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A Wraith's Mentality utilizes aspects of Stoicism along with the outlook of Inej Ghafa, a fictional character created for Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows duology.
Every new version of oneself holds bits of the older editions. While you must shed your skin to continue evolving in this world, you cannot allow yourself to forget those past selves, however hard it may be. Accepting oneself with all the old and rough edges helps to build a better shape for the future.
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The Wraith’s Mentality uses Inej Ghafa, a character from Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology as a spotlight. From Hepola’s article, “[a]ccording to a fictional realist, fictional characters are full-fledged, metaphysically respectable entities” (80). For this reason, we will treat Inej as a very real person equally capable of learning from as anyone else. Black et. al. even acknowledges how “[e]mpirical research provides evidence of the power of identifying with fictional characters” (2), in studies with children who take on traits of Harry Potter versus Voldemort. Therefore, by taking notes from Stoicism, virtue ethics, and research on character morality, The Wraith’s Mentality provides a key example to follow.
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Stoicism sees philosophy as, “a kind of practice or exercise (askêsis) in the expertise concerning what is beneficial (Aetius, 26A)” (Baltzly, 2019). It is the idea that life can be bleak and we must trudge through to the other side. It’s counterpart, Epicureanism, provides more of a hopeful attitude seen in Inej at times with the idea that while there is darkness and hardship, Inej Ghafa, the Wraith, often is caught grappling with her actions required by survival verses her religious virtues she clings to. This acts as a considerable blockade to her growth throughout the Six of Crows duology until she finds resolution through the acceptance of the person she was, the person she is, and the person she wishes to be.
In virtue ethics, Aristotle created an idea called the Doctrine of the Mean. With this, virtues require finding balance between a deficit and excess. For example, where courage stands in the middle, the deficit of that virtue would be cowardice and the excess would be foolhardiness. Achilles can act as an example where he displays the desirable traits of men in Greek society with a warning that comes when one tips towards excess with wrath, violence, and a lack of emotional control. Again, Inej’s morals often land her in situations where on one hand, it is a worthy aspiration to maintain such good morals and on the other, it can be a crutch when she needs to do what must be done.
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Where we often must reflect upon ourselves and the faces we wish to display, so do all others whether fictional or realistic. Even a reader must grapple with the moral shortcomings and highlights of the characters they align themselves with. As with any friendship formed both fictionally and in reality, “strong allegiances with characters, once established, become automatic and altered only by a dramatic turn of events” (Plantinga 35). Therefore, rather than shunning this process of acceptance, we ought to embrace it. There are aspects to our personalities that remain unwavering, and others that are either grown, sheared, or no longer existent. But throughout each stage of our lives, depending on the environment and situation, we were who we needed to be at that time.
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