why not Mal?
POSTED BY: SouthernSlayer
UPDATED: Saturday, February 26, 2005 14:58
VIEWED: 10652
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Hey. I was just wondering what everyones opinion was on why Mal never told Inara how he truely felt about her. He's a confident guy so it surprises me that he hadnt expressed his feelings during Inara's time on Serenity.
"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."
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I don't think it's an issue of confidence.
It's hard to tell someone you care for deeply that you do care for them when either you and/or that person can not openly admit such feelings. In Mal's eyes Inara is not available. And as captain, he is not available to her. So he sits on his feelings.
Been there. You express your wants and desires in mostly acceptable ways and hope that you do not offend your love. You hope that they reciprocate your advances without causing more damage than you have by admitting your desire. You're unavailable, he’s unavailable and yet you hope against hope knowing it never can be.
But the longing glances across the ship don't fade overnight.
www.thatweirdgirl.com
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Why do you suppose we have difficulty telling those we care for deeply that we do?
"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."
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Admitting it would leave him vulnerable, and that is not a feeling Mal is comfortable with.
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Mal had lost his faith in love...
like he'd lost his faith in faith,
so he didn't want to admit it to himself,
much less to her...
he had decided to never 'feel again',
and he couldn't admit that he wasn't the hardened
bad-ass he believed himself to be....
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I agree with the above but I also think there's another dimension to it relating to her profession. Mal doesn't share the apparently universal high regard shown to companions. He calls Inara a whore frequently and has been generally disparaging about her line of work.
However, he doesn't seem quite so bothered about the other genuine whores in Heart of Gold. Maybe this is part of the idealisation that often occurs with unrequited crushes - in his eyes, Inara is too good to sleep with other men.
Perhaps he's attracted to her because of her (in his eyes) lowly status. His self-esteem isn't exactly through the roof so maybe he feels he deserves to be with someone who sells their body. Of course, he may still be worried that she would have said no and what would that do to his self-worth, turned down by a prostitute?
I know where he's coming from; when you're in love with someone with whom it's never going to work, it's better to just live with the fantasy than actually do anything about it.
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I don't think Mal has a problem with Inara being a whore, it's the whole pretending that being a Companion is different. At least a whore is just telling it like it is, being honest if you like. He seems to feel the need to remind her that she is doing her own pretending and its' the pretence he doesn't like. As if she is better or any different from the girls at the Heart of Gold. As for the feelings between them, Inara made it pretty clear right from the outset that she doesn't service crew but as time goes on it gets harder and harder for them to not blur the lines between friendship and love. That leaves them with the wanting. Also, I don't think Inara would ever give up her lifestyle for Mal any more than he would be able to change what he is for her. I also think if they did hook up he would be far too jealous to share her with anyone who had the coin to pay for it. Whatever the slant she might put on her profession it would still feel like betrayal to him.
Ali D :~)
You can't take the sky from me...
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Don't you think it's kind of odd that no one other than Mal seems to think a companion is a whore? And not just the rest of the crew of Serenity but no other character? But in answer to the question, I think Mal doesn't tell her out of simple fear of rejection.
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Quote:
Originally posted by batmarlowe:
Don't you think it's kind of odd that no one other than Mal seems to think a companion is a whore? And not just the rest of the crew of Serenity but no other character? But in answer to the question, I think Mal doesn't tell her out of simple fear of rejection.
I seem to recall Atherton calling her a whore.
Could be that Mal has some bad experience with prostitution. Perhaps his Mom had to take to the trade at some point to make ends meet or some such.
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Mal's up there on his moral high horse. He is surprisingly prudish. He was horrified when he walked in on Kaylee and Bester. Saffron handed herself to him on a plate and he couldn't even look at her. "Whoa, hey! Flesh....." And how about "...Its more a question of what's, um, of what's morally right."
He can't get past Inara's occupation. He'd probably cope better if she was a straightforward prostitute. He had a sort of respect for Nandi. Even then, I don't think he would have "accomplished anything sinful" without the help of a good deal of her fine rice wine!
I think it's the pretence of respectability that Inara sheilds herself behind and that fact that she's seen as so far above him in society that he can't stomach.
He's angry with himself that he has feelings for her.
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