The Pivotal Tragedy: Inside the Mind of Griffith During Berserk‘s Infamous Assault Scene
Few moments in manga legend Kentaro Miura’s sprawling dark fantasy saga can rival the shocking, unthinkable visage of primary antagonist Griffith – charismatic and cunning leader of the legendary mercenary Band of the Hawk – suddenly descending upon his female comrade Casca to brutally rape her in a warped display of pent-up desire, rage, jealousy and power-hungry ambition.
Yet context proves crucial in analyzing the motives behind the mysterious Hawk‘s terrible actions. For beneath the larger-than-life figurehead dubbed "raven-haired king of wolves" by his fanatically loyal troops lays hints of profound human weakness, emotional starvation and festering bitterness over relationships lost – fatal flaws expertly masked by his prodigious talents and relentless pursuit of his ultimate dream, before being dragged violently into light by fate‘s cruel machinery.
The Hidden Fragility Beneath The Hawk’s Armor
As introduced during his first meeting with wandering swordsman Guts in a moonlit forest, Griffith’s lifelong vision had always pointed toward conquest of his own kingdom, by any means necessary. Cold calculation and masterful strategy propelled his meteoric rise to become the youngest general in Midland’s war-torn history. Though branded early as a precocious upstart “too refined” for his lowborn status, the unnamed peasant boy’s preternatural confidence and magnetism inspire near-religious devotion among rankings of hardened soldiers – his storied Hawk raiders – as well as Midland’s royal court.
Yet his peerless triumphs on the battlefield harbor deeper personal costs: callous emotional removal likely borne as self-defense mechanisms from surviving an abusive father. Such early traumas molded Griffith’s worldview around harsh Social Darwinist notions of humanity’s true dog-eat-dog nature, steeling his own constitution against vulnerabilities as mere obstacles toward actualizing latent potential – not unlike the Nietzschen Übermensch concept.
“If he ever thought of [his troops] as friends, it was because having friends was necessary to hold dominion over many men,” muses court magician Flora in later reflecting on Griffith‘s aloof persona. "He‘d never ask for… empathy or love."
And so through this narcissistic lens, the charismatic Hawk strategically deploys charm, praise, visions of glory, and other manipulations to bring subordinates under his thrall – while internally dismissing feelings for them as hindrances to his grand plans. Peers become pawns, not partners. Even his adopted noble name, bestowed by Midland’s king as thanks for turning the war’s tide, rings hollow as yet another superficial tool for further elevation.
Yet two figures in Griffith’s inner circle manage to pierce through these ingrained defenses over time; not just with their exceptional battle skills, but also their frank, grounded sincerity.
Bonds Of Camaraderie…Or Tools Of Control?
Rugged mercenary Guts earns Griffith’s hard-won respect early by sparing his life and then fighting the imposing knight Bazuso on Griffith‘s behalf – an unprecedented display of self-chosen loyalty meeting Griffith as an equal, not cowering underling. The mysterious swordsman’s solitary nature also intrigues Griffith, who appoints Guts to his personal guard and appears touched by his genuine care upon later rescuing Griffith from a torture chamber.
In time, glimmers of reciprocal human connection emerge rarely from Griffith around his guarded comrade – slight awkwardness discussing abstract ideals; unguarded moments of laughter recalling childhood dreams long buried beneath jaded ruthlessness. Some subtle sense stirs in Griffith that with Guts, no pretenses prove necessary to maintain influence, as if their similar formative isolation forged an unspoken bond running far deeper than transactional manipulation.
Yet neither fully grasps these flickers of friendship just beneath the surface, until fate forces everything into the light.
ForCasca, the sole woman warrior to pass the Hawk’s brutal entry trials, also finds herself drawn to both exemplary fighters by bonds transcending gender or social stature. Though initially awed like any common soldier under Griffith’s prophet-like aura, she grows devoted less to the lofty heroic icon than the actual man’s moments of profound humanity glimpsed privately behind the scenes: solitary tears shed over young recruits lost under his command; refusal of self-pity despite horrific torture; small glimpses of boyish charm when joking candidly with fellow captains.
Over months in the Band of Hawk‘s company, Casca‘s admiration thus gradually gives way to genuine love and protective loyalty as she discovers the threat‘s compassionate heart – albeit one entombed by painful necessity beneath layers of stone. She believes few others can glimpse the hidden Griffith; except, perhaps, for Guts.
Tragically, Griffith’s two most treasured warriors privately begin realizing depth of feeling for one other, increasingly threatened by diverging paths as Guts considers leaving military life. Though unaware of brewing tensions, Griffith nonetheless finds himself subconsciously troubled by his bonded comrades drifting beyond reach of his special, indescribable connection.
For in the end, Griffith‘s superficial yet undeniable affection for both Guts and Casca remains firmly rooted in egoistic perceptions of dominance and control. Guts admiringly calls him "friend", but Griffith sees a fierce gladiator-esque weapon forged through his tutelage into Midland‘s fiercest champion. Casca pledges fierce personal loyalty akin to family, but Griffith interprets her kinship as ownership over an object passionately devoted to him – much like his troops.
And so as his two favorite "instruments" increasingly shift loyalty from fulfilling Griffith‘s ambitions to fulfilling each other, sudden cold distance creeps back behind the Hawk’s mannerisms against his conscious will…alongside buried envy he cannot yet name.
A Dream Deferred: Tragedy And Transformation In The Eclipse Ritual
Ultimately, Guts’ departure only weeks before the Midland war‘s climactic final battle proves devastatingly ill-timed, as Griffith reluctantly commits to a covert demonic ritual, the dread Eclipse, in exchange for ensuring his martial supremacy across a newly conquered kingdom. But when this profane sacrifice – sanctified by Midland’s malicious sorcerers and forgotten deities called God Hand – demands the lives of each Hawk raider as ritual offerings, the Band fiercely resists to protect their beloved leader from himself.
Yet Griffith hesitates while witnessing troops once fully under his supernatural sway now turning weapons against their former idol in defense of their own free will – and growing loyalty toward rescuers Guts and Casca attempting to save the Hawks from annihilation.
In this moment of hesitation, Griffith earns catastrophic judgement for not fulfilling his ordained role as sacrificial destroyer. The God Hand demons instantly unleash waves of chaos obliterating most Hawks and permanently crippling Griffith’s physical form beyond repair– stripping the shattered leader of sovereignty just as occupy the summit of hard-won control.
Now lucidly forced for the first time to acknowledge bonds of genuine friendship and camaraderie among his troops that supersede manipulating them as pawns, Griffith can only scream soundlessly while seeing dreams of peaceful coexistance perish alongside dying comrades expressing final appreciations of brotherhood.
This unfathomable loss of authority and closure, amplified by ceaseless torture over year languishing in Midland’s dungeons, ultimately nurtures The Hawk’s latent interior resentment and jealousy into all-consuming obsession for revenge upon cherished “property” since stolen from his grasp by fate‘s cruel instruments.
And so when the branded, emotionally ravaged entity eventually transcends worlds through the profane spiritual transformation Femto, his inverted demonic visage merely reflects long-buried human weakness now exploded across darkened consciousness – thus setting the stage for vicious attempts toward forcible reclamation of two souls once under permanent possession.
The Heart Of Darkness: Psychological Analysis Of An Atrocity
Now the pivotal context has been established, we must analyze several core factors around causality without absolving Griffith‘s actions themselves. For assault remains assault regardless of circumstances prompting violations, and understanding motives never equates to excusing evil.
With such complexity in mind, Femto‘s sudden vicious rape of Casca upon discovering her and Guts’ temporary haven carries undeniably personalized motivation. Having endlessly fixated his broken psyche while immobilized for months on Guts leaving the Hawks – and Casca abandoning symbolic loyalty to her leader – Femto expresses years of bottled instability bursting forth to overwhelm hollow veneers of control.
Indeed, the sight of former "property" Guts finding autonomous happiness with Casca sends Griffith‘s warped ego into manic overdrive. Though his transcendent rebirth into Femto no longer requires human attachments, residual possessiveness fittingly endures as last vestiges of mortal feeling–raw hunger now twisted to reestablish dominance by destroying Casca’s free will. Griffith likely presumes sexually conquering his sole female Raider in front of her lover will devastate them both in an ultimate exertion of long-thwarted might.
This lines up with clinical profiles around what psychologists term ‘control-resentment rapists‘ – those fixating on past loss of control over victims who then carry out assault to regain perceived power robbed through humiliation or rejection. Similarly, Griffith‘s lack of empathy combined with narcissism paints textbook portraits of sociopathy, detachment from moral responsibility, and near delusional reframing of evil deeds as ‘necessary‘ means to an end.
Indeed, his acts further a cyclic vortex around power dynamics gripping the storyline‘s remainder: Guts now consumed with revenge towards Griffith/Femto just as the demon lord fixates manically on manipulating former "property" from afar. Their fateful chess match seems doomed to endlessly replay through possessed spirits and cursed bloodlines across generations.
All of which serves Kentaro Miura‘s broader thematic ambitions (as he revealed in interviews) around breaking genre tropes that typically indulge reader expectations. The humble warrior leader dragging comrades to doom, only to become humanity‘s greatest threat as the story‘s foremost demonic villain, felt uniquely distressing to Miura – thereby granting it power as desperately needed social commentary.
For as the haunted Casca later mused, no form of redemption exists for such violations. Nothing restores lost innocence. But her continued inner light even through unspeakable darkness pays tribute to the human capacity for perseverance. And perhaps one day, that glimmer of hope shall overcome the shadows.