Role

Chapter 5

Gaspare didn't think he would still be able to tap into his artistry. In
fact, he wasn't sure he would still be able to feel at all.

But after two visits from the ghastly spirit of his deceased fiancee, and a
discussion with Raltevio, a faint spark took hold and he composed his first
work in years: a piece of poetry about the experience.

Raltevio, who had encouraged Gaspare to take another stab at artistry, was
pleased with the poem and offered him a place among the Troupe, which Gaspare
accepted.

The ghost of Gaspare's fiancee had appeared to be searching for something.
Gaspare reasoned that it may be his soul (which is pledged to the Empire) or
her missing engagement ring: A simple and relatively inexpensive golden band
with a piece of blue-tinted glass imitating a sapphire.

The conflicts between the Empire and Raltevio's Troupe are not lost
on Gaspare. The Troupe shuns politics, ambition and bullying - qualities smiled
upon in the Empire.

In Gaspare's eyes, the Empire is a passionless job. The death of his fiancee
set him upon a path that he feels he cannot escape, so he merely trudges
ahead, zombie-like. He sold his soul for booze money, and now he merely does
what he is obligated to do. That's what he tells himself, at least.

But Raltevio and the Troupe have rekindled artistic side and that, now, is
his passion and his newfound balance.

In terms of personality, Gaspare is not a maniac or a sadist. He sees himself
as a good person in a bad place. He recognizes that the Empire is responsible
for atrocities, but reasons that civilization can foster art, so it isn't
necessarily all bad. He has no aspiration to become a leader.

However, it doesn't occur to him that just because he carries out terrible
acts without gusto doesn't absolve him from their awfulness. He essentially
blames the Empire for his actions, and somehow paints himself with the brush
of a victim.

Any remaining guilt is alleviated by drinking copious amounts of liquor and
reasoning that the world is a horrible place that doesn't appreciate the
truly virtuous, as evidenced by his fiancee's murder. We all deserve what we
get.

His art often reflects these ideas.