#12

I wish to suggest an alternate narrative to the simple story we all know. Link is a hero, yes. How many times has he saved the entire world? Many, and those are to be celebrated. But one fact remains fundamentally unchanged across adventures: Link is a not a good hero, and he has absolutely no idea. It's all well and dandy when he fights Gruedo pirates or Moblin raiders that are destroying the livelihoods of nearby communities. Then, on the cusp of their recovery, he'll go in and destroy their property and loot their carefully hidden fortunes. With Gorons, he'll gladly destroy every rock in the city hoping to find the gems trapped within, thus ensuring the eventual starvation of that race of noble giants. And let's face it, there was never any serious attempt to unfreeze Zora's domain.

There is something tragic about Link, above and beyond his eternal struggle, or his accidental unleashing of the very scenario he was trying to prevent. It's that he his without remorse for the things he has done. His constant quests to save the world suggest little more concern for random passerby than his enemies unless substantial reward is offered, and in that light, his quests become a combination of Nietzschian Will-To-Power and simple self preservation. When that Old Man on the beach suggested that it was dangerous to go alone, perhaps he was wiser than we ever realized. He spoke not only of the dangers the monsters prevented, but of deeper psychological dangers. Without legitimate and unconditional concern for the innocents, Link has lost perspective, and, in playing him, we have partaken in that descent into heroism turned amoral opportunism. Maybe we've been monsters all along.