Headscratchers / Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk

• Am I the only player who honestly doesn't know what to think of Regina's story arc? Every reviewer seems to laud her as a powerful, capable, independent woman who manages to subvert the Hard-Drinking Party Girl stereotype she initially appears destined for...but very few mention that her character arc is "decide that twenty-fiveish is too old to be a prospector, give up lucrative job that you are extremely talented at, and go home and babysit for your brother and mother." The Atelier series always seemed to be slightly confused on where it stood regarding female emancipation — look at the Arland trilogy, which sailed through the Bechdel test with flying colours, and which portrayed a culture where female and male adventurers operated on equal terms (indeed, by Meruru it's clear that Mimi is much, much more mature regarding her profession than Manchild in training Gino)... yet made a joke out of Esty being an old maid, and maintained that any woman over 25 had better be married with babies or they were doomed to an unfulfilled life (or getting forcibly rewound back to their preteen/teen years). Where do other players stand on this? Is there some detail of Regina's story arc I'm forgetting, because I always find that I end up having the same internal argument as I play the game...
  • On one hand, Regina shouldn't have to be bound to a dangerous job where she faces constant opposition just to make a point. Prospecting is a physically demanding job, and she states several times that she never expected to do it indefinitely. It was always clear that she had a very strong domestic side and a gift for tailoring, and she clearly adored her family along with Ayesha and Nia. She simply opted to make a new path in her life, and could well decide to make a career as a seamstress.
  • On the other hand, Regina loves being a prospector. The men quickly learned to respect her, and she was more talented than any of them. The men she works with are clearly far old than she is, and still going. Her family could be accused of constantly bullying her — the used her as an unpaid babysitter for her siblings, then let her work when they needed her money (she sends most of what she makes back to her family). When her brothers grow up, they can make the money (as is their right and duty as men)...so her brother and parents decide they want the unpaid babysitter back. So did Regina choose her own fate, or was she browbeaten back into an acceptable feminine role?
  • On the other other hand, does Regina really "love" being a prospector? While there's no doubt that she enjoys it and that she's good at it, she seems to take to the more feminine tasks with equal if not greater joy. And she definitely feels strongly about her family and her role in it. This is arguably a case where the writers put the effort in to avoid the unfortunate implications. While her family does put the pressure on, it's not a case of "well, a woman shouldn't be doing this kind of thing anyway, so I guess I'll do the right thing and go be normal now," so much as a case where she really thought about what she wanted from life and based her decision off that. I interpret Regina's feeling about prospecting more like... dropping out of college for a year to go to Africa, or the equivalent. An opportunity presented itself and she took it, but it never seemed like something she intended to do permanently. The writers make this a very personal decision. Regina isn't shoehorned into a role that changes her to make her fit in with what's "right," she makes a decision based on what she wants and what is best for her. That's the opposite of societal pressure to conform.
    • This is just my opinion, but I'm gonna say it's Stay in the Kitchen at work. I say this because Regina's other passion isn't childcare, it's fashion design and sewing. She quits prospecting at 25, specifically to focus on raising small children instead of doing anything that she actually enjoys. She mentions that she has lots of younger siblings and that's how she learned her domestic skills, but the only one she's shown enjoying for its own sake is making clothes. If she'd quit prospecting to open a boutique, I'd say it was her own choice, but considering the combination of cultural and narrative circumstances involved, I'd call it good ol' down-home gender role bullshit.