【Character Analysis + Criticism】About Eva Tsunaka-The Perfect Liar (part one FTE) 3

[Speculations on the Psychological Formation of Eva]

　　[Note: The author is not a professional. The following content is merely personal speculation based on FTE2 content and should be viewed critically. ]

　　[Note: This is an explanation of the experience that clarifies the causes, but does not excuse personal responsibility for actions. ]

　　Following a school recommendation to join the mathematics competition team, Eva, the youngest member at only 11 years old, found the experience to be far from her expectations. The other team members, all 16 years of age, subjected her to bullying.

　　Eva's age (emotional capacity) and abilities (intellectual capacity) are severely mismatched. In a group with significantly older members, she has greater difficulty managing social relationships and personal emotions. (During childhood, a five-year age gap is substantial; one is around fifth grade, the other around eleventh grade, creating an irreconcilable gap in physical and mental development.)

　　The instrumentalization of mathematics competitions may lead to Eva's self-worth becoming inextricably linked to external validation and achievement, creating a pattern of addiction to external approval.  Since Eva is a genius, she will continue to succeed and receive positive feedback.

　　Due to the age gap, Eva will find it difficult to resist bullying. When faced with bullying, Eva constructs a narrative of ‘They must be jealous of me' (And because Eva is indeed a genius, this perception is harder to refute), transforming the bullying from ‘objectively uncontrollable' to ‘perceived as controllable’ (I know the reason), thereby mitigating the pain. She establishes a sense of superiority as a psychological defense mechanism, reducing feelings of powerlessness and twisting the resultant self-deprecation into an affirmation of self-importance – ‘victimhood' becomes associated with ‘superiority,' ‘importance,' and ‘moral advantage'.

　　Thus, to maintain her superiority, her pursuit of success and validation will intensify.  Because her ‘victim' status grants her a moral high ground, her aggression will be justified, and potential responsibility will be absolved. She will begin to repeat this pattern.

　　To maintain psychological stability, she constructed psychological defenses and a comfort zone through oversimplification of her thinking, establishing a framework of ‘I am good, they are bad,' ‘I am right, they are wrong,' and ‘I am innocent, the school is exploiting me.'

　　A nascent pattern of self-deification—' I am the absolute, infallible truth'—and victimhood—' I am persecuted by the outside world'—begins to emerge.  Due to self-isolation, a dichotomous and dehumanizing view of others develops, leading to a disconnection from the overall reality.

　　Eva's aversion to mathematics competitions stems from the traumatic memories associated with bullying during her involvement.

　　The trauma-induced conditioned reflex is reactivated whenever Eva encounters a similar situation (even if it is merely a justified expression of dissatisfaction from others), causing her to enter a mental fight-or-flight mode (traumatic stress response).

　　Subsequently, even after leaving the mathlete team, she extended this coping mechanism to her future/the entire world.

　　This experience caused her pain, yet she simultaneously needed this traumatic memory, just as she needed her mathlete title—she required them to maintain the rationality of this old pattern, to sustain her already-formed self-identity (omnicompetent genius/innocent victim).  She also needed to repeatedly confirm the pattern's efficacy through past traumas, because familiar pain was safer than unknown growth, and maintaining a victim identity, possessing "victim privilege," perfectly justified inaction. Therefore, she could never leave the past, never leave that little mathlete team.

　　(Note: Environment is not the ultimate determinant of fate; numerous real-world examples demonstrate the human capacity to alter self-perceived patterns.)

————————　　

[Summary and Potential for Change in Eva's Behavioral Patterns]

　　The most lethal thing about Eva is not the flawed mindset, but the fact that her patterns are completely locked dead.

　　She completely lacks any intention to change, and therefore any possibility to change. Because her whole way of being is based on"I don't need to change".

Within this mindset, she can only ever play the role of the perfect victim:

—I do not need to change, because I am not at fault; nor can I change, because any attempt at change would prove that I am not perfect, that I might be wrong; as long as I remain the victim, I perpetually occupy the moral high ground; any setbacks or failures I encounter are never my responsibility; as long as everything is the world's fault, then everything I do is forgivable.

　　This pattern doesn't allow for self-reflection. As mentioned above, Eva distorts all external information to fit her rigid black-and-white pattern. In order to fit into the"Perfect victim" image, she can't admit any responsibility, she has to be completely powerless, completely innocent -- Her subjective initiative (the ability to act purposefully, proactively, and with initiative in understanding and changing the world.), that is, "The ability to choose", is eliminated by her own choice.

　　She is also intolerant of others and the cognitive shifts they may bring, as she is unable to view others as equals.  Furthermore, her externalization of self-deception into a manipulative instinct prevents others from trusting and maintaining contact with her—stable interpersonal relationships are built on at least a degree of mutual trust and consensus, from temporary collaborations to lifelong partnerships.

　　While she calls herself the "Ultimate liar," her capacity for self-deception perfectly suits this self-proclaimed title—her "lie" doesn't lie in deceiving others, but in deceiving herself.  When the deceived and the deceiver are the same person, the possibility of exposure is entirely eliminated.

This is a classic example of a self-destructive behavioral pattern:

Eva repeatedly reinforces this self-destructive perception by repeating the lie over and over again to herself and to others, repeating the cycle of self-fulfilling prophecy over and over again, constantly avoiding confronting herself, the world, and her responsibilities,  and eventually becoming incurable—even professional psychological counseling cannot save someone who is unwilling to save themselves.

　　————————

　　[A Critique of Eva's Survival Philosophy]

　　Ironically, she spent her life yearning to be seen as extraordinary, yet her true nature can only be described as Mediocrity.

　　——to take inherent talent and strength that should have built excellence and turn it into a self-imposed prison, willing to rot in the painful present rather than have the courage and ruthlessness to cut through the flesh and bones to find a new life——It's the perfect expression of mediocrity.

　　I frequently use the word "irony" in this article because it is the most appropriate descriptor.

　　—The entire character of Eva is built upon this profoundly ironic hypocrisy.

　　While professing a desire for success and recognition, at the same time, she ignores her potential shortcomings, ignores realistic circumstances, ignores the effort required for success, and expects results to be effortlessly delivered.

　　While professing a desire to shed the label of a mathlete, at the same time, she refuses to relinquish the privileges associated with their ‘Ultimate' title.  Rather, she performs a self-pitying, emotionally charged act of resistance against UTP, yet is unwilling to bear the true cost of change.

　　While claiming that no one treats her as a living being, at the same time, she objectifies others as tools for gaining Validation and perpetrators' symbols to satisfy her  Self-deification and Victim-acting addiction.

　　She wants everything yet is unwilling to give anything in return. She masks her own emptiness in courage, growth, and authenticity by portraying herself as the innocent genius persecuted by the world.

　　————————

　　[The following are the author's personal views; please read with caution]

　　As someone whose experience is very similar to Eva's, I despise her way of living and can not feel any sympathy towards her.

　　A person who is not willing to take any responsibility for their own life does not deserve any sympathy.

　　-- You could call this ‘mirror aversion. '.

　　And to watch Eva make such a life advantage into a self-prison cage, use it as an excuse for self-exculpation is even more... Frowning.

　　However, the characterisation of Eva itself is surprising and memorable, and despite my personal feelings about Eva as a person, I really like her characterisation itself. She deserves a real-person level psychoanalytic analysis.

　　The above represents the author's character analysis and personal critique of Eva.

　　Thank you for reading.

　　————————

　　[ discussion notes ] :

　　1.[Academic Integrity Statement]

　　This article  follows the paradigm of"Critical character analysis":

　　Based on publicly available textual evidence

　　Conclusions are falsifiable (e.g., counterexamples based on new game text(if there will be one) can refute the characterization analysis)

　　Essential Distinction  from"Personal attack":

　　Objective: To diminish the character's value → Not applicable in this text

　　Attack method: Emotionally abusive insults → Prohibited in this article

　　2. When you ask the author to be "more forgiving of the characters," you are actually requesting:

　　Lowering logical standards → Violation of this article's first cognitive rule

　　Substituting analysis with emotion → violates the three principles of discussion

　　→ This appeal itself constitutes a deconstruction of the basic framework of text analysis.

　　Regarding potential malicious reports, the following record is filed:

　　A) All criticisms are directed at the behavioral patterns of fictional characters.

　　B) No personal insults were used throughout the text.

　　C) Greed/hypocrisy, etc., are neutral terms in psychology.

[Any of the following behaviors will be considered malicious speculation]:

Including, but not limited to:

Personal attacks

Attacking the author's intentions

Insist on a distorted interpretation after the concept has been clarified

Twist "strategic suggestions" as "victim blaming" even after achieving a perfect score on the self-assessment.

Refuting facts with emotional statements (e.g., ‘I feel/I think')

Ask the author to revise the analytical framework to align with their individual comprehension.

[The author has the final right not to reply.]