If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend

[lesbiassparrow]

...I hope I should have the guts to betray my country" - E.M. Forster.

Recently I’ve been rewatching the Star Wars prequel films. And that naturally leads one to thinking about betrayal and what types of betrayals are acceptable or not – or if betrayal is ever acceptable. It’s also something that is on my mind because I’ve been reading Aeneas Tacitus on siege warfare in 4th century BCE Greece and he’s far more concerned about betrayal from inside than attacks from the outside (did you know that one term for traitors in antiquity was ‘gate-openers’?).

Betrayal – justified or not – is one of those great epic themes that can just bring stories all sorts of interesting places. Being the trivial sort of person I am I talk about it in terms of pop culture and TV.



In Star Wars I know it’s wrong that Anakin goes over to the dark side and slaughters (or tries to) his own friends, innocents, random strangers, the guy who once gave him the wrong change, etc. On the other hand, I do keep thinking about E.M. Forster’s statement and that his choice is the more natural one, given that the Jedi have never been his family or valued attachments of that sort. Presumably they do this because they are training beings to become incredibly powerful and if they then use that power for personal reasons all hell will break loose, but no one ever really bothers to explain it that way. Yoda just tells Anakin that his concerns are wrong without talking him through those concerns or bothering to think ‘well, he’s worried so telling him worry is evil might not work here, maybe I should take his personal concerns seriously’ and then fecks off to discover immortality for himself later.

Admittedly Anakin’s betrayal is set up in such a way that the case is a bit murky: the Jedi are not just complete idiots but also engaged in some very morally dubious actions: they are planning on taking over the Senate – for its own good, of course, but when have people not said they were doing something dodgy for a larger cause. They have become warriors engaged in a war using an army of beings who are not really given much of an option except to fight. They are also not young men with a whole host of issues to make them unstable, but supposedly rational beings devoted to the larger good, who make their mistakes in calmness and reflection. Why Palpatine’s lies sound to convincing is because they’re not that far off the truth and lies mixed with truth are always the most effective. Of course, a saner man would betray them both and run off with Padmé to live on Naboo and not worry about what happened, but Anakin is not exactly sane.

Two other traitors (depending on how you define it) who keep popping into my mind are Brutus on Rome and Sharon/Athena/Boomer on BSG. Brutus is a bit compromised because he seems to be doing it as much to get mum off his back as anything else, though this season he’s morphed into a more honourable person. But he surely has to know what’s coming – even more war, even more people lining up to kill each other, and an empire fighting against itself. Presumably, he feels that it’s worthwhile to save the principles of the Republic, but he still kills a man whom he’s more or less given his loyalty to. (Which is what Forster points out when he talks about betrayal: Brutus picks country over friend (possibly father)).

Then there’s BSG and Sharon/Athena/Boomer who has to betray someone/some people no matter what she does. If she sticks to the humans then she is betraying the Cylons, no ifs ands or buts. But if she aids the Cylons then she is betraying humanity. It’s a no win situation. Baltar is, of course, the worse betrayer, though I guess he has the excuse that he didn’t actually know he was betraying the 12 colonies to the Cylons at the time. But then he goes further and further into it with very few qualms.

So what do you consider the great betrayal scenes in literature or film and TV? What betrayals do you think were worth it and were right at the time – even if later they turned out to be the wrong decision. And what betrayals do you think you would have committed yourself?

Comments

[menin-aeide.livejournal.com]

Livia in I, Claudius springs to mind: bumping off half her family, including her husband, because she's committed to the idea of the monarchy in Rome. (And in the original novel, because she never could forget that Octavius had killed her father).

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Livia is excellent at treachery. I think the sad thing is that there is no moment where she reflects on what she is doing and hesitates before she happily poisons someone else.

[menin-aeide.livejournal.com]

There is that fantastic scene where she confesses everything to Claudius because she knows he'll be emperor, and she says how hard it was, but she had to do it simply because nobody else had the guts. And when she says that poisoning Octavius was the hardest thing of all -- it's heartbreaking.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

You know I don't even remember that scene. It's been so long since I saw the series or read the books. I should really have another look. Thanks for reminding me.

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

Boromir in "Lord of the Rings" betrays his friends (although he's not operating of his own free will) - but, OK, in the movie version, I love the betrayal followed by subsequent redemption theme SO much.

And I feel that Tristan betrays his uncle, to whom (at least in the opera version) he owes a lot.

And there are Lancelot and Guinevere, who betray Arthur and Arthur's vision of Britain because they love each other.

I'm sure I can think of others too, given time :)

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

These are all excellent traitors of different sorts because they are all so conflicted. Well, not Boromir until he comes to his senses. But the others tend to be wracked with guilt and suffer terribly the consequences of their actions.

Poor old Tristan, though, was under the power of a potion! I stick fast to it not being all his and Isolde's fault.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_eliza_b/]

Don't know if you're familiar with the Song of Ice and Fire series (spoilers ahead, if you want to read it at some point)...but there's the horrible, heartbreaking scene where the Freys betray the Starks at Edmure's wedding. It makes sense from the p.o.v. of medieval conventions, I suppose - the Freys are trying to repair their honor after being slighted by Robb Stark - but the lengths they go to are shocking. And, of course, they disregard custom themselves by breaking the guest-host bond.
If you haven't read SOIAF, and this is all gibberish, apologies.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

I haven't read the books, though I've seen them recommended. Are they easy to get into? Or do you need to be really gripped by medieval culture?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_eliza_b/]

No, wouldn't say you need to be obsessed with the Middle Ages (although drawing parallels between various Wars of the Roses figures and SOIAF ones is really fun). The books are just full of really interesting characters and storylines, with the odd bit of magic or the supernatural thrown in. And they're highly addictive, so...be warned, I suppose.