gonna terror-post for a second. everyone talks about “are we brothers francis? I would like that very much” (rightfully so) but we aren’t talking nearly enough about “all that is vanity, and we are at the end of vanity” “then you are free” from the same conversation. Fitzjames is at the end of vanity both in the sense that there is no more vanity left in his actions - it’s him admitting that he knows they probably aren’t going home alive, that no one will ever know what happened or what they did, that there’s no more glory to be gained or lost through anything he does - but also in the sense that it’s his vanity, his search for glory, which brought him here, to this miserable end. it’s a statement of despair.
and then francis flips it on its head by saying “then you are free”. you are free from the crushing weight of expectation. you are free from the endless search for glory. you are free from the pressures of society. you are free from your own self-loathing. you are free to be whomever you want to be, whomever you truly are, even if it’s only for a short time, because you need not fear a tarnished reputation. you are free to finally do things which are good and noble and heroic for their own sake, rather than for the glory you gain for them, and so you can finally rest with the knowledge that your goodness is more than just a performance you put on for everyone watching you. it is precisely in the horror of vanishing that you can finally taste freedom
(via laissezferre)
