed above with the V question to Hanako) which i don't know if i'm going to get into anytime soon
I also havent talked about Panam, Saul, and the Aldecaldos at all, the banished souls cursed with mortality and crawling in the mud outside of the Garden of Eden, fighting an endless battle against the Wraiths
A wraith is an undead creature whose name originated in Scottish folklore. A type of ghost or spirit, wraiths were traditionally said to be the embodiment of souls who are either on the verge of death, or who have recently passed on.
i really want to get on that, and how the endless landfills surrounding NC resemble mass graves of souls where V would have ended
And who saved V at this point by the way ?
- Is it cold data science ? the Relic and Arasaka
- Purpose ? Takemura
- Medicine, care and empathy ? Viktor
- Is it the Gods ? Essentially Johnny Silverhand the immortal legend of the Afterlife and literal Deus Ex Machina in terms of storytelling, along with Alt
- Spirituality through Misty ?
- The last parting gift of friendship ? Jackie
- Is it purely natural self preservation ?
- Did Dex actually kill her and you're no longer the original V ? Ship of Theseus
Don't know if i'll get there yet, maybe i should let the game rest and come back to it after they hopefully improve on all its flaws
