Images courtesy of Naughty Dog, Inc. (2013)
Me and Ellie had to make a run for it through a flooded subway. There were spores floating all over, so I had to wear my gas mask so I wouldn’t breathe ‘em in and get infected. The air was so thick with them that I couldn’t see a damn thing. They were everywhere, but Ellie didn’t need a mask. I mean, I saw her bite…it was healing. She was bit three weeks ago, and it’s healing. I guess it was just crazy to see her breathing in all that stuff without getting sick. Well, the kid can’t swim, and in a flooded subway, that was a bit of a pain in the ass. I swam around and found a pallet for her float on while I swam and pushed it to the other side. I might’ve scared her a bit, but she got through it fine. At least the damn soldiers are off our backs for now, and we avoided any Clickers. It’s gonna be hell making our way West, we got so much ground to cover and we are definitely going to encounter more infected. She can’t hold a gun, she can’t shoot, can’t fight—she can’t swim for Christ’s sake! She has got to do what I say when I say it. Nothing else is gonna fly, not if I have to drag her across the country. I gotta protect her even if she is just a delivery package…
This entry positions Ellie as a “damsel in distress” figure, with Joel as her rescuer/knight. She was incapable of doing something to better her situation and progress, so Joel came to her aid. Not being able to swim is a very difficult thing to conquer, and there was no way she could have just gotten over her fear, or suddenly learned how to swim. Joel used whatever tools he could find to improve her situation (in this case, a floating pallet) to continue with their quest. We see damsels in distress in several Medieval narratives, and this scenario feels reminiscent of Sir Orfeo. His wife, Heurodis, who was kidnapped by the Fairy King, is incapable of freeing herself. She remains in the Otherworld and lives alongside them, goes hawking, and otherwise participates in their court. She is bound by a threat by the Fairy King, who told her “‘…[you will] live with ous evermo./And yif thou makest ous y-let,/…thou worst y-fet,/And tortore thine limes al...’” (Sir Orfeo lines 168-171). Translated, the Fairy King’s threat is essentially: “You will live with us forever, and if you try to escape or cause any trouble, we will find you and rip apart your limbs.” Because of this, Heurodis has no control over her situation—she is a damsel in distress!—so it is up to Sir Orfeo to rescue her. Similarly, Ellie has no control over her situation, so it is up to Joel to rescue her. Because he sees her as helpless, he overreacts, harshly stating that “…you do what I say, when I say it.” I decided to emphasize this by depicting Joel as analogizing Ellie to cargo or a “delivery package” to enhance Ellie’s lack of control and agency. In this moment, Joel is skating back across his affective quest, and again he cannot adhere to it in a compassionate manner. He responds to her helplessness in anger and frustration out of fear. He lost his own daughter years before, who was Ellie’s age at the time of her death. He could not save her, but Ellie may give him a second chance.
Quest Expectations/Terms: Damsel in Distress; Knights; Recursivity
Quest Expectations/Terms: Damsel in Distress; Knights; Recursivity
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