A couple of years ago I wrote a blog defending Bella Swan from Twilight as a character (particularly in response to New Moon). The main concern in that post regarded her reaction to Edward’s leaving.You can read the whole blog here, but I’ll refer to particular passages later on in this post. More on that in a second.
On a related note, my roommate Ellen recently read the Hunger Games trilogy after going to the midnight premiere of the first movie with me a few weeks ago. Though she thoroughly enjoyed the series, she has some issues with the ending of the trilogy, which I’ll talk about after the break because SPOILERS.
So at the end of Mockingjay, Katniss watches her little sister Prim die in a horrific bombing. After a bit more story and a couple more notable deaths, Katniss retreats back to the wasteland that is District Twelve, alone. If it weren’t for Haymitch, Peeta, and Gale’s mother, Katniss wouldn’t have survived, because she all but withdrew from life completely. She barely managed to feed herself, rarely bathed, and often didn’t get out of bed for days at a time.
Ellen found this behavior to be unbelievable, but I disagreed. I can completely see this reaction being possible and understandable. First, Katniss never really wanted a rebellion, or a coup, or whatever you want to call it. From the beginning of book one, all she wanted was to survive. Just keep herself and Prim alive. Gale was always violent and always wanted to stand up to the power, and even Peeta had a more intellectual stance on the whole issue, stating right before his first Games that he wanted to prove to the Capital that they didn’t own him.
Second, Katniss has never lived for herself, not really. The only reason she kept herself alive so long in District Twelve and in the two Games she competed in was Prim, and to some extent her mother. She was the provider, the one thing standing between her family and starvation. When she won the first Games, it was for Prim. When she agreed to help District 13, it was for Prim. No matter what she did, she kept herself alive enough to be there for her sister. The only time she considered actually dying was during the second Games, when she planned to help Peeta win… for Prim. Because Peeta would have taken care of her.
So when Prim was murdered by the same people Katniss was fighting for, how was she supposed to react? Her entire life revolved around her little sister, and now that tether was gone. She was only 18. Still a kid by all accounts. She was never particularly emotionally equip, but this broke her. This was the last straw.
I don’t look down on Katniss for this reaction. Yes, she was a strong character all throughout the books, but she was strong because of and for Prim. Everyone has their breaking point, and this was hers.
On to the actual withdrawing, though. As I said in my Twilight blog all those years ago:
Bella’s serious relationship just fell apart in a matter of a few lines of random, seemingly unprovoked dialog. For the first time in her life, she was appreciated and taken care of. And when that is ripped away from her, without any sense of closure whatsoever, of course she’s going to have a panic attack.
Though the situations are very, very different, the reaction is similar. Both Katniss and Bella withdraw from their lives after a serious tragedy because there was no sense of closure and they had no one to commiserate with, not really. They were completely alone in their sorrow, so of course they would withdraw. Again from the Twilight blog:
The longevity of these panic attacks is also cited as unrealistic and bad for young girls to read about, but if you’re even a little bit familiar with me, you’ll know that the time frame of Bella’s reaction is by no means untrue. I had panic attacks and feelings similar to Bella all throughout my junior year of high school. Heck, I still get them from time to time.
I have made no secret about my history with panic attacks, and it is a long one. The fact is, sometimes life overwhelms you, and the only way you know how to deal with it is to withdraw. Bella and I both managed to go about the motions because we had responsibilities and things to account for, but Katniss was completely alone and had no responsibilities. Her case was, obviously, more tragic as well.
Point is, there is nothing weak about withdrawing, even when it lasts longer than people are comfortable with. Because when you withdraw, at least you’re still alive. At least there’s still that glimmer of hope that things will get better. No one looks down on an injured athlete when they take a season off, so why should we look down on people undergoing emotional trauma who aren’t as fun to be around for a while? Sure, when they show no signs of improvement you can try and intervene in their misery, but everyone has their own timeline for grief. There’s nothing to be ashamed of
