Heart of Gold Motivations
POSTED BY: Bytemite
UPDATED: Thursday, September 8, 2011 22:33
VIEWED: 8287
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If someone thinks that Mal's insults and distaste for Inara's profession are as bad as Rance's cruelty and nastiness then that person needs to think long and hard about reality.
I don't think Mal sees himself in Rance, I do think that the experience at the Heart of Gold does change his outlook on some things a bit, makes him realize that he can't hide behind petty insults forever even if he is a "petty thief". :) I think seeing Nandy die, even though he's seen countless others die, helps him see that life's to short as he says later to Inara and that maybe the pettieness, the little things need to be set aside to a degree. Then Inara screws it up, if its not one its the other eh?
"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya
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Well, she kinda had to stop him, but yes, she probably shouldn't have done that. She probably should have tried to tell the truth as well, and explained why they can't be together. Sure it would hurt, but it would probably hurt far less than not knowing and him believing she thinks he's lower than scum. He'd have closure, and he could maybe move on.
To be fair to her, she did think she was protecting him.
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They're both impossible.
"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya
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They are. By the end of the movie it seems like maybe Inara's made a decision, but who knows if that'll last or if Mal won't be the difficult one this time.
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Words tossed around like "whore" and "petty" can hurt just as much as psychological cruelty and physical abuse, especially said in anger, as a retort. It hurts more because of the negative connotations placed on them, applying such connotations to a person like Mal does, and Inara, to a degree, devalues their esteem and self worth over time and obviously did nothing for their relationship.
Rance refers to Nandi as a "whore" justifying her death, semantically it means a person of not much worth, no matter what context Mal uses the word in the future towards Inara, it will always carrying that meaning, or at least it should. Does Mal really think Inara has no value or worth? I can’t believe he does.
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That's true. I just wanted to point out that even though words CAN hurt (and have here, they've both damaged each other somewhat), and while the hurt exists regardless of where it comes from, at least where it's coming from is a lot different than Rance Burgess. It's unintentional to some degree.
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Does Mal really think Inara has no value and worth? I can’t believe he does.
No, he doesn't. I do think he becomes more aware and careful of what he says after Rance, but I don't think he needed Rance to show him how not to mistreat the women in his life. He didn't learn that misogyny and abuse was bad from Rance, because he knew those were bad in the first place. Mal's problem is a lack of control and sensitivity, not that he sees Nandi or Inara as worthless.
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I think Mal realized some things from his experience with Ath too. Sure Mal calls Inara a whore, which is rude and mean and hurtful, but Atherton didn't respect Inara as a person, beyond not respecting her career choices.
"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya
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I think he learned two things from Atherton, first that despite the positive light Inara puts on things, very few of her clients treat her with respect. And the second is that he's a jerk and a hypocrite for calling her the same thing Atherton does. So he stops.
From Rance, he sees just how dangerous things can be for someone in that profession, it's a bit nightmarish for Mal, because this is probably one of his fears as pertains to Inara, that she'll run across someone as abusive and controlling as Rance.
..Ooooh. Now there's something that works with what Platonist is saying. Mal is inclined a bit to think of himself as a monster. Maybe he DID see something of himself in Rance, that he makes unreasonable demands sometimes like Rance for Petaline's child while refusing to give anyone a choice, that he might end up responsible for Inara dying... And so this is the reason Mal LETS INARA GO.
Remember in Trash, not two episodes previous (and using the original schedule, the previous episode) how Mal and Inara were fighting over Mal allowing Inara to work? That's what changed!
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