Ansit Character Analysis

Ansit is Bardia’s wife. He marries her out of love, without a dowry, which other men tease him for. Orual hears that she fusses much over Bardia and Orual thinks of her as slightly ridiculous for it. Orual feels very jealous of Ansit, since she’s in love with Bardia, and is quick to think ill of her. When Bardia dies, Orual goes to visit Ansit and finds that she has been jealous too, envious that Orual shared such a deep comradeship with Bardia in battle and in affairs of state. Orual is amazed and shows Ansit her face, despite remaining veiled for years, to prove that there’s nothing to be jealous of. Ansit sees that Orual also loved Bardia, and they share a brief moment of connection. But Ansit also speaks to Orual frankly, telling her that she killed Bardia through overwork and has selfishly consumed the lives of everyone around her. This is one of the truest interpretations of Orual up to this point, and perhaps in her whole life. Although Ansit’s words hurt Orual, they cause her to begin reevaluating her actions and seeing how she has used those she loved, putting her on the path to ultimate self-understanding. Ansit sees the true Orual both in her physical form—her face—and in her moral composition.