Thecarnivorousmuffinmeta - Tumblr Posts
Is Aro insane? Because he seems sane but a little off at times, especially considering his gift. Is part of it an act?
You must remember that movie Aro is not book Aro. Aro is energetic and has a lot of zeal, but he never comes across as manic the way movie Aro does.
His gift is trippy, I’ll give it that. Aro’s brain contains more thoughts than any other brain has ever contained. He has the history of mankind stored in that noggin.
If anything I’d say that the man is an example of the Charlie Kelly trope. (This is a trope @theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin and I made up, so don’t bother looking it up)
The Charlie Kelly trope is inspired by the show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. It’s a character who at first glance appears completely insane, a societal misfit who does weird shit all the time for no apparent reason, but upon closer examination it is discovered Charlie’s apparent insanity is in fact a survival method. His bizarre actions make perfect sense in context. He is in fact shockingly well-adjusted given the insanity that is his life. The problem is his life, which is completely weird and fringe.
Aro can read every single thought you’ve ever had with a touch upon your hand, and he touches everybody who comes into Volterra, every guard, every person he comes into contact with. In spite of this, he has a sense of self and is in fact shockingly well-adjusted.
Carlisle is another Charlie Kelly. His principles have led him to becoming a vampire monk doctor, and weird shit keeps happening to him. He moved into Volterra for a few decades because why wouldn’t he, met Garrett when Garrett’s cross-dressing human sister needed medical attention, one day a psychic and her newborn veteran gone pacifist showed up do join his coven, and we have everything that happens in the Twilight saga. Carlisle’s life is bizarre, and he doesn’t appear to realize as much. In spite of all this he seems very well adjusted, easily able to socialize with normal vampires.
There’s also the matter of his insane family, which fits the Charlie Kelly bill as the Charlie Kelly is often surrounded by people who make it that much harder to get a more normal life.
Back to Aro, though, and madness.
There’s probably a conversation to be had about what sanity even is, especially when it comes to timeless rock people with psychic abilities, but that’s not for this meta. Aro shows no sign of madness in canon, is in fact one of the most reasonable characters in the series, so to answer your question, no, I don’t think he’s insane.