Also, if you really think about it, this is how a villainess is usually born. She’s never told no, she gets what she wants, and when she doesn’t she will have no problem stepping on others to get what she wants. She usually does this because... well, no one taught her or bothered to try hard enough. He’s the “villainess”. Gosh I really do feel sorry for him...
But hey, this is fiction. Just remember that the majority of people are not all born “jerks” usually their raised to be that way. And in most cases, it’s difficult if not impossible to change that, which in itself is pretty sad.
I politely disagree. Sure Johannes's upbring is a major factor in his disgusting and narcissistic behavior. But Rebecca has given him plenty of chances and opportunity for change or growth, and he chose to willfully ignore the possibility that he is wrong. To make matters worse, he even purposefully used his position and his parent's positions of power over rebecca in attempts to manipulate her into returning her affection towards him.
I feel as though society is so quick to forgive and pity the mistakes and actions of MEN, even often going so far as to place the blame for their ADULT actions onto the parents (particularly the mothers), when in reality, at some point, he as an adult human person needs to be given responsibility and consequence for actions he still continues to carry out.
His parents failed him sure, but at the end of the day his choices are his own alone, and he is the only one who can be held responsible for his behavior.
(This is not meant as an attack towards men, do not misunderstand, as a fellow man I would never generalize. This is simply a commentary on the flawed ways SOCIETY. Any man who takes this personally, ╮(￣▽￣)╭ )
I wouldn't call the guy pitiful or be empathetic with him tbh.
Yes, he was spoiled rotten but in the end of the day he's his own person. And there's a limit as to how much you can blame your parents for the way you turned out as a person. Our enviroment may make us, but as individuals we also have the ability to self reflect and improve ourselves.
The webtoon did a good job showing how he developed into the person he is, but I think that it's by far not enough to redeem the guy's ignorance and pompous attitude. It's one thing to understand his character and another to forgive/excuse his actions.
Like hell, would you forgive a man for cheating just because he was raised that way?
Ofc, he still has a chance at redemption by taking a good look at himself and hopefully giving up on the throne, but if that's not happening I don't see why anyone would pity the guy.
On another note, can we just appreciate how this webtoon manages to set up such simple but interesting characters? Everyone has their reasons for the way they are and no one's a saint or a complete villain.
Thank you. You put my thoughts into words perfectly
I totally agree with you, and even though a lot of the fault lies in his parents for raising him such an asshole, as he grows and learns and observes the world around him, if he wanted to change he could. Not all great people have great parents, i have seen people with real jerks as parents but with a child too good for them.
In the end it's Johannes who makes his decisions and he chose to take full privilege of his parents power and play around with woman and now make Rebecca miserable.
The thing is - he COULD change. It is literally proven to us via the novel's original plot where it is stated that he stops philandering with other women after becoming enamored with Lillith.
However, this is literally at the expense of everyone else & I'm pretty sure his change was less out of actual good will (considering what he did to Rebecca at the end of the novel) & more like "Lillith was such an entertaining & submissive toy to him that he no longer felt the need to act out compared". It's a disgusting kind of "positive" character development because he never actually gains respect for anyone else & becomes deluded in the sense that he IS the perfect prince because that's how his father, his mother & Lillith see him.
How you put that "Lillith was such an entertaining & submissive toy to him that he no longer felt the need to act out compared" was so true, that perfectly matches with his asshole character.
So... hear me out. Johannes was literally raised without any proper etiquette, not to mention the proper ways that a royal should have, especially for a future Emperor. That was mistake 1.
Mistake 2 is somewhat tied to mistake one, and that’s keeping face with the people when it comes to his relationships. Again, unpopular opinion, but if you put yourself in the shoes of a man of literal power, one who has never been in a serious relationship, but was instead forced to marry someone you never really cared for, you would want to have fun. Settling down with someone you hardly know might not sound appealing to most men. He wants to flaunt with women, nothing wrong with that.
HOWEVER: He’s ignorant to the fact that, again, he’s a prince. He needs to save face and at the very least respect Rebecca and their engagement in public to keep both their reputations in check. And going back to the first mistake, his parents are the true failures who failed raise their son.
Don’t get me wrong, what happened to Rebecca is also tragic. She was the one pulling the weight in their “relationship”, but all she kept receiving in return was a slap the face. Why? Because Johannes couldn’t save face. He couldn’t not because he choose not to, he genuinely doesn’t understand why his actions harm her, and it never will no matter how often she tells him not to do it, all because his parents failed to raise him.
No one has ever told him no. His parents constantly showered him with praise, and yet never disciplined him for his poor actions. In the end, his character is somewhat pitiful, and unfortunately might be a pitiful tragic character if the story ruins his life without the means of ever properly telling him what went wrong. We could argue that it might be too late to discipline him, and you wouldn’t be wrong, but trying wouldn’t hurt.
In conclusion, Johannes didn’t do anything wrong, but rather his environment failed him miserably.