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Continued from this page.
Degrees of Love: Is “love” too strong a word to assign to the emotion Joker feels for Harley? Many fans believe so, although they do agree that there is some sort of tenderness for her there. For someone like Joker, just having “feelings” at all is in actuality very strong. Paul Dini has stated: "Somewhere deep down in whatever shrivelled up little nut he [The Joker] has for a heart, there might be a little bit of affection for her." Perhaps when we use the word ‘love’ we use it in the sense we understand it, but for Joker it would be something quite different. A school of philosophical thought claims that everyone will do what they perceive as good, and no one will do something because it is bad for them. For example, a masochist will seek pain and self-harm because they see the harm they do themselves as something that is good for them, or something that they need. Joker has often claimed he is doing the world a favour with his acts and perceives his destructiveness as good. He makes sense of humanity by seeing life as one big joke that he alone comprehensively understands. In this way, Joker could very well see his behaviour towards Harley as love, as he considers it to be, complete with the abuse and manipulation. (1) In Joker’s relationships there is no kinship, no mercy and no full understanding. Does his mind even hold the capacity for love anymore, as the emotion is commonly understood, or is the only thing left the overwhelming indifference of madness? Perhaps in actuality Harley serves as a surreal and sometimes painful reminder of his previous life and the normalcy of it, of himself, and of his relationships. Maybe, out of this, the closest he can get to loving her is something she stirs up in him as obscure and faint memories of his deceased wife, who was murdered whilst pregnant by mobsters, brought back to life in a disjointed and ghostly fashion by her presence in his reality. For Joker, the character of the universe is chaos, not harmony, so the point in establishing a bond of love with Harley would be beyond his understanding. (2) Perhaps love is the wrong word, if we use it in the way we understand it. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he cares for her, or regards her fondly, has affection or a degree of tenderness for her. It’s possible he does not even theoretically object to love or the idea of loving someone, but rather it is something he is literally incapable of. But perhaps again, ‘love’ is actually something Joker is gradually beginning to understand once more the longer he engages with Harley. That previous to her becoming part of his life, the emotion was something he was no longer capable of but the more she persists the more it is awakened. It would probably be something that Joker did not anticipate when he first permitted the strange relationship to begin, and crept up on him unexpectedly, reminding him of the discomfiture it can cause, providing him with fuel to want her out of his life, and so put a stop to it going any further. Abuse: People will argue that Joker has tried to kill Harley on several occasions and this alone is proof that he does not love her. I argue it is proof that he does. For someone who has walked so solitary a path as The Joker, having feelings for someone, no matter how small, would be disturbing. Joker's mind is a mess of rambling thoughts and ideas; feelings for someone would also require a degree of focus which must be distracting to him. Finally, it would make The Joker question his control over his own reality. This would annoy him. In 'Harley Quinn' Joker himself admits this in a one-on-one with Harley: "I've felt some changes coming over me since you entered my life. I've been reminded of what it's like to be part of a couple, to care for someone who cares for me - it's the first time in recent memory I've had those feelings... and I hate having those feelings! They're upsetting, confusing and worse, distracting me from getting my share of Gotham now that the getting's good!" This confession was made when he believed Harley about to die; there was no reason therefore for him to be lying to her. By setting out to kill Harley, Joker proves to himself he is in control and rids himself of a perturbing distraction. There is no doubt in my mind Joker could kill Harley and comfortably live with himself afterwards, even reflect on her with affection but ultimately not be bothered by the fact of her death. He might even succeed one day. But I do think Joker tries to kill Harley because he cares for her. In fact, with this perspective, you could even argue it is Joker's ultimate expression of love! It is also interesting and noteworthy that, several pages later, Joker, still believing Harley is dead, initiates a conversation about women with his henchmen. He does not mention Harley of course, but I feel he does this because he is thinking about her - and missing her. In his way. Not enough to regret what he has done, naturally - but nonetheless, the emotion is there. Further, his attempts on her life are occasional, and Joker’s response to their failure is not especially perturbed, nor does he reject her absolutely afterwards. Perhaps Joker even feels some degree of relief that they fail – possibly they even prove to him that, much like Batman’s continual triumph demonstrates he is the perfect foe, Harley’s survival demonstrates her as the perfect partner. Although I do believe Joker would not regret it if he ever succeeded in ending her life, I also feel he may feel some degree of pleasure that she continues to live on and return to him. People will also argue his persistent abuse of her does not speak of love. But this is The Joker we're speaking of. This is not someone who is a healthy, normal person. Of course he does not treat her with respect or consideration. He treats everyone like dirt; Harley gets an extra heapingful because she is unusually closer to him than the majority of people and possibly because again, it reminds Joker he's in control. Joker also enjoys inflicting pain and is probably amused by it, no more so than when she scurries back a few moments later. It would be an endless stroking and petting of his ego. Additionally Joker would be irritated by the inconvenience having feelings for someone would cause, and would therefore take this out on the person causing them. In this sense, Harley is going to be subject to abuse simply for existing. (3) Someone like Joker, with his insanity and desire to do harm on a grand scale, is not going to provide any sort of stable environment, reliable affection or indeed, any hint of normalcy. What he does give Harley is a place by his side, which is what she wants most, ultimately. And he allows her to come back , which is more than can be said for most who've worked with The Joker - as most of them end up dead. Continued... (1) contributed by eccentricdoll (2) contributed by cathicks (3) contributed by gladrial |
