Cherboa and Gabechilles Essay

Cherboa and Gabechilles are foils to one another, in this essay I will-

No, but seriously, they are.

To begin with, in fiction, foil characters are simply characters made to contrast with other characters. They serve to highlight the personality and choices of the character they are foiled with, offering insight into how that person "ticks". By using the term "foils" here, it implies that there is a contrast between these two partnerships that offer explanation or insight into the other. Which… Yes, there is.

Firstly, both of these partnerships seem to showcase a specific type of domesticity. In the case of Chester and Jerboa, these two represent a type of domesticity that focuses on the mundane: they live together with one another, they buy groceries, clean together, bathe together, and simple things like that. They simply enjoy one another's company. It is meant to be soft, centered on the joy of living and being intimate with another person without requiring lust or intercourse. These two people simply love one another and want to spend their lives together; they do not require labels or some kind of sexual act to show that.

This contrasts with the beginning of Gabriel and Achilles' relationship: these two men crave that sort of relationship, whether they understand that by that point or not. Achilles desires to keep the people he loves close to himself and protect them. Not only that, but after a life of revenge and hardship, there is something in him that wants that softness that Gabriel offers. For Gabriel as well, there is something in him that desires closeness after a life of alienation: wasn't that the very reason he began to follow Achilles? Wasn't both of these cravings the very reason these men decided to label themselves as partners? The normalcy that the simple title of "boyfriend" offered was something they both craved. Both men, however, are unable to obtain the domesticity they seek under their circumstances. Gabriel is nearly killed, resulting in both men assuming the other is dead, and therefore also assuming that they will now never have what relationships such as Chester and Jerboa will have. The contrast here is in that these men lost what the other two represent: Chester and Jerboa's happiness and good relationship very much highlight what the others cannot have now; it displays the tragedy and grief that these feel, heightening how badly the other's death affected Achilles and Gabriel.

In turn, these two represent a tragedy that will soon befall Chester and Jerboa.

Chester is highly aware of the risk he possesses when it comes to growing close with people. By the time Chester meets the others, she is already nearly to his "time limit" of thirty. He is highly aware that she will die soon. Achilles and Gabriel's grief is a constant reminder to him during this time exactly what she will be doing to Jerboa: they are a glance into the future for her. So then, when they reunite and begin to live their relationship to the fullest, it is in contrast to the slowly decaying "house" that Chester and Jerboa share: as those two men's relationship grows and flourishes, it is contrasted by the way Chester and Jerboa's is dying. Not dying as in their passion, but literally decaying: Chester's health is declining and he will be dying soon.

In all honesty, this is the reason why Chester experienced some resentment towards Gabriel: watching Achilles grieve made her confront exactly what she was going to be doing to Jerboa. Gabriel in that moment represented Chester, and she did not know how to handle the feelings that came alongside that. Of course, he moves past this resentment, but this realization likely not only influenced Chester's decision to tell Jerboa about her illness on her 30th birthday, but it also, in some way, might have influenced Chester's decision to not inform Achilles about his approaching death.

So, Chester and Jerboa first represent the relationship Gabriel and Achilles want to have and are aching for but cannot have. Then, it turns on its head: now Gabriel and Achilles represent a flourishing, growing relationship in the face of one that will soon be ending in heartbreak. Chester and Jerboa's high is the other's low, and Gabriel and Achilles' high is the other's lowest. They literally foil one another to heighten the heartbreak felt for the relationships' lowests.