On Asterios Polyp and my sister

            Asterios Polyp appealed to me unexpectedly. There is the looming question of the ghost twin, seeping throughout the whole narrative. What would he have been like? Studies have shown that twins living together are very likely to live very different lives, because they see each other and try to purposely break free of each other’s paths, forging their own identity. But in the case where twins are separated at birth, the twins would choose to lead very similar lives, following similar goals, paths, passions and lifestyles.

            I didn’t know about my own ghost sibling until middle school; when my mother brought up the story suddenly as a joke. Us kids were all surprised, and the mood turned sour abruptly. It always felt like someone was missing in the chain of children, especially as the topic was brought up when trying to make light of my parents’ divorce at the time.

            As a psychology enthusiast, and having taken a few psychology courses by then already, I picked at the void my dead sibling left beside my sister. Many studies have shown that the first-born child is genetically more prone to being neat, organized and control oriented. My sister, however, was far from a set example; her room would always be in chaos, her teenage life teemed with drama; she was renowned for skipping school by the ripe age of 15.

            Asterios faced a crisis where he is haunted by a life that never was. I saw my sister’s reflection in Asterios, and the parallels surprised me as I read on. The artwork made it easy to project her essence upon the characters within the story. Simple, architectural and concise, Asterios in the graphic novel is drawn in a manner distinct from all the other characters. The art style gave him a visual voice, as it gave Hana, or Daisy, her distinct voice as well. The art style is what lured me into reading, but it was also the art style that forced me deeper into the psychological implications.

            I remember distinctly talking to my sister on her bathroom floor about what it would be like if sibling A, hadn’t passed away seconds after leaving the womb. I sympathize with Asterios the same way I do with my sister today: lost and searching; one of the brightest minds in her university whom has never worked a day; akin to how Asterios is a great architect, but has never had any of his designs built. My sister’s sadness stemmed, not from the loss of a sibling, for they’ve never met; but the loss of guidance and strength she wish she could have had.

            And so, as I continued to read about the flaws in Asterios’ ironically ‘flawless’ mind, I began to wonder what sort of life he would have led if his brother had survived. Picking the symbols apart in this book would take a lot more than a mere blog post; concentrating on style alone, however, and we see that Asterios’ mind is brought to life, as it melds with others throughout the narrative. It is a clear metaphor for how humans see their world, and a visual representation of how each person has their own natural voice and frequency.