Was Scar Loved?

[ImaniFaith]

Was Scar Loved?

In spite of what he is (or was, perhaps, considering the nature of his demise), I will start right off by declaring myself to be a resolute Scar-fan. No, I don't approve of what he did to his brother and his nephew; yes, I think he was 'that bad'. For all that, however, he remains an interesting and sympathy-inspiring character to me. One of the reasons I feel this way, I believe, is something he said in the Broadway version of 'The Lion King'. It went like this: "Nobody loved me -- there's the rub. Not even as a cub!"

When I read the script and saw that line, it solidified my curious sense of empathy for him as a character, and I couldn't help but wonder-- was Scar truly unloved all his life? If so, it would certainly explain an awful lot. However, it seems odd to me that so-called kind and just parents like Ahadi and Uru, who raised an excellent father-figure like Mufasa, would willingly and knowingly withhold love from their younger son.

Thus, I have probed both the story "A Tale of Two Brothers" and "The Lion King" to set out to find an answer to the burning question: Was Scar Loved?


* His Name *

As most hardcore LK fans know, Scar's original name in "A Tale of Two Brothers" was 'Taka', which is Swahili for 'dirt' or 'want'. Not a very kind thing to name your newborn son, is it? Especially since their oldest got the name 'Mufasa', which-- roughly translated-- means 'king'.

Theory Number One would be that Ahadi and Uru were simply not aware of what the names meant-- but I find that to be highly unlikely, seeing as the meanings are a tad too coincidental (Mufasa = king; Taka = dirt).

Theory Number Two would be that they did not intend such malice as is perceived by readers when they named their youngest cub. After all, Scar's fur is an unusually dark shade of brown for a lion; maybe 'dirt' was a reference to this. Also, he appears to be quite thin and weak in form. He himself states in the movie that, "--when it comes to brute strength... I'm afraid I'm at the shallow end of the gene pool." His parents may have named him this to show that he was 'wanting' in that area, in hopes that he would grow stronger someday.

These are all plausable causes for the unflattering title he was given, but, Theory Number Three simply assumes that it was intended as many believe it was-- with a sense of disappointment and disregard. If so, then Scar (or, rather, Taka) could undoubtably list this as one of the reasons why he was sure he was never loved.

* "Ahadi nuzzled his son." *

And yet, when Taka recieved the scar that would brand him for the rest of his life, Ahadi actually nuzzled his unconcious son while Rafiki ran to get healing plants for the wound. And, even after Taka tells him how he got his scar (by trying to humiliate Mufasa and Ahadi) he does not react in anger, but with sound instructions for Taka to 'let go of the anger that rules [him]'.

So, perhaps Ahadi was a good, but oblivious parent who understood Mufasa better than he did his younger son. After all, had he known Scar well, he might have said something a little more sympathetic, such as, "I'm glad you're alright" instead of immediately interrogating him for the cause of his actions and then offering a bit of noncommital advice. Scar doesn't seem the type to appreciate things like that.

* Mufasa's Feelings About Scar *

"Taka doesn't like to do much of anything. He and my father don't get along".

(When asked if he likes Taka) "He is my younger brother. I look after him."

So we see that, no, Mufasa does not especially like Taka, because, unlike him, Taka is apparently unmotivated and on bad terms with their father. This would perhaps indicate that Ahadi's feelings toward his youngest son have in fact influenced Mufasa's; or maybe Mufasa just dislikes Taka because of his own personal experiences with him. At any rate, he feels it is his duty to protect him-- but does that equal 'love' in the sense that Scar longed for? Certainly not.

"Watch how you speak to me."

By the time he is a teenager, Mufasa seems to know he has an advantage over his younger brother, and wields it with some authority. This could simply be because he is physically stronger and well-aware of his position as heir to the throne; but it could also be due to the already-stated fact that Taka and his father do not get along. Mufasa may be thinking that Ahadi will rush to defend him from his younger and less-liked little brother... a thought which would need some reinforcement from Ahadi beforehand. Say, when they were growing up.

Also, it seems as though he and Taka have no 'brotherly relationship' to speak of at this point, which I can't say surprises me much.

"Don't turn your back on me, Scar!"

Ah, and now, having reached adulthood and kingship, Mufasa makes his demands known. True, Scar was being a jerk at this point, but really, Mufasa-- he was just going to leave.

Turning your back on a king, however-- at least in England's history-- is (or, at least, was) indeed a no-no. You came into the throne room, groveled until Henry VIII or whomever told you it was okay to get up, and then walked out backwards. I can imagine this rule leading to some hilarity if a poor sap happened to back into, say, a wall or a heavily armed gaurd; but the point is, if Disney was using this as inspiration, then Scar was showing Mufasa a severe and purposeful lack of respect.

I feel that, in this case, Disney was probably inspired by the 'no back-turning' rule, and used it to show just how disdainful Scar was of Mufasa's kingship. In that case, Mufasa would have a right to be somewhat angry, especially after Scar already missed Simba's coronation.

* Scar's Personality *

And, we must all admit, as much as we Scar-fans love him, Scar is-- how shall I put this-- not a very loveable guy. Sure, he's intelligent, witty, and even occassionally funny; but that doesn't make up for his faults, which include jealousy, sociopathy, and taking a sadistic pleasure in killing both his brother and (so he thought) his nephew.

In "A Tale of Two Brothers", Scar also showed many signs that, besides being jealous and disdainful, he was unmotivated, surly, and quick to harm someone who bruised his ego (i.e. Rafiki). Already, then, he was "ruled by anger" and hatred, seemingly under the impression that the entire world was against him.

By the time we reach "The Madness of King Scar", Scar is tormented by his deep-seated (and, unfortunately, justified) fear that his subjects despise him. He even goes so far as to beg others to tell him that he is "adored", and tries to force himself on an understandably confused and frightened Nala.

Taking such evidence as we have seen into objective consideration, it seems that Scar was a naturally narcissistic individual whose idea of "love" was for others to completly adore him, holding him above all others in esteem. He wanted to be "respected, saluted, and seen for the wonder" he was. Thus, being born second-best to his older brother was a huge blow to him. He apparently felt no need to try to excell, because "Daddy" (and, presumably, "Mommy" as well) already had a favorite-- Mufasa. He also had no friends and no real ability to make any-- he apparently had to 'beg' just to join the hyenas group (as one of the three hyenas in the book stated, "Who begged who [to join]?").

So, here we have a lonely, bitter, jealous, and narcissistic soul who desires to be loved above all others. This tells us who Scar was, but does it tell us whether he was truly loved or not?

Yes, and no....

* My Conclusion *

I believe that, in a sense, yes: Scar was loved. By his immediate family only, though, and not in the way he wanted and certainly not in the way that he needed. Yet, I also don't think he had the capacity to love others properly, either, which might have earned him love and respect in turn. He was far too caught up in himself and his desires, becoming much too self-centered to dole out sincere affection for another. Thus, he resorted to lies, treachery, murder, and tyranny to gain the "love" he so craved-- and he was miserable when he realized too little too late that all his efforts were in vain.

He had the kingdom, but he did not have love. And in the end, it was the latter that he wanted the most.

[PrincessKiara]

Personally, I think that Uru and Ahadi loved both their sons equally. There is no interaction between Uru and Scar or Mufasa in the book, however.

I think Ahadi loved Scar just as much as Mufasa, he just had a difficulty showing it.. And with Scar being quite a cold, bad-tempered person, it couldn’t always have been easy for Ahadi to approach him and show his son he cared.

To me it seems like Mufasa was closer to Ahadi than Scar, probably because he was the heir. I get the impression that Mufasa feels "obligated" to love Scar. (He’s my brother, he’s family..)

When it comes to the question.. was Scar loved? I would say yes. I believe he was loved by Uru and Ahadi, and Mufasa too, even if their relationship became worse after Mufasa became king. Everyone else in Scar’s life feared or loathed him.

To me it seems the thing Scar wanted most of all was power and respect. Recognition, attention. To have authority. I’ve never had the impression that the only thing he truly wanted was love.

[Moka]

Awesome article. I somewhat agree with your conclusion.

His Name: I have a fourth theory that assumes his name meaning "garbage" and not "dirt". It also assumes that, in the Pride Lands, the royal couple are, by law of the Great Kings (interpreted by Rafiki), only allowed to give birth to one cub. (In real lion prides they give birth to many). This law isn't really supported by anything except that Mufasa and Sarabi are only shown to have one cub, as well as Simba and Nala. In reality, lionesses can have a litter of 2 to 6 cubs...so where did the other cubs go? The law says that the royal couple have to get rid of (abandon) the rest except the first born. Horrible law, I know. But they do this so that there isn't any potentially dangerous rivalry (for the throne) among siblings. Anyway...that's all speculation.

What isn't speculation is that Uru gave birth to two male cubs, Taka and Mufasa. I believe they named Taka "garbage" because they were going to dispose of him anyway. But when Uru saw the little cub Taka, she couldn't bring herself to do that. That's entirely why my fan fic is called "A Mother's Love". A mother's love saved Taka from his fate. It is also why I believe he was loved by his mother and his brother, but not Ahadi, his father, because he never approved of Uru's ultimate decision to let Taka live. Even so, I think deep down he still cared for his son, which is why he nuzzled him to see if he was alright.

Nice find about the back-turning policy. Perhaps they were inspired by that. Personally, I think they wanted to just setup for Scar's response of "Oh no, Mufasa. Perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me."

I think your idea about his capacity to love others is a good one, but I still believe there is some truth to Zira's madness, and I think we're supposed to interpret from The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride that Scar and Zira actually did love each other. As much as this goes against Scar's personality, as you so well explained. But I really do like your theory that he was, deep down, trying to get the love he so desperately needed (MUCH LIKE HIS SON, NUKA), but in the end he didn't get it.

Awesome article...I had to say it again.

[ImaniFaith]

Thank you, Moka. ^_^

Though I like your theory, usually a pride does have more than one adult male in it (sometimes up to five). There is generally only one "king", or alpha-male, however. So the fact that Scar-- a member of the royal family-- is allowed to stay even though he won't be king isn't all that telling (though young males often leave on their own). Also, if they wanted to dispose of him, wouldn't they have done so at birth and not bothered naming him?

Plus, Scar even said that, before Simba ("the little hairball") was born, he was "next in line" for the throne. That leaves the possibility that the parents had always planned for a back-up (should something happen to Mufasa) open. This is Disney, remember; I doubt the creators of LK would have Ahadi-- already penned down as being a "good" character-- abandoning his son, or a set of laws in a "good" kingdom like the Pride Lands that would say he had to. Also, would Rafiki-- another "good" character-- really counsel a family to abandon their cub?

I think Disney has the royal families giving birth to one cub a piece because it's convenient. XD

The phrase, "Oh no, Mufasa. Perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me." could also be a deliberately symbolic statement of Scar's desire to become king (i.e. Scar would be the king Mufasa couldn't turn his back on) which would explain why Mufasa interpreted it is a direct challenge.

And I always just saw Zira as an obsessed fan-girl. XD After all, if Scar loved her, why did he want Nala to be his queen (as seen in the broadway musical)? Remember, he hit up on Nala just before she ran into the jungle and re-met Simba-- leaving only a couple days at best before Scar was dethroned and killed. Not much time to set up a loving relationship with Zira.

It is my theory that he simply realized that he was not going to get the beautiful queen he wanted to bear his cubs, knew Zira was fanatically loyal to him, and saw that her son Kovu looked like himself (remember, Disney hates incest!-- so Kovu can't be his son by default) and was the strongest male cub; so he adopted him as his heir. This favoritism may have caused a zealot like Zira to believe Scar was in love with her and that he would have made her his queen had he lived. Hence one big cause of her extreme hatred towards Simba.

However, I do like your argument. Thanks again for your reply!

[Mike]

I like this subject, and the detail you went into is spectacular, though I think you came up with the answer that I think we'd all known on some level anyway =3 Scar was just a lion who's ambition and eagerness to rule outstripped his better nature despite everything his family did to try to support him.

Mufasa's "What am I going to do with him?" is telling to me. He just can't figure out a way to make his brother happy for all his efforts.

[thanigraphics]

I think Scars parents loved him, and didn't make him king because of obvious fact that Mufasa was way stronger than him and would be more able to protect the pride and his Kingdom.
I also think Zira loved him, like the post above me states: as an obsessed fangirl. I can't believe Scar loved Zira as much as she loved him. Scar had one goal in life: rule the pride lands.
I also don't believe Scar himself loved anyone (including Nala)
All the characters Scar involves with have a purpose towards him: the hyena's are usefull helpers, they aren't very bright and they are mean, they come in large numbers and would form a great "army" for our evil king.
Sarabi and Nala were usefull as huntresses, the broadway song in which Scar tries to seduce Nala, is also stated that she could provide him healthy cubs. Nothing to do with love.

I believe the same thing about Zira and Kovu. He chose Kovu since he knew Zira would be loyal to him with no doubt, and train Kovu to be alike.

[ImaniFaith]

Exactly. Everything Scar did merely profited himself. Nothing was out of any sort of love for another. I can actually see Scar reaping the benefits of Zira's worship while at the same time laughing at her behind her back.

After all, Zira doesn't even seem to be Scar's type (if he even had a 'type'). The only lioness he appeared to deem worthy enough for him to saddle with was a beauty like Nala. Zira (sorry Zira-fans) was not the beautiful, feminine sort. Plus, she loved violence, while he "hated" it.

But, no, he didn't love Nala, or anyone else that I've ever read about or seen.

Well, except himself. Scar seemed to love himself pretty well. XD

Thanks for the comment!

[KiarasMate]

How did Scar hate violence? O.o

[ImaniFaith]

Well, he SAID he did, anyway. XD

"Oh, must it all end in violence?"-- TLK

"Nala, you know how I loathe violence."-- TLK Broadway

[KiarasMate]

lol. ^^ For someone who says he dislikes violence, he sure causes a lot of it.