EGS: Susan
May. 14th, 2014 08:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowSusan Pompoms is probably my favorite character, among the main eight. This may have something to do with why I've had so much trouble writing this installment. Anyway, it's under the cut.
Susan was initially not intended to be a central character; she was Sarah's ultrafeminist friend (and with a touch of straw in that feminism...). She quickly moved out of that position, however. Her initial, stereotypical, stance of man-hatred was tempered as she came to know Elliot, Justin, and even Tedd, but she still defaults to suspicion of any man's motives. (A recent attempt to break with that pattern ended unpleasantly, but she had grown enough to recognize the debacle as the fault of that man, not of men in general.)
What kind of person is she? She's smart - not book-smart like Nanase or a quick learner like Grace, but rather smart in a Holmesian fashion. She is quick to assimilate details, make deductions from them, recognize what action is necessary, and - crucially - take that action. In short, she's a tactical thinker. When Moperville North was attacked by a monster (Elliot and Tedd being absent), it was she who, in the midst of confusion, pulled the fire alarm to get the school evacuated and then called Nanase - that magical powerhouse - to come up from South to enter the fight. When Elliot, for the first time, spontaneously and involuntarily turned into a girl, it was she who saw through his attempt to hide the fact, recognized the implication (that he had Awakened) and the followup (that Ellen had probably also Awakened and needed to be warned.) Her favorite on-line avatar is a Vulcan. She presents a sardonic and largely emotionless facade, departing from it mainly in the presence of crude or belligerent men. (She had, from the beginning, the ability to summon large hammers from out of nowhere, to deliver painful but harmless blows to the deserving.)
Underneath that facade, though, is the heart of a romantic idealist. That she uses an avatar from Star Trek (TNG, if you must know) is no accident; she delights in Roddenberry's vision of a matured humanity, no longer troubled by racism, sexism, or aggressive war. She reveals this rarely; Elliot and Justin may be the only ones who know about it. Unfortunately, there is enough reality to her public persona (remember that Vulcan avatar!) to give her difficulty dealing with her own emotions. Just as Elliot has become attracted to her, so has she to him; but she dismisses it as merely a matter of hormones. Justin, her sole confidant on this, is less sure....
Susan is, in some respects, emotionally damaged. As a child, during a time when her mother was away, she caught her father with another woman - and, in fury, told her mother about it as soon as she returned. This led to her parents' divorce, and also to her earlier misandry. She dislikes being touched, with rare exceptions when she initiates the contact. She recognizes this about herself, and is making tentative moves to change - prompted, at least in part, by her attraction to Elliot. Still, she knows how far she has to go, and publicly supports the idea of his dating his new acquaintance Ashley. (She has admitted to Justin that it troubles her, but accepts that, at least for the present, things are better as they are.)
One other thing. Despite her hammers, Susan had not Awakened as of the beginning of the strip. That came later, when the Immortal Jerry revealed the reason that power was available, and the fact that a certain traumatic event in Paris need not have gone as it did - that, in fact, she was betrayed by the Immortals who Marked her and gave her that power. (Interestingly, she has done little magic since then, and does not seem to have gained any new spells.)
I still think - as do many EGS fans - that she and Elliot will end up together. They are more alike than either of them realizes; but both of them need to grow quite a bit before that can happen. I look forward to that growth.
Susan was initially not intended to be a central character; she was Sarah's ultrafeminist friend (and with a touch of straw in that feminism...). She quickly moved out of that position, however. Her initial, stereotypical, stance of man-hatred was tempered as she came to know Elliot, Justin, and even Tedd, but she still defaults to suspicion of any man's motives. (A recent attempt to break with that pattern ended unpleasantly, but she had grown enough to recognize the debacle as the fault of that man, not of men in general.)
What kind of person is she? She's smart - not book-smart like Nanase or a quick learner like Grace, but rather smart in a Holmesian fashion. She is quick to assimilate details, make deductions from them, recognize what action is necessary, and - crucially - take that action. In short, she's a tactical thinker. When Moperville North was attacked by a monster (Elliot and Tedd being absent), it was she who, in the midst of confusion, pulled the fire alarm to get the school evacuated and then called Nanase - that magical powerhouse - to come up from South to enter the fight. When Elliot, for the first time, spontaneously and involuntarily turned into a girl, it was she who saw through his attempt to hide the fact, recognized the implication (that he had Awakened) and the followup (that Ellen had probably also Awakened and needed to be warned.) Her favorite on-line avatar is a Vulcan. She presents a sardonic and largely emotionless facade, departing from it mainly in the presence of crude or belligerent men. (She had, from the beginning, the ability to summon large hammers from out of nowhere, to deliver painful but harmless blows to the deserving.)
Underneath that facade, though, is the heart of a romantic idealist. That she uses an avatar from Star Trek (TNG, if you must know) is no accident; she delights in Roddenberry's vision of a matured humanity, no longer troubled by racism, sexism, or aggressive war. She reveals this rarely; Elliot and Justin may be the only ones who know about it. Unfortunately, there is enough reality to her public persona (remember that Vulcan avatar!) to give her difficulty dealing with her own emotions. Just as Elliot has become attracted to her, so has she to him; but she dismisses it as merely a matter of hormones. Justin, her sole confidant on this, is less sure....
Susan is, in some respects, emotionally damaged. As a child, during a time when her mother was away, she caught her father with another woman - and, in fury, told her mother about it as soon as she returned. This led to her parents' divorce, and also to her earlier misandry. She dislikes being touched, with rare exceptions when she initiates the contact. She recognizes this about herself, and is making tentative moves to change - prompted, at least in part, by her attraction to Elliot. Still, she knows how far she has to go, and publicly supports the idea of his dating his new acquaintance Ashley. (She has admitted to Justin that it troubles her, but accepts that, at least for the present, things are better as they are.)
One other thing. Despite her hammers, Susan had not Awakened as of the beginning of the strip. That came later, when the Immortal Jerry revealed the reason that power was available, and the fact that a certain traumatic event in Paris need not have gone as it did - that, in fact, she was betrayed by the Immortals who Marked her and gave her that power. (Interestingly, she has done little magic since then, and does not seem to have gained any new spells.)
I still think - as do many EGS fans - that she and Elliot will end up together. They are more alike than either of them realizes; but both of them need to grow quite a bit before that can happen. I look forward to that growth.
