Profile: Zelda Part 2

Introduction

    Before I begin I want to remind everyone that this blog series is not a strict examination of the lore of the Legend of Zelda series. There are unending videos and articles online that you can dive into on that subject. This series only deals with how a canonical version of Zelda is portrayed throughout the series from a storytelling perspective. We are examining her character in each entry of the series to see where they overlap to determine what an accurate portrayal of Zelda would be in future entries of the series. We are not debating for example, whether or not each iteration of Zelda in the timeline is an incarnation of the goddess Hylia.

The Damsel in Distress

    Because plot summaries are readily available online, I will not rehash the events of each game but simply state what I believe to be the defining characteristics of the character of Zelda in each one. The first three games are rather simple.
In Zelda 1, 2, and A Link to the Past, Zelda is your stereotypical damsel in distress. You can read about my views on the damsel in distress trope here. Zelda in these games does not really have any character development, but there are some things we can derive about her meta character. She is valuable, the object the antagonist seeks to capture for selfish reasons (negative Damsel in Distress trope), and the object the protagonist (Link) seeks to save for selfless reasons (positive Damsel in Distress trope). As I describe in my Damsel in Distress trope, Link’s motivation is everything. In Zelda 1 & 2 he has a “burning sense of justice. Zelda is the ruler of Hyrule, Ganon is evil, therefore he must be defeated. In a Link to the Past we get a slightly more complex motivation for Link. Link’s uncle is a former knight of Hyrule and is duty bound to protect Zelda. This duty passes on to Link at the start of the game. In addition to duty, just before he dies, Link’s uncle utters the infamous line “Zelda is your…”. There is plenty of speculation here as to what he was about to say, but there is very strong evidence to suggest that “destiny” was the last word that the player is supposed to derive given the context of the game. With this line, Link is no longer only duty bound, but his part to play is one of destiny. In the context of the game's mythos, this could be seen as divine providence. There are other forces at work here that bind Zelda to Link. 

Conclusion

Given what we just discussed, the major aspects of Zelda from the first few games in the series are as follows: She needs rescuing and/or help from Link, she is a royal, she is the key to defeating evil, and there is some sort of divine providence at play to her connection to Link and her part to play in defeating evil. Based on my own knowledge of the series I believe these to be the major themes that make Zelda Zelda. While not each one is present within each Zelda game, in every game where she is present at least one of these characteristics is observable in her character. As we continue through this blog series, we’ll see if these character themes are core to her character, or just peripheral.