Violet Evergarden Episode 3: May You Be an Exemplary Auto Memory Doll

 

Violet's well-earned brooch

In Episode 3 of Violet Evergarden, we follow Violet as she attends a class for aspiring dolls. The main focus this time is Violet’s relationship with Luculia, a fellow student. It is in this episode that Violet experiences her first successful “mission” as a doll – the first of her many other successes in the future.

(Not So) Thriving in Class

I can’t help but notice but that there is a kind of militaristic feel to the teacher and her class. At the end of episode two, Iris mentions that the teacher is strict. That is perhaps why Violet mostly thrives so well in class. She is back in a setting familiar to her, one similar to the military. Her request for a specific typing speed demonstrates what I mentioned in my review of episode 1 (which you can read in full here) – that is, there is necessity for clarity in the military, and that necessity has now bled into Violet’s self.

However, Violet lacks the familiarity with real, human experiences and relationships. She doesn’t know how to use her knowledge in relation to those experiences and relationships. (For example, Violet does not know how one would normally express themselves through letters.) Her need for clarity also makes her uncomfortable with ambiguity – something we find a lot in human life! During the writing-letters-for-each-other activity, Luculia tries to defend Violet’s stiff letter by saying that she probably didn’t express herself clear enough. But the teacher says that that isn’t the problem here. Yep – that isn’t the problem here. Life can be messy. Therefore, it is a doll’s job to find clarity in the midst of ambiguity. Dolls have to listen to their clients and grasp what is it that they really want to express. 

Thus, due to her inabilities, Violet ends up failing the class.

A Budding Friendship

But luckily Violet has a friend by her side, Luculia. Luculia first observes that there is a disconnect between Violet’s appearance and her attitude. She looks like a doll, but acts like a soldier. I’d like to suggest that perhaps Luculia’s interest in Violet is sparked by the fact that Violet, just like her brother, was a soldier. Perhaps she thought that by getting to know Violet better, she’ll get to know her brother better too (especially since she has quite the strained relationship with her brother).

We are given an interesting contrast between Violet and Luculia after the announcement of those who passed the class. Violet is talking with Hodgins, saying that although she can be a doll without passing the class, there is no point in becoming a doll that way if she doesn’t understand her clients. While Violet is still talking, the scene shifts to Luculia and her brother. Luculia looks at her brooch, and then at her brother. The way this sequence unfolds makes it look like Luculia is thinking the same thing as Violet. There is no point in passing the class, getting the brooch, and becoming a doll if she cannot connect with her own grief-stricken brother. Violet and Luculia both have a desire to connect with someone they cherish – for Violet, it is the major, while for Luculia, it is her brother.

Survivor's Guilt

Luculia’s brother, Spencer, suffers from survivor’s guilt. He believes he failed to protect his parents. He was the soldier, yet his parents were the one who died. Luculia’s inability to express her feelings to him may have also made Spencer think that Luculia really resents him. (But that is all the more reason why he needs to hear her true feelings!) Perhaps one of the reasons why Violet is able to successfully reconnect Luculia with her brother is that Violet can sympathize with Spencer. Aside from being fellow soldiers, they both wanted to protect someone. They were also unable to protect these people (although at this point Violet hasn’t been informed of Gilbert’s death yet).

Spencer's "tears"

As a result of his guilt, Spencer spends his days getting drunk and picking fights with people. Alcohol is perhaps the only way for him to escape his grief, sadness, blame, and all the other horrible emotions he doesn’t want to feel. There is a heartbreaking panel of Spencer with the alcohol spilling all over him. The way it spills onto his head makes it look as if the alcohol is the tears that Spencer is unable to shed.

Yet, at the same time, Spencer thinks he deserves the grief, sadness, blame, and all those horrible things. Perhaps him picking fights is an expression of his pent up anger toward himself. He picks fights over and over again and “happily” receives the beating because he thinks that’s what he deserves. His parents died, so he doesn’t deserve to live (mostly) unscathed. That is perhaps what’s going on in his mind.

Aside from problems with his mental health, Spencer also seems to have lost function in one of his legs and now has to walk using a cane. This parallels Violet who lost both her arms in the war. This reinforces the idea that war makes people lose something (for more thoughts on this, check out my review of the first episode).

Violet Breakthrough Moment

Violet’s action of removing her gloves using her mouth finally takes on another level of significance in this episode! When she first takes off her glove in the beginning of the episode, she still does so using her mouth.

However, something different happens as Violet prepares to write a letter for Luculia’s brother. She is about to use her mouth as per usual – but then she hesitates. Then, Violet uses her hands instead to take off her gloves. This is a significant change!

What meaning does this change bear? I think this change depicts Violet’s breakthrough moment. Physically, Violet is starting to get used to her prosthetic hands. I mentioned that removing her gloves using her mouth reminds me of the mannerisms of animals. Now that she uses her hands, it could also symbolize Violet being more human. She’s learning to adapt to day-to-day life outside the military. Metaphorically, Violet starts to understand what it’s like to be a doll. She starts to understand what it means to understand her clients and write letters for them.

We can also see the change Violet is going through when she hands the letter to Spencer. Spencer asks, “What’s this?” and Violet answers, “It’s a mission – no, it’s a task – no, it’s a letter.” She replaces the military-sounding terms with more suitable vocabulary. Violet is starting to develop another way of viewing the world – one that is not confined to the military realm.

As if to hammer home the point further, we are then given a scene that parallels another scene in episode one: someone enters the building when Violet is cleaning the window. In episode one, she had an awkward conversation with the client. However, here, the sequence ends happily. Violet’s letter was a success. She finally receives the brooch she was initially denied of. 

The window scene in episode 1

The window scene in episode 3

Conclusion

Thanks to Violet’s letter, Luculia is able to help Spencer recover. This time it was Luculia’s turn to reach out to her brother, just like how he reached out to her in the past.

Spencer reaching out to Luculia

Spencer reaching out to Luculia

What did Violet and Luculia learn this episode? They learned that letters don’t have to be verbose. Even short letters can be as true and as impactful as long letters.

Here’s one last thing I find interesting – it might just be a coincidence, though! In her ending monologue, Luculia says “hitokoto” (一言) to mean “brief, few, not verbose.” When I heard that, I thought she said “hitogoto” (人事, meaning “other people’s affair”), which is a word she said when she tells Violet of what happened to their family. I have no idea if this wordplay is intentional, but it’s nice! :)