Analysis on Columbina’s Character in the story and Frustration with some Dottore Stans
On tiktok but also r/DottoreMains I see so many people despise Columbina as a character. They portray her as a blatant waifubait with 0 plot and lore relevance that is in love with the traveler and hypersexualized. The amount of misogynistic remakes I have seen about her - some even indicating a wish to violently harm a fictional character - is absolutely ridiculous.
On the other hand, they portray Dottore as the messiah of Genshin. I like Dottore and the purpose he serves but so far he has been the one dimensional plot device Columbina haters portray her as. He definitely moves the story forward and poses a threat to out main character, but such a role in the narrative does not equate to depth.
I find the point in which Columbina is said to lack depth incredibly misconstrued. She was born alone, without a clear identity and place to call home. The frost moon scions took advantage of her kindness which causes great suffering to her. Shouldn’t they be the space in which she finds comfort and belonging? This relationship was purely transactionall Yet even then, it did nit account for her needs.
After years of exploitation, Columbina left her birthplace, seeking to find new “family”. The Tsaritsa promised her a family and place of protection. However, even this arrangement was transactional in nature. Columbina had to use up a significant amount of her power - which was on the wane mind you - to fulfill her promise to the Tsaritsa. She then left, since that place did not feel like a place in which she can find a sense of belonging as well.
Then we meet her in the game. She is very wary of outsiders and reluctant to share any thoughts and feelings she experiences. Given the time we soend with her, that veil of mystery slowly fades and we realize what truly motivates Columbina: The wish for a clear identity and place to belong in. This idea has never been tackled in Genshin’s main story to the degree it is explored in Columbinas story. We spent many moments with her, especially in light of the selenic chronicles. Consequently, it makes sense why she would hold the traveler in such high regard. Furthermore, in any instance in which she shows affection to the traveler, she immediately mentioned all other of her friends as well. She gradually realized that some individuals from the demographics that showed little affection to her now see her as friends (Lauma, Marionette, The Knave). So naturally, she warmed up in the Archon Quest and shows a degree of character development.
A commonly shared scene was the one in which Columbina ate a lollipop. But if one were to actually read the story, it is clear that Columbina saw 2 Frost moon scions share a piece of food. Something that she describes as a heartfelt which of hers. I do agree that the delivery of the VA was blown out of proportion, but that is an issue of the localization and not the actual writing of the game.
To me, it has always been captivating how Columbina has always wound up used in some way. All of her relationships were limited by her willingness to provide everything she could offer. This seems analogous to the way in which women are exploited, both domestically and sexually. A myiad of men harbor unrealistic expectations towards the women in their life, both in terms of their physical appearance and the acts of labor they are expected to perform. As such, it is not that far-fetched to argue that Columbina reflects this issue. That is why I believe the claim of “misogynistic Columbina” to be indescribably unrealistic. It feels like an argument deliberately based on bad faith in order to cope with one’s headcanons not aligning with the way in which a character is port in the story.
From my perspective, it is unbelievable to see her described as a one sided character with a gooner-bait like infatuation with the traveler. In truth, all of Columbinas actions align with the character presented in the game. The lack of depth is also a claim which I find unfair, she has deep ties to the three moons and fatui. In the story, we literally watch her development and process of slowly opening up to establish her own identity (Columbina Hyposelenia). This is the literal opposite of flat and one dimensional.
My feelings of frustrations are compounded by the fact that many Columbina haters glaze Dottore to a ridiculous degree. So far, he has been a cartoonish, narcissistic villain with a god complex. A character of that nature definitely has a place in the game’s broader narrative. But that does not mean that other characters are fundamentally worse, just because they do not abide by your expectation of what a fatui harbinger ought to look like.
So in the end, maybe its rather Columbina haters that uphold misogynistic behavior and show a lack of media lieracy instead of the fans that appreciate Columbina for what she is.
On the other hand, they portray Dottore as the messiah of Genshin. I like Dottore and the purpose he serves but so far he has been the one dimensional plot device Columbina haters portray her as. He definitely moves the story forward and poses a threat to out main character, but such a role in the narrative does not equate to depth.
I find the point in which Columbina is said to lack depth incredibly misconstrued. She was born alone, without a clear identity and place to call home. The frost moon scions took advantage of her kindness which causes great suffering to her. Shouldn’t they be the space in which she finds comfort and belonging? This relationship was purely transactionall Yet even then, it did nit account for her needs.
After years of exploitation, Columbina left her birthplace, seeking to find new “family”. The Tsaritsa promised her a family and place of protection. However, even this arrangement was transactional in nature. Columbina had to use up a significant amount of her power - which was on the wane mind you - to fulfill her promise to the Tsaritsa. She then left, since that place did not feel like a place in which she can find a sense of belonging as well.
Then we meet her in the game. She is very wary of outsiders and reluctant to share any thoughts and feelings she experiences. Given the time we soend with her, that veil of mystery slowly fades and we realize what truly motivates Columbina: The wish for a clear identity and place to belong in. This idea has never been tackled in Genshin’s main story to the degree it is explored in Columbinas story. We spent many moments with her, especially in light of the selenic chronicles. Consequently, it makes sense why she would hold the traveler in such high regard. Furthermore, in any instance in which she shows affection to the traveler, she immediately mentioned all other of her friends as well. She gradually realized that some individuals from the demographics that showed little affection to her now see her as friends (Lauma, Marionette, The Knave). So naturally, she warmed up in the Archon Quest and shows a degree of character development.
A commonly shared scene was the one in which Columbina ate a lollipop. But if one were to actually read the story, it is clear that Columbina saw 2 Frost moon scions share a piece of food. Something that she describes as a heartfelt which of hers. I do agree that the delivery of the VA was blown out of proportion, but that is an issue of the localization and not the actual writing of the game.
To me, it has always been captivating how Columbina has always wound up used in some way. All of her relationships were limited by her willingness to provide everything she could offer. This seems analogous to the way in which women are exploited, both domestically and sexually. A myiad of men harbor unrealistic expectations towards the women in their life, both in terms of their physical appearance and the acts of labor they are expected to perform. As such, it is not that far-fetched to argue that Columbina reflects this issue. That is why I believe the claim of “misogynistic Columbina” to be indescribably unrealistic. It feels like an argument deliberately based on bad faith in order to cope with one’s headcanons not aligning with the way in which a character is port in the story.
From my perspective, it is unbelievable to see her described as a one sided character with a gooner-bait like infatuation with the traveler. In truth, all of Columbinas actions align with the character presented in the game. The lack of depth is also a claim which I find unfair, she has deep ties to the three moons and fatui. In the story, we literally watch her development and process of slowly opening up to establish her own identity (Columbina Hyposelenia). This is the literal opposite of flat and one dimensional.
My feelings of frustrations are compounded by the fact that many Columbina haters glaze Dottore to a ridiculous degree. So far, he has been a cartoonish, narcissistic villain with a god complex. A character of that nature definitely has a place in the game’s broader narrative. But that does not mean that other characters are fundamentally worse, just because they do not abide by your expectation of what a fatui harbinger ought to look like.
So in the end, maybe its rather Columbina haters that uphold misogynistic behavior and show a lack of media lieracy instead of the fans that appreciate Columbina for what she is.
Commentaires
if people are not allowed to like dottore, then neither should anyone be allowed to like raiden shogun+ei, scaramouche, arlecchino, every single archon, yelan, nefer.
every character has an evil side
Painting Thoth to be the evil one when He had to trick Dotore So He doesn't leave his Senior to Die.
Complaing that people call him Narcisitic And Cold when Its in the game.
Also Dotto isnt narcissistic, he’s arrogant. There is a difference.
And Dottore isn’t cartoonishly evil, he doesn’t enjoy causing pain, he just doesn’t care enough to avoid causing it.
going on a tangent but, as someone who has columbina and dottore tied as my favourite characters in genshin, i wanna say that no dottore is cartoonishly evil and narcissistic. zandik has faced rejection in sumeru, there is more than just a cartoonishly evil character. i think reducing dottore to pure evil character is just like reducing columbina to waifubait
Character getting hated : 😡🤬😡🤬😡
We rarely mention columbina and often it's in the context of columbina stans harrassing us.
It's fatuihq where everyone is a fraud, especially columbina, and where Dottore is sometimes even more glazed than by us.
But I will not be surprise if HoYoverse plays the card of "It was all a show to expose the true evil", again (how many times has been already...) and then decide that Dottore is actually good (or what he did was for good reasons) and proceed to make him playable. What about what Dottore did in the past? Probably will retcon or simply ignore it, like happened with The Wanderer.
Do not underestimate the power of "making money with gatcha".
An important note: X, TikTok, facebook, whatever is a garbage hole controlled by alt-right. Of course they are like that. You give too much importance to that places.
Personally, I want him to get the Signora treatment. It is the best ending for him.
Which is a sign of misogyny
She’s not the first one to be tagged as being waifu bait. Won’t be the last, either. I’ll say she’s the most glaring example of it after Citlali. It’s not even so much about her sounds eating the lollipop. The idea of sharing one with the traveller is enough to make some people roll their eyes.
Columbina has a good backstory in theory, but it’s kinda hard for some people to get attached to her when we only hear about how hard it was for her, but never see it. Doesn’t help that it’s pretty clear she had friends all along (Lauma, Sandrone, Arle) and her loneliness was kind of “one-sided” purely because she didn’t realize yet that these people were actually her friends.
She’s been glazed in the game from the very beginning, and the only person who was relatively “mean” to her was Dottore (which doesn’t even care about her as a person; he wants her power) and Rerir who ran after her once.
She’s also willing to self-sacrifice, okay, cool. A lot of the characters in this game do. So yes, players are drawn to villains and can treat them as “messiah”, but that doesn’t seem accurate for Dottore.
He’s exciting because he brings some action. Festival Impact had always been kinda hated. Players want badass fights and tense scenes. I was happy to see Dottore too after spending 2h on a festival.