his own nobility as a balance to his guilt.
One of my personal favorite “noble Stefan overwhelmed with guilt” moments is when he decided that, having attacked the Miss Mystic Falls contestant, he didn’t deserve to live. He was so distraught that he resolved to kill himself.
How? By leaving his sun-proof ring in clear sight so that Elena would know exactly what he was doing, then going to the one place he knew Damon would think of. There he planned to wait, perfectly visible, on the banks of the quarry pond until the sun came up. Or until Elena showed up to talk him out of it. Whichever came first. And trust me, he knew which one would come first.
He doesn’t want to die. He wants to think he’s willing to make the ultimate sacrifice just so that he can reassure himself that he’s good. (His real commitment to killing himself was also evidenced in how long it took him to accept Elena’s assurance that the brave choice was to keep living—it was all of about ten seconds before he accepted the ring and moved in for a hero’s kiss. Gee, struggled with that one, didn’t you, Stefan?) If he really wanted to sacrifice for the good of the world, he’d give up on trying to redeem his brother and stake him instead. And then, rather than trying to grasp at a life he can’t (and shouldn’t) have with Elena, he could make it his mission to kill all of the violent vamps, at which point he’d be welcome to greet the sun ringless. Like 6882 Visitor's Guide to Mystic Falls[FIN].indd 115
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• A V i s i t o r ’ s G u i d e t o M y s t i c F a l l s •
Elena’s vampire birthmother said in “Isobel” (1-21), “I don’t want that life for [Elena].” If Stefan really loved her, he wouldn’t want it for her, either.
It seems to me that Stefan is confused about his guilt. He constantly feels guilt for things that he either has no control over (his own desire for blood) or things that happened over a century in the past (accidentally killing his father and turning Damon). He uses his guilt as an emotional crutch to avoid facing the reality of the present—that he is every bit the monster Damon is. Just like Dr. Frankenstein, in creating a monster and allowing it to become a murderer, Stefan is the true monster. He manipulates others by using his false sense of nobility to elicit sympathy and justify pursuing his own twisted view of happiness. A view of happiness that just so happens to endanger the lives of everyone he professes to love and care about.
Sorry, Stefan, you don’t deserve to be happy. You kinda suck.
Good thing you have that chin to make up for it, right?
kierSten White lives with her family near the ocean, where her life is perfectly normal. This abundance of normal led her to a fascination with all things paranormal, including vampires, faeries, and pop culture. Visit her at kierstenwhite.com, and please don’t hate her for bashing Stefan. She still thinks he’s pretty.
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Case Notes: Salvatore, Stefan
and Salvatore, Damon
• Heidi R. Kling •
Family relationships can be complicated at the best of times, even with the most laid-back of relatives. To say the relationship between Damon and Stefan Salvatore is less than ideal would be somewhat of an understatement; after all, they’ve had decades longer than the rest of us to let resentment stew and to learn how to push each other’s buttons most effectively. Throw in the preternatural strength that allows them to escalate physical fights to throwing each other across the room rather than furniture, and most viewers have to wonder where the brothers would start trying to rebuild their relationship, if it’s even possible to do so. Heidi Kling puts herself in the position of a therapist watching the boys’ interaction over 117
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the course of the first season, exploring their rather unique and troubled relationship, and comes up with a few suggestions for keeping the peace between the Salvatores in the future.
Note: Since the subjects are fictional characters, rather than sit down with them separately or together, the therapist viewed twenty-two hours of tape footage (one “season”) depicting their interactions with one another and with others.
Stefan Salvatore
Observations
appearance
Stefan Salvatore is male, Caucasian, appearing to be about seventeen