This is basically the very rough draft of a little something something I've been working on. Please discuss, because I am SO STUCK on cleaning and finalizing this. It's very long; I'm sorry.


So, in doing research for something else I looked up the technical definitions for The Seven Deadly Sins –while, of course, I had some Seazer on. This naturally got me to thinking and I was pretty surprised when I looked up some of the correlations and SKU parallels just started flowing naturally –although I shouldn’t have been. So, for the uninitiated:

The Seven Deadly Sins
Sloth -Sadness and Apathy
Greed–Treachery and Covetousness
Envy –Jealousy and Malice
Wrath –Anger and Ire
Gluttony –Waste and Overindulgence
Lust– Fornication and Perversion (everyone’s favorite!)
Pride-Vanity and Narcissism

While all of the duels in the series can be categorized in some ways as representative of the Sins, as well as most of the duelist’s reasons (Ruka is the only duelist with anything resembling altruistic motivations, and even then, they’re questionable) there are really seven characters that I feel are in line with each of the sins, and to most they are the most important characters in Utena’s growth: The Seitokai, Akio (of course) and Anthy. In writing this essay, I’ve given a lot of deliberation towards including Mikage, and have ultimately decided that the Black Rose Duelists, while some of the most identifiable, aren’t to be included. My reasons for this are that Akio and Anthy are the only ones that know and remember the Black Rose Duels, and any growth that Utena may have made would have been undone by her lack of memory in this instance. It’s really arguable whether she experienced any growth as Utena, though reasonably bright, just isn’t intuitive enough to have ever understood the point of the Black Rose Duels.*
    I’ve included the traditional punishments in Hell for each sin, as well as Dante’s version of the Terraces of Purgatory where sufferers of the Sins were recuperated.

Miki –Sloth
Miki’s is the least obvious when looking for a sin, but it’s there none the less. He is generally the “good guy.” His reasons for dueling, while self-delusional, aren’t really bad, certainly not when compared to, say Touga or Saionji, but at the same time, he is as unhealthy as the rest of Ohtori –it’s just not as obvious. Sloth is generally defined as sadness and apathy. On the surface, only sadness seems to apply, but apathy does just as much, once we begin to look a little closer. The sadness is obvious. He misses Kozue, and the closeness they once shared, although not the obvious incest. Loosing a twin is often described as loosing a part of oneself, and there’s no denying that there’s a bond there, something untouchable and indefinable. After all, mythology is full of stories about twins with bonds –and oftentimes, homicidal intent.
The apathy is evident; it just takes a little more looking to find it. The biggest indicator is his absolute lack of interest in grades or schooling. Sure, he takes college classes, but how interested in it is he? Whenever he helps Utena or Anthy with their homework, it’s perfunctory. He can do it, but he doesn’t really have any pride in it. There’s no concern. He does what he has to do, but doesn’t really invest himself in anything. It’s a minor form of apathy, but it’s there. Miki seems to wear his heart on his sleeves –he is the youngest of the duelists, after all, with the least amount of true experience- but at the same time, there’s a hardness to him, a shell that he doesn’t really allow others to crack. Only Kozue, the closest a person has ever been to him. He truly doesn’t care about anything other then his Shining Thing –which is a replacement for Kozue anyway.
The traditional punishment in Hell is to be tossed into a pit full of venomous vipers for an eternity. Dante wrote that the only way this sin could be purged in life was by running, and pursuing activity.

    Juri -Greed/Avarice 
Greed is an interesting sin, and one that’s a bit difficult to classify as it tends to overlap into the territory of several sins. If it’s an unhealthy desire for food or drink, it’s generally termed Gluttony. When it’s a desire for another’s attributes, it becomes Envy. Greed is by and large, the desire of material objects to better one’s position or increase wealth, or a reflection of flawed properties. While it’s true that Juri does work as a model and have an interest in designer clothes, it’s never stated or implied that that interest is an unhealthy desire. However, if we extend the definition of a material thing to being a person, Juri certainly qualifies as desiring something out of proportion to what it’s truly worth.
Juri’s defining characteristic in Greed is probably just that, covetousness. She covets Shiori, even though she believes she can never have her. She wants Shiori; even though she knows it’s not healthy. She says that she wants to be rid of her affection to her, the love she feels. She says this, but still she wants. She. Covets.
Greed is also identified with treachery, and there’s certainly some present in that relationship –and not just from Shiori. Juri is in love with Shiori, and while she seems to do a good job of concealing her lesbianism to the rest of Ohtori, (at least in the beginning), it’s fairly obvious to the viewer. Treachery is defined as the breaking or violation of an assumed social contract. In seeing Shiori as more then a friend, it’s entirely possible that Juri may feel she’s overstepping her bounds as a friend, especially when we take into account that she was supposedly the protector in their relationship. Interestingly enough, Juri’s view of their friendship, other then her love for Shiori, is never explored. The viewer is given Shiori’s versions of their early acquaintance, but never what Juri thought of Shiori before falling in love with her. Does Juri feel sickened by her attraction to another woman? Does she feel that it’s unnatural, or that she’s breaking Shiori’s confidences by seeing her as an object of love, and probably even lust? Although we know how she feels about Shiori, we’re never given the peek into Juri’s soul to know how she truly feels about her feelings towards Shiori.
If she feels that she somehow betrayed Shiori, then it’s an even stronger argument towards Juri’s representative sin being Greed. Although, even if she doesn’t, she’s still a covetous person, and still full of Greed.
The traditional punishment in Hell is to be boiled in oil for eternity. Dante wrote that practitioners of this laid face down on the ground and contemplated God, turning their focus from things, to the greatness of God.

Envy – Nanami
Envy is Jealousy and Malice. Nanami is jealous of anyone that takes Touga’s attentions away from her. Her worldview is built on the belief that she is better then every other woman in the world- because she knows that she’s the only one who will always have Touga’s attentions. We see what happens when that delusion, like so many others in Ohtori, is stripped away; her view is shot, and she sees how shaky the ground she stands on truly is. She’s really no better then anyone else, because her increased status comes from her association, something that can be stripped away, as Touga does to her in Ep. 31 (Her Tragedy). Not only is she jealous and deeply protective of her brother’s interest, she’s just as jealous of his standing. Nanami knows deep down that her status as a “Queen B” is totally reliant on her being Touga’s little sister.
    That knowledge (and her jealousy) is the root of her malice towards anyone who comes near him and might cause his status (and thusly hers) to move downwards. Touga is perfect, and therefore she can’t unleash that resentment at him. But his groupies?  Sure, why not? After all, they’re certainly not perfect. Even upperclassmen –like Anthy- are subject to her abuses. The only ones that seem exempt are The Seitokai, and that’s probably no small amount of intimidation on the part of Juri. She knows that they can’t affect her brother’s standing, and so she has something resembling a truce with them.
    Another quality of Envy (in the malicious vein) is the sinful joy of having watched others fall low. Nanami definitely likes to make others fall from positions of greatness when she can accomplish it, or even more easily, to remove something of joy to another person. Even if it’s something as simple as keeping Keiko from attending her party so that she can keep her from seeing Touga, the greatest –and only perk- to her subservience to Nanami. There’s even a word for it in German –schadenfreude (literally, shameful joy).
    The traditional punishment for Envy is to swim through frozen water for an eternity, although Dante chose to describe it as having their eyes sewn shut with wire, referring to the last definition of the sin.

    Wrath –Saionji
Wrath is anger, hatred, ire. These are the most basic definitions of Wrath. There’s also the denial of truth to self and others; one of the minor sins of Wrath is assault. Just by these few words alone we can say that Wrath is probably a good fit for Saionji. He’s certainly angry. He’s definitely full of some hatred and loathing. He’s pretty darn guilty of assault. Perhaps most tellingly, though, is Dante’s definition of Wrath:
    “Love of justice perverted to revenge and spite.”
It’s easy to see Saionji as having, at one point in his life, been a very fair person. In the flashbacks we see of him as a child he’s beguilingly innocent. Innocence often has connotations of fair, and even in his most extremes, he’s a tit for tat kind of person. For every jibe that Touga delivers, he gives one back –perhaps with less sophistication, but it’s there nonetheless. His love of fairness is so far gone that he resorts to childish insults –just so that things are even between them.
    Saionji, more then any other member of the Seitokai, understands the nature of the duels. His intuitive nature also leads him to understand just how pointless it is to try and resist Ends of the World. He knows that the Chairman will get what he wants, whenever he wants, however he wants it. Saionji, while certainly willing to play the game at first, seems to understand the stakes before anyone else does. Or at least, to have a better grasp of what’s going on then, say, Juri or Miki. But even though he’s so perceptive, he allows himself to be manipulated, and fairly easily, too, because his anger and resentment at everyone has blinded himself to his own shortcomings.
    The traditional punishment for Wrath is to be dismembered alive, although according to Dante, sufferers of Wrath walk through acrid smoke in order to learn how wrath has blinded their judgment.

Gluttony – Touga
Gluttony is defined as Waste and Overindulgence, primarily in food. Early Church leaders chose to include anticipation of a meal in gluttony, thus extending it’s definition to include costly foods or delicacies. It’s very easy to see Touga eating only the finest foods. I choose to also use the definition of Gluttony as overindulgence in general, something Touga certainly does in spades.
    Touga can almost be defined by the things he wastes, or ruins. He wastes the (empty) affections his groupies heap on him. He wastes the (genuine) affection that Nanami, and at one point, Saionji heap on him. With one real exception, he wastes his opportunities to manipulate Utena. His problem is with the first half of the sin –Overindulgence. He has always had more then he knows what to do with. So what if he wastes it? He’s got more of it; he will always have more of it.
It’s easy to dismiss Touga as a rich playboy when you take this view of him, but he’s more calculating then a lot of fandom really gives him credit for. His problem though, isn’t a lack of ambition; it’s a lack of understanding and care that comes with having to work with the bare minimum. A proponent of the Touga-as-Akio’s-protégé theory might say that this is something that Akio is trying to teach him about, in order for him to become the next chairman. But really, if Akio wanted Touga to learn something, he’s probably have drilled it into him at least by the time the Akio arc duels roll around.
Also, this is something that Akio could exploit for his own advancement. Touga is used to having a lot of room for error in his smaller machinations, while Akio’s are on a scale unseen in…well, the world, quite frankly. Akio has no margin for error. Using Touga’s penchant for overindulgence against him is a great advantage in cultivating the initial illusion he presents for Utena. By allowing Utena to indirectly compare him to Touga, he can only come out on top. Touga is overindulgent, while Akio limits himself –seeming Spartan, more adult.
The traditional punishment in Hell is to be fed garbage for eternity. Dante describes the soul as abstaining from food or drink and, in order to sharpen the pangs of hunger, being forced to pass cool clean water without stopping to drink.


Lust- Akio
Lust is such a perfect match for Akio, it barely even needs to be qualified.
Interestingly enough, the original sin was extravagance, before modernization sometime in the late 1600’s, as near as I’ve been able to tell (Personally, I think it was more along the lines of the rising of the codes of courtly love, and knight’s chivalry and all that jazz, but I’ve not been able to find any reliable source for that.) The original Latin for lust was luxuria, from which we derive the word luxurious. Again, another word perfectly suited to the cognac swilling chairman.
    Just to be thorough, lust is generally described as an unwholesome appetite for sex and sexual perversions. Akio indulges on homosexuality, adultery, incest, statutory rape (which is more of a legal concern, but what the hell. We’ll toss it in), not to mention his general promiscuity.
    Lust is considered a sin because it detracts from the adoration and love given to God. Dante allowed the penitent to walk within flames to purge himself from lustful thoughts, while the traditional hell for the lustful is to be smothered with fire and brimstone.

Pride –Anthy
When glancing through the sins, Anthy doesn’t seem to fit any of them very well, and Pride seems almost like a throwaway, a bone to give her. But on more thought, it seems to be something that fits rather well. Pride is an excess of belief in one’s own superiority, oftentimes unfounded. While Anthy as the Rose Bride might be considered lesser, as displayed by the Seitokai’s treatment of her, Anthy as the Witch is definitely a force to be reckoned with, and superiority is, in this case, justified.
Anthy does not fraternize with anybody. She is no one’s friend until Utena comes along, and it takes her a great deal of time to warm up to the pink haired would-be prince. Anthy has never held anyone to be on her level, and why should she? Utena is just another potential prince in Akio’s dueling game, and everyone else is beneath her. She has a lot to have a determined kind of pride in. She stole Dios from everyone and she takes the million swords. Two very powerful things, two things that not many could’ve done.
So her pride, while more then a little malicious in nature, is justified. However, one of the most telling is the origins of the sin itself, and why it is a sin. Pride was what caused Lucifer to fall from Heaven, and began his transformation to Satan. Anthy is directly responsible for Dios’ “fall” into Akio. She takes him, for whatever reason, for whatever justification she has. She removes Dios, and basically creates Akio (in a way, she’s almost a mother to him, which makes the incest just that much…incestier).
Dante claimed that the penitent were forced to walk with their heads bowed as they were whipped mercilessly in order to produce feelings of humility. However, possibly the most intriguing, is that the punishment in hell for Pride is to be broken on the wheel. This seems so appropriate, that it’s what really pushed the argument for Anthy. Anthy is punished for her treachery to Utena, which stemmed from her pride, her belief that no one was on the level she and Akio were on. That was her last great moment of the sin, her belief that no one could be the Prince she thought she wanted. When Utena opens the door to that coffin, she opens the door to everything that Anthy had sealed away. Not just the better part of her, but the part of her that is human. The part of her that wants to experience things on a different level –Utena’s. The level that is human, not so exalted as the Witch, nor so low as the Rose Bride. The wheel of Revolution has turned, and Anthy is broken by it, finally.



*I do, however feel that many of the Black Rose Duels can be considered an excess/perversion of the Seven Heavenly Virtues. Tsuwabaki is full of  Zeal, Shiori, Admiration; Kanae, Meekness or Composure; Wakaba, Humility, etc., all. I don’t have everything in front of me, so I can’t make any accurate claims.

Edited for some spelling errors, as well as ShatteredMirror's suggestion.

Last edited by morosemocha (12-17-2006 02:04:52 AM)