Defining Schneizel’s Mask
The meaning of Schneizel’s mask is tricky. He has a mask, and yet he doesn’t. His mask can be identified by his lies. That’s not a very special mask, it’s the same mask shared by everyone that Charles speaks of and wishes to destroy. But at the same time, it’s not much of a mask because he doesn’t really go to great efforts to hide his lies. In the end, Schneizel does something like wear a mask that looks exactly like his own face.
Schneizel has been a character who’s kept us guessing for a while, when in reality we had no real reason to. We always thought he had something up his sleeve like a good magician, but naw. He’s left himself out in the open. We were just looking for something that wasn’t there because we didn’t know any better. And it wasn’t just us, it was Lelouch too.
Having seen R2 24 now, we can look back on the China Arc (R2 09 thru R2 11) and call it a “spoiler alert” of sorts for the end of the series. The chess game in R2 09 in particular says a lot. Schneizel gives up, offers himself to Lelouch without much resistance, and Lelouch refuses. By R2 11, Lelouch wins. The same situation comes to pass by R2 24, but this time, Lelouch doesn’t refuse out of pride from being picky about his wins, he refuses because he’s come to realize Schneizel’s true nature. And once more, Lelouch wins.
In order for Lelouch to realize Schneizel’s true nature, there was a step he had to take, and Charles unknowingly helped him. Recall Charles’s plan to expose lies? Again, Schneizel is essentially an exposed person. Even his lies are in the open. By realizing what his father was doing, Lelouch also realized that this exposed nature was also Schneizel’s true nature. Bismark recognized this about Schneizel before anyone else did, thus he felt that Schneizel was an appropriate choice to rule.
Of course this is all painfully ironic, as Charles and Schneizel seemed to have mutual dislike of each other. Schneizel didn’t like Charles, failing to see himself as slowly going the down the path of becoming what his father pretended to be in his conquests. Charles didn’t like Schneizel, failing to realize that Schneizel was already an exposed person. Exposed, like the kind of world he was working for. This possibly explains their opposing colors in the opening. (Of course, Lelouch thinks they’re both douchebags so he gets the NBC peacock behind him.)
But what then was the meaning of Schneizel’s line at the end R2 23? Is there something we’re missing here? Did he think he was covering himself with a mask? Was it irony? Was it referring to Lelouch wearing a mask? Or perhaps it was forced into the script to give the episode title meaning.
This post made with great thanks to the frequently misspelled and Keith M~
Tags: Charles, Lelouch, Schneizel, Symbolism, Verbal Economy
Characters | miasmacloud | 
September 26, 2008 1:54 am
18 Comments
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Code Geass R2 25 For Dummies, or It’s not the horse cart, stupid: The ending explained › Cruel Angel Theses — September 29, 2008 @ 5:05 pm
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Question (September 26, 2008 @ 2:29 am)
Schneizel’s line at the end R2 23.
And what would that be?
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miasmacloud (September 26, 2008 @ 2:34 am)
If you can’t keep your mask on, you can’t win.
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Nilie (September 26, 2008 @ 2:36 am)
Dang. I posted on our Mafia Geass b4 actually reading this. XD Still not sure I get the guy though.
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dakimstar (September 26, 2008 @ 3:34 am)
I think it means that if lelouch can’t hide his masks properly/manupilate everyone, he can only lose thing.
(lol, my captcha is Schneizel)
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Ascaloth (September 26, 2008 @ 4:10 am)
LOL my anti-spam word is “charles”. Fitting.
Interesting thing here, if Charles didn’t like Schneizel, and if the latter is “exposed”….what would have happened if Charles had succeeded with his plan? Heh, he would come to regret it.
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miasmacloud (September 26, 2008 @ 4:35 am)
To some extent, I think Schneizel’s exposed state wasn’t intentional on his part, and that’s the meaning behind the end of the 23 quote when you consider what happened in 24. (I guess that’s for another post!)
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Ailieron (September 26, 2008 @ 4:42 am)
For a person to be able to keep his mask on his whole life, he must be praised or weird O-o.
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rawr (September 26, 2008 @ 7:06 am)
*drinks*
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JRL (September 26, 2008 @ 8:51 am)
I think the series was using Charles and Schneizel to make a point about tatemae and honne. Basically, people can’t live without masks, but they can’t be all mask either. Leouch is supposed to represent balance: he recognises that people need both masks and desires to live.
Because Schneizel is all mask, he has no motivation… If his plan had succeeded, the result would have been a world where everyone was as lazy and apathetic as him.
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theflow (September 26, 2008 @ 2:24 pm)
are we sure the mask isn’t simply a reference to being openly homosexual/crossdressing?
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heiro (September 26, 2008 @ 3:25 pm)
Schneizel’s mask was just that “we’re going to defeat Lelouch for the sake of peace and justice”, though of course it’s all about “I’m bored” and “well, okay. you guys want peace? I’ll see what I can do…I guess.”
It is kinda weird that Schneizel would be the one to make that remark though, since he really can’t keep his mask on. Like you said, he’s too apathetic to care about his lies being obvious (”alright, I won’t use freya”…10 minutes later: BOOM) And if the Black Knights weren’t so fucking stupid they would have kicked the shit out of Schneizel by now for being unable to keep his mask on. But as is, suppose they’ll just be at Lelouch’s mercy, since goddamn they are easy to manipulate. (I kinda hope Lelouch ends up using Schneizel to make the Black Knights follow his every whim, while Lelouch ensures loyalty to Schneizel by pretending he’s a threat to the UFN)
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Sol Falling (September 26, 2008 @ 3:58 pm)
Interesting post. I’m not so sure that the reason Charles disliked Schniezel was because he thought he was a liar, though. Given that Charle’s himself conceded that his principles could only be an idealization without Ragnorok, it seems unlikely that he’d disparage Schniezel specifically for a fault all humans hold.
The strongest distinction between Charles and Schniezel my thoughts are offering is their willingness to work with a corrupted world. Given Charles’ conversations with V.V. and Bismark, it seems he desired to see (and conduct, himself) compassionate and accomodating behaviour, but was stifled by the corruption and manipulation of others. As a result, he withdrew from the world and crafted a scenario where he could express himself freely–that is to say, he treated hidden intentions as an insurpassable obstacle.
Charles, we might say, embodied repressed compassion and accomodation. This said, Schniezel might have been complete accomodation. As far as I can see, I think it is safe to say that Schniezel saw the same corrupted world which Charles did. Eyeing the undercurrent of people’s desires, he saw that the world was full with conflicting intentions. However, unlike Charles, Schniezel held no personal ambition–and thus, that world which had no more room for his will was nevertheless not a prison. Given his particular insight into the big and little pictures, Schniezel’s personality can be said to have been one of optimizing and balancing the desires of others–accomodation.
The next logical development for this system would be Lelouch’s characterization as absolute compassion, but this point of discussion actually isn’t interesting to me. Rather, I’m going to bring this back to the original point, about why Charles would disparage “Schniezel’s world”. Let’s take two premises: First, that Charles has been prevented from realizing his compassionate and accomodating self by the unyielding and unsaid machinations of other people (though, well, I guess that this is really nothing more than self-interest). Second, then, that Charles has observed Schniezel’s development as he’s played at optimally satisfying those self-interests for progressively larger groups of people. A twofold explanation then immediately reveals itself: not only is Schniezel (meaninglessly, impossibly) perpetuating the quiet self-interest which has always hindered him, but Schniezel also completely lacks that personal compassion which would make satisfying those self-interests meaningful.
You’re welcome for this wall of text. ;)
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Sol Falling (September 26, 2008 @ 4:07 pm)
omfg, my captcha is Shirley. This is fucking fate. Anyway: I regret that my lack of proofreading and your lack of an edit button has left my prose annoying lopsided. Also, the ugliness of my monster is really horrid.
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danainae (September 26, 2008 @ 9:49 pm)
Your monster isn’t ugly. Um…the lips scare me though.
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DeathXIII (September 26, 2008 @ 6:56 pm)
…My captcha is Yuri D:
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Kraz (September 27, 2008 @ 9:45 am)
Whoever this Keith M. guy is, he must be an absolute genius.
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Zing Freelancer (October 22, 2008 @ 7:06 am)
Well, don’t forget that Schneizel wanted to rule the world by lifting the flying fortress loaded with FLEIA in the sky’s and threatening every one to surrender or be destroyed.
World where every one would obey out of fear.
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