Artorias and Masculinity
Knight Artorius is the embodiment of masculinity in Dark Souls. Not because he won, but because he failed. We as the player succeed because death doesn’t stop us. If we die, we can just come back and try again so long as we don’t go hollow. But Artorius knew if he failed, he wouldn’t come back. But he went into the abyss anyway. That’s why his story hits harder than our own because he shows us what masculinity looks like in the face of real loss.
There were no parades for Artorius, no celebrations of his victories. His funeral was quiet, remembered only by those who knew him closest. He just did what needed to be done, even when nobody was watching, even when no one ever thanked him. But true strength is measured not in an audience’s applause. It’s measured in sacrifice, in what you choose to be, even if no one is looking. Artorius was once just a silver knight. He always wanted to gain significant
Strength so that he could protect his friends. and he thought the best way to do it would be to pull the sword from the stone that everyone wanted to take for themselves. But nobody could do it. would take someone with immeasurable strength to take it. There was a legend though that if you were able to drink the blood of a great greywolf, you can gain immeasurable strength. But the path was sealed and only through burning
Three human-shaped trees could someone enter the domain of the great grey wolf. The wolf would not simply allow anyone to waltz into his domain. Only someone worthy of withstanding his trials can meet with him. On patrol near the mountains where the great grey wolf is said to live, Artorius was struck by dragon fire. His armor melted, but instead of desparing, he rose, found a sword, and pressed on. He burned the first tree and faced a pack of wolves
The size of men. He got his sword ready because it didn’t matter how many there were. They would not stop him from attaining his greater purpose. He fights them off the best he can. But when he realizes he is being overwhelmed, he sees the best course of action is to retreat. He decided to not let his current goal of defeating the wolves become his master. His expectations are not just set on one singular thing, but the process of getting to his goal,
Whatever it takes. Masculinity isn’t charging blindly until you collapse. It’s knowing when to fight and when to walk away. Artorius withdrew when he was overwhelmed. Not out of cowardice, but out of experience and just knowing better. Purpose matters more than pride. If you can dream and not make dreams your master. If you can think and not make thoughts your aim, or if you can fight but not make fighting your aim, then you can be a more masculine man
Like Artorius. He ended up evading the remaining wolves, sending them to fall to their death. After trial upon trial and successfully burning three trees, Artorius reached the great greywolf itself. A single drop of blood fell into a goblet. He drank and woke up sometime later, finding himself sinking into the ground with roots growing around him. Sinking into the earth, roots threatening to turn him into one of the very husks he had burned before. But Artorius has a mission, a fight. He
Knows that if he does nothing and lets himself sink into nothing, then all of his efforts have been for nothing. He thought of his friends and the people he loved and rose from the ground with purpose. He thought that he’d come this far, he can’t give up now. Those whose backs have carried him this far, their sacrifice will not only be a memory. The great Greywolf and the rest of the wolves saw him rise. And it was then
That they acknowledged he was worthy of the strength from the wolves because of his courage and because of his duty. But that’s what despair does to people. It buries them alive. But Artorius rose because his purpose was greater than his suffering. Masculinity is rising from the ground when life tries to bury you. With the wolf’s strength, Artorius pulled the sword from the stone, and he was named one of Gwyn’s four knights. His ring let him walk the abyss without
Being consumed. He was chosen because he was the most suited. Not specialized like Orinstein, Sirin, or golf, but versatile, balanced, and steady. That’s part of being masculine, too. Maybe not having the most flashiest skill set, not all the most cool tricks, but maybe being the most welle equipped, being the most reliable, being the one who gets it done, the one that you send to the place where no one else will go. Boots on the ground. In Ullesille, Artorius was sent
To deal with an outbreak of the abyss by Lord Gwyn. Here he confronted Manis, the father of the abyss. Overwhelmed and his arm shattered, he abandoned his shield to protect his little wolf pup, Cyph, and fought one-handed until corruption consumed him. When we actually meet him in Dark Souls, we see only a shadow of a man who gave everything and lost. Did you know that when we fight Artorius in the boss fight, he has his sword in his
Right hand, but he’s left-handed. The only reason that he holds the sword in his right hand is because when he was fighting Madness, his left arm was shattered. He used to carry a sword and a shield. Sword in his left hand, shield in his right. But when his left arm shattered, he was forced to carry his sword just in his right hand. and he laid down his shield instead to protect Cif, the little wolf. He was fighting
Only with a sword and a broken arm. And it’s not even his dominant hand. And he’s like the toughest boss in the game. He is resourceful and he is thoughtful to care for a young wolf. Even in a time of stress and impending doom, he still held his composure and decided to save what left could be saved. Preserving the future and fighting for a better one. I think that’s why players love him and he’s like a fan favorite because he
Failed. He shows us what we fear in ourselves that even with duty, courage, and strength, we can still fall short. But masculinity isn’t always about winning. Not always. You might hear from other self-improvement YouTubers or whoever that competition is important and it’s important that you beat the other guy, that you take what what’s his, you know, and yeah, sometimes that’s nice, but that’s not everything. It’s not always about getting that materialistic win. For people like Artorius, it’s about who you protect and
What you’re willing to lose for them. Not out of obligation, but out of choice. wanting to sacrifice for something better. Artorius is a tragic hero, not celebrated, not victorious, but remembered by us and his closest friends because he went into the abyss anyway, knowing what might happen. And that’s what I want to say in this video. Purpose is more important than everything. A man without purpose is hollow. But if you live for something greater, even your failure becomes
Something people talk about, something legendary. Why have so many people who’ve played the game attached themselves to Artorius and made him their favorite character? Well, I think it’s because he’s relatable to us. And I think the relatability comes from knowing that he failed. We get the feeling that this is someone who was strong and beautiful before, like a knight. But now something has gone wrong and he’s got this ominous cloud of smoke around him. I think we like Artorius
Because somehow this cool big guy with a sword failed. We know how it feels to fail too like him, but still want to try. But we also feel like it’s hard to do the right thing. And so we succumb to the abyss, the anger and the sadness sometimes just like he did. The philosopher Frederick Nichi said, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long into the abyss, the
Abyss will gaze back into you. Artorius gazed into the abyss. He even lost himself. But in doing so, he saved others. That’s why even in failure, he stands as the most masculine figure in Dark Souls. If you like Dark Souls lore and you like self-improvement, like philosophy and stuff like that, and you think the two of those combined sounds pretty cool, then consider joining my community. The link is down below. Don’t you dare go hollow.