Changing of the Bard
Gabrielle has gone through her fair share of ups and downs during her Legendary Journey with Xena. K. Stoddard Hayes explores her many trials and tribulations, and discovers how much she has changed since her days as a simple bard…
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 10
When Gabrielle meets Xena in Sins of the Past, she already knows that she does not belong in Poteidaia. Xena’s arrival is the opportunity she has been waiting for to explore the wider world and find her place in it. Even when the Warrior Princess tells her firmly, “I travel alone,” Gabrielle won’t take no for an answer. She follows Xena with all the determination and optimism that we will soon recognize as essential aspects of her character.
But just what is Gabrielle looking for? If she’s not a little village girl, who is she? Bard? Peacemaker? Warrior? Xena's sidekick? While Xena knows she will always be a warrior, Gabrielle will spend the next five years trying to define who and what she is.
A major facet of this search is the issue of her own autonomy. Can Gabrielle stand as an equal partner in her friendship with Xena, or is she only a sidekick tagging along and needing Xena’s protection any time danger threatens? Almost from the start, Xena recognises that Gabrielle contributes something indispensable to their friendship, something that Xena cannot: her innocence, her idealism, her unwavering belief that goodness can still be found in the world and in the hearts of people.
Gabrielle does not think in those terms, at least not at first. She can only compare herself with Xena, and in that comparison, see herself as naive, inexperienced and dependent. One source of this self-image as a perennial sidekick may be her own family. In A Family Affair, her father Herodotus lashes out at Xena when she asks how Gabrielle has been since she returned: “Without you? Just fine... Seducing her away from home with your heroics; filling her head with strange ideas. How's she been? Changed forever, because of you.”
In blaming Xena for the changes in Gabrielle, Herodotus betrays his limited and patronising view of his daughter. He can’t imagine that his little girl might be capable of thinking up strange ideas all by herself, and that any independence she demonstrates might come from her own strong spirit rather than from the influence of a notorious warrior. All her life Gabrielle must have been given these messages, that she needs to be taken care of and that she can never be any more than a village girl. No wonder then, that when she first leaves home she is trying to prove to herself, even more than to Xena, that she can indeed take care of herself and be much more than a village girl.
Her crisis of confidence in The Prodigal is a reflection of this conflict. Xena, with her wide experience, may tell Gabrielle that everyone freezes once in a while, but to Gabrielle, this momentary hesitation reinforces her fears that her father might be right after all. “I can’t expect you to always be there for me,” she tells Xena. “I can't endanger you, can’t you see that? I'm just a liability.”
Her return home shows how much she has grown and learned already. Her sister Lilia is amazed and impressed at Gabrielle’s new skills and confidence, which help to save Poteidaia from a war party. This confidence only increases with each new experience and each adventure overcome, until the fourth season Gabrielle has largely laid the question of her sidekick status to rest. She has stood next to the most ruthless side of Xena in The Price; been an indispensable ally in adventures like Greater Good and Here She Comes... Miss Amphipolis; faced life without Xena in The Quest; and even been the hero of adventures of her own, as in For Him the Bell Tolls. When she challenges Xena’s attempts to protect her in Past Imperfect, their conflict is much more about one friend trying to shield the other from a coming disaster than it is about either of them believing that Gabrielle needs Xena to take care of her.
As her self-confidence grows, Gabrielle gradually stops trying to define herself in comparison to Xena and explores her own sources of self-definition. In Is There a Doctor in the House? she introduces herself as a bard because words and stories are an essential aspect of who she is - Gabrielle can talk her way out of trouble faster than anyone in ancient Greece, except perhaps for Salmoneus.
Her scrolls, begun as a way to immortalise her friend and heroine, Xena, quickly become her most important creative outlet, and the most precious part of her baggage. Just how precious we discover when Xena uses a corner of one for toilet paper. Her ambition to be a successful bard takes centre stage in The Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards and The Play’s the Thing. When she commits herself to the way of love, the scrolls aren't forgotten, as she tries to write a play based on love rather than violence. In the changes and conflicts during Xena’s pregnancy, she returns to her writing to help find her own centre.
Another source of identity is Gabrielle’s relationship with the Amazons. From the moment she receives the right of caste from a dying Amazon princess in Hooves and Harlots, Gabrielle begins to consider herself an Amazon, to learn Amazon ways and to forge a bond with both Greek and northern Amazon tribes. In fact the Amazons are so important to Gabrielle that each time they ask her to become their queen, she gives the invitation very serious consideration.
Although she is not a true warrior like most Amazons, she sees that the Amazons need a queen who can lead them in the ways of peace as well as in war, and she knows that she can be that leader. Each time Gabrielle feels the need for a home and a belonging place (such as in The Quest and Kindred Spirits), she turns to the Amazons rather than to her own village. In Poteidaia, she would be treated as the daughter of Herodotus, a girl of little importance. Among the Amazons she is a princess, and her sisters value her virtue and wisdom.
The choice between the way of love and the way of the warrior has been a central theme of Gabrielle’s journey of self-discovery. She initially wants to learn to fight because she wants to be like Xena. The trials of Morpheus in Dreamworker drive home Xena’s lesson that Gabrielle has better resources at her command than fighting, especially her wits, her words and her compassion. Gabrielle also has an innate abhorrence of bloodshed and war. When Ephiny tells her to choose a weapon so that she can learn to fight like an Amazon in Hooves and Harlots, Gabrielle is greatly relieved to see a blunt fighting staff among all the edged and pointed weapons. She is much more comfortable with knocking down an enemy than she is with slicing him open.
When the priests of Dahak entrap Gabrielle into murdering their priestess, this shedding of blood almost breaks her heart. The sequel to her loss of blood innocence is the birth of Hope, and all the deaths, betrayals and horror that Hope will bring. This burden of pain and grief becomes so heavy that Gabrielle considers drinking the cup of Mnemosyne, just to be free from the burden. In the end, though, she realises that the cost would be too high. She cannot give up the memories of guilt and sorrow without also losing all her memories of joy and love, and to do this would be to lose herself.
Soon after Hope’s death, Najara and Eli bring the ideals of the way of love back to the centre of Gabrielle’s life, and Gabrielle rushes to embrace them. She is as excited as a little girl with new toys as she demonstrates to Xena how she can defend herself without inflicting serious harm. After the losses and betrayals of the past two years, it's no wonder she’s intoxicated with the idea of never hurting anyone again, and of filling her life with peace and love.
Gabrielle holds onto the way of love for several months, even while leading the Amazons into battle. But the threat of Xena’s death at the hands of their Roman captors soon after drives her to a complete change of heart. From the moment she attacks the soldiers in Ides of March, Gabrielle changes from the perfect apostle of peace to a warrior almost as deadly as Xena. Although she may not have Xena’s near divine strength or agility, she is more than a match for most adversaries, and warrior enough to interest Ares himself. When thugs come to kidnap the comatose Xena in Little Problems, Gabrielle wipes the floor with them without even breaking into a sweat.
There’s no question that becoming a fully-fledged warrior makes Gabrielle an indispensable ally in the battles that surround Xena’s pregnancy and the birth of Eve. Yet it's unlikely that this inner conflict has reached its final resolution. As satisfying as it is, at some moments, to see Gabrielle whipping the bad guys, it’s also disturbing to see the woman who once wept in despair over killing Dahak’s priestess now shedding blood in almost every battle. The way of love has been too important to Gabrielle to allow her to completely turn her back on it. Her apology to Eli for choosing a different path hints that some part of her is still uncomfortable with her choice. She may still have to find her own balance between pacifism and war.
By the fifth season, Gabrielle’s growth has extended far beyond mere combat ability. She has developed a self assurance, maturity and wisdom which Xena relies on heavily throughout the conflicts of her motherhood. During the gods’ relentless pursuit, Gabrielle’s loyalty and her efforts to protect Xena and Eve never waver, even at the risk of her own life. Yet this devotion is less important than her enduring ability to hope for good in everyone, even Livia. Her staunch conviction that Xena can find a way to save her daughter’s soul helps to renew Xena’s courage and determination to do so. And as hard as it may be for Gabrielle to see past Livia, who killed Joxer, to Eve, who needs forgiveness, when Xena offers Gabrielle the chance to leave them, she rejects it instantly.
Who is Gabrielle at the end of five years? In Kindred Spirits she has another chance to become an Amazon queen and settle down. She tells Xena she will only do this if Xena will stay with her. This decision is not a betrayal of her own needs and wishes but a recognition of them. She is Amazon, bard and warrior, but most important, she is Xena’s friend and nothing matters more to her, nothing serves her own needs more than her commitment to that friendship.
Although the series is named after Xena, Gabrielle is far more than just a sidekick, much more than Robin to Xena’s Batman. Her evolution from farm girl to warrior bard is paralleled by her dramatic importance in the story. From the moment she insists that Xena accept her as a friend, her choices and actions affect Xena as profoundly as Xena’s choices affect her.
The subject of Xena: Warrior Princess is not the adventures of Xena but the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle. The push and pull, give and take of their constantly growing relationship is what keeps us watching from week to week, posting on countless web sites, and reading magazines like this.
SIDEBAR: Not The Only Friend
Wherever she goes, Gabrielle has a gift for touching the hearts of people she meets, whether an aspiring bard, a washed-up warrior or the Warrior Princess herself. Here is a short list of Gabrielle's more important friendships.
Joxer
Joxer loves Gabrielle as truly as anyone, and perhaps more selflessly because he knows she will never return his romantic feelings. He carries his torch secretly for years just to be her comrade, and finally dies trying to stop Livia from killing her.
Eli
The apostle of peace cherishes a special love for Gabrielle, who tries to follow him until the price is too high. Only Gabrielle could honour Eli's teachings enough to stand by and let Ares kill him, just because Eli asks her to.
Ephiny
The hard young Amazon’s patronising disdain for the naive village girl disappears when she sees that Gabrielle shares her own commitment to justice and the greater good. Their friendship endures until Ephiny’s death.
Ares
Perhaps the only thing these two have in common is their love for Xena, but because of it, Gabrielle earns the grudging respect of the God of War, who lays her at Xena’s side in their icy tomb on Etna.
Aphrodite
Through ringing bells, cursed scrolls and writer's block, the Bard and the Babeaceous One somehow become friends. Gabrielle means so much to Aphrodite that she begs Athena to leave the Bard out of the gods' war with Xena, and then helps Xena bring the dying Gabrielle and Livia to Olympus to save their lives
SIDEBAR: Costume Changes
Gabrielle has changed her basic costume more often than any of the stars of the Hercules/ Xenaverse. The changes in her everyday wardrobe reflect the changes in the way she sees herself.
The Village Girl
Gabrielle wears her blue blouse and long skirt until she meets the Amazons and discovers the benefits of their minimal attire. That long skirt is just too awkward for adventures.
The Novice Adventurer
A shorter blouse and a short skirt for a sidekick just learning to swing her staff.
Classic Gabrielle
Gabrielle wore her lace-up bodice, mini skirt and boots for two and a half years, and this is the way we always think of her.
The Disciple of Love
Indian silks and henna body designs express the mysticism of Eli's way of love.
The Warrior Bard
Leather bodice and leather trimmed skirt and a pair of deadly sais swords mark Gabrielle’s transition to fully-fledged warrior.