I dont think Uncle Iroh played a very big part in Azula's life. IMO, she wasnt jeolous of Zuco and Iroh's relationship, rather, the way she spoke of uncle being a pot belly hedomist, is exaclty what she thought of him. The person who wrote the analyisis about the doll Azula receved from uncle and how she was jeolous of Zuco's knife is not a matter of relationship but more gender. He claims that the doll is from a street vendor market, while zuco got a really valuable knife. We dont know if the doll is cheep. Perhaps the doll was somthing only the daughters of nobles can afford to play with. Who knows, we dont know if its cheep or valuable. But what we do know is an earth kingdom lady dressed in the latest fasion is not ment for a boy, at least in the sexist society that is the avatar world(and our own). To azula, sitting around, dressing the doll combing the hair, is not what she is about. But Iroh who bearly knows her fierce worrior spirit, tells her, "here little girl, your so adorable, go play with this pretty doll". While to zuco, hes saying, "your a MAN!!, you are my brave fire nation warrior nefew. This weapon of war is sutiable for you!!"
Azula, who mastered bending electricity, who is mentally phisicaly, and skill wise a superior warrior than zuco in may ways receves a doll because shes a girl, while zuco the emo no talent punk brother of mine who didn't diserve, received a knife. I think the doll gesture was more a gender thing than a relationship thing, although this was not really consiquetial to azulas self esteem because he knows fully well she is by far supiror to any human being.
Theres been a lot of attempts to humanize and imagine behind the behavior and mask about what azula has been thinking. And i agree that very early in childhood, she may have changed for the worst, but during a lot of her teenage life, chasing Aang zuco, i dont agree that her motives were based on lonliness, and starving for affection of driven by emotional vulnerablitlity. But rather choices she made to follow throught with her plan. She may have very hidden and opressed issues but for the most part, she was cool calm and collected. Its going to far for me to say she converted zuco on her side to come back to the fire nation because she wanted him close with her. She did it for her plan. She made bad choices, at least bad in the long run were it would come back to her. Like the short term benifit to taking control of the dai lee was she would take ba sing se. But in the long run, she wouldnt trust them because, how dose she know if they might betray her the same way they did long fan? Or manipulating with fear, ty lee and mai, in the short run, they would join her as allies. In the long run, its a negitve relationship to use fear to make people do what you want them to do. Azula's relationship with ty lee mai would deteriorate with because of this negativity.
Perhaps its not her relationships and emotional weaknesses but her negative decisions that came back to haunt her. She planted bad seeds in her mind she reaped the bad fruit which would cause her mental suffering. And yes it is her fault, and the fault of her upbringing, rather than pinning everything on the past and how it effects her emotionally at the present. It isnt as much about one difinitive relationship to zuco or ursa or ozai that she was so bad. And in the end, its just very sad. But shes young, and maybe she will change.
Edited on 07/24/2008 2:23pm
Edited 3 total times.
