To what extent do you mean white washed, cause I do know that in her previous life in the manhwa, she is said to have "gone on holiday" to a very sunny location and spent a lot of time in the sun, thus getting tanned and setting a trend in high society to become tanner. Before that, she was quite white (as all the other court ladies) because they spent so much time inside (in the manhwa).
In the second time line and this timeline, she's drawn as having white skin because she's spends all of her time inside. I haven't read the novel but it would make sense that she would be pale since, again, she spends so much time inside.
It would be a different discussion if, in the novel, she's depicted as having darker/tanner skin in all of the timelines. Are there any excerpts from the novel that you or a novel reader have that described her as not being white that proves that the manhwa has white washed her?
“Whitewashed” as in an individual or character has been simplified or removed of their negative flaws, resulting in them being less complex and much more appealing. I don’t mean the color of her skin. I mean it in a literary way.
I’m pretty sure that’s one of the definitions of the term “whitewashed,” but if I used it wrong my bad.
I have read the entire novel. Inés is indeed a deeply flawed character. She freely admits she has a bad personality. She even says she’s a little mean because she takes after both her parents. Korean novel readers early on complained about her. It’s probably why the manhwa reduced her flaws or made them vague. However, discerning readers can see through them at times. I find you’re one of them. There are others who also saw that Ines was pretty flawed and didn’t use her trauma as an excuse. Ines doesn’t use her trauma as an excuse either.
Later in the story, the fact that she chose Carcel to use him and dump him will be addressed. Carcel realizes the truth on his own anyway and doesn’t say anything about it. He already partly realized the truth after Ines brought the crazy woman into their home to entice him to cheat. He’ll get confirmation later after he discovers certain things. However, being the truly good person he is, he keeps it to himself. Moreover, Carcel is always grateful for Ines’s love as though it isn’t something he deserves. He thinks that way in every single lifetime. He’s the only man in this story who thinks that way. Ines even tells him later that he always seem to have a low bar for her return of love.
Ines also realized that she misjudged Carcel terribly after she woke up from the dream of the palace. She admitted she was wrong from the start about him but of course the manhwa cut it out because we can’t have Ines admit she’s wrong. However, manhwa will not be able to cut out her tearful and emotional apology to him later about choosing him to use and dump. If they do, they will be doing her character a grave injustice. Ines gets truly amazing development in this story. At the end of it all, she makes a beautiful confession of love about how much Carcel has changed her. The confession is so beautiful that Koreans in Reddit translation community said the sentiment is so beautiful that the meaning cannot be sufficiently translated into English.
I know as a reader, I find it absolutely amazing how much she’s changed by the end of the story. In the side story, Ines is like a spoiled wife, daughter-in-law, daughter, sister-in-law, etc. She changed a lot and is a very bright and normal person. That all began with Carcel. Every single relationship she enjoys is due in part to Carcel and his love that changed her. Even her relationship with Raul and Juana, her faithful servants. Manhwa doesn’t tell readers that Ines, in Calztela, credited Carcel for thinking of Raul and Juana for the first time in a deeper way. She was taking them for granted without any thought about what happened to them when she killed herself in the crown princess timeline. Fir the first time Ines thought about that and it was in Calztela and she immediately wondered wgat Carcel was doing to her because he was making her see things that were lacking in the way she treated and thought of her closest servants. All of these are ways in which Ines grew and developed over the course of the novel story.
There will also be some shocking revelations that rattle Ines about the way she treated Ines in a past life. Manhwa won’t be able to cover those up. She will get memories of some pretty mean things she said to a different Carcel. They will scare her a lot but they help to develop her character.
Ahhhhhhh, my bad. I've never heard the term "whitewashed" in that form, you learn something new everyday lol~
That’s really great to here. So it looks like the manhwa, while a lot more subtle and a little simplified, is still more or less following the same format. I’m glad there’s more revelations coming. I’ll probably grow to appreciate ines even more as the story progresses. Thanks for the detailed description. It was a really nice summary of Ines.
Nah you’re good. I only learned it recently too.
Hm. I did not read the novel, so I cannot relate to that, but as "only manhwa reader" the chapters 9 and following were... a sudden dip in mood and graveness. So she was vain in her first life; aching and abused but both can be true at the same time. One could argue that the exposure of her first life was cut short, but on the other hand: maybe there wasn't any room in Inés first life.
In her second life, she picked a swerve and called that love: and again, either there's no room to depict WHAT she loves about Emilio or WHY (like, apart from him being soft and as NOT-OSCAR as possible) ...or there's not much to say. She later admitted (about ch. 37/38) that she sold the necklace (among other valuables) and that she ruined him; that no matter what, she could not step down from her entitlement, that no matter how long she lived like that, she never learned how to spend and save money and in her unchangeable ways dragged down Emilio who couldn't (wouldn't? didn't dare to?) oppose her in any way.
Her reasoning behind saving Raul more than once reveals cold calculation; at this point I started asking myself if she was just denying emotional attachement or didn't develop yet a sense of appreciation.
I like her character, and I am cheering her on; but she's neither faultless nor "perfect projection material" (at least to me, cause there's plenty of things she does and decides to do that have me like "...but WHY".)
I’m not even sure how to unpack Ines. She’s an extremely difficult/complicated character in one sense but surprisingly cooperative at times. There is so much to her over the timelines but it is always only Carcel who she learns from. It’s like he can get through to her when other people can’t. For instance, there’s a hidden timeline where her psychology is so unnecessarily complicated that it was clear any husband would give up on her. Carcel is a very easygoing guy but he is not by any stretch of the imagination stupid. In fact, of the people his age, including Ines, he is remarkably the wisest of them all. His approach with Ines is mostly to go along with her but he always firmly put his foot down when he thinks her decisions will harm her. (I’m trying to be vague to not give away too much). Whenever he does this, Ines resists but always end up realizing that his decision is and was best for her. That’s why she can trust him always with her life. He also knows which battles to fight with her and Carcel as a character is surprisingly responsible and capable. He knows how to take care of his family. It’s one of the most endearing traits about him as a son, brother and husband.
With Oscar, Ines lived 10 married years. She courted with him 10 years before marriage. That means 20 years with Oscar. Ines was always spoiled. Her father and brother spoil her. We can see some of that attitude in the recent ch when she talks about pestering her father to give her the gun he bought for Luciano. In that same timeline, Ines was shallow and loved the idea of power she would receive as crown princess. From beginning to end in that life, Ines never grew as a person. She experienced hell but her character didn’t develop and mature. She was always a fighter as Valeztenas are, so at least she fought Oscar tooth and nail. Everything still ended dramatically in the end though just like most of her married life.
Then Ines regressed and made the impulsive decision to seduce the painter who came to paint her portrait. She threw everything to the wind and didn’t think of the consequences of defying the imperial family. Her excuse is she was looking for love after Oscar trampled on her and made her feel dirty and unloved. She chose the perfect FOIL to Oscar because the man she chose was the extreme opposite of Oscar. Not only that, unlike Oscar, he literally worshipped her like a goddess. It was a complete 180 to the life she lived with Oscar since not only was she loved like a goddess, she was poor as dirt unlike the opulent life she lived with Oscar. Still, at the end of those four years, she didn’t learn anything nor did she change and develop. I would say she did heal enough from the trauma of Oscar but then she got a new trauma from the end of this life. So, from those four years of life, she didn’t develop nor mature much as a person. She didn’t even learn practical lessons although poor. She still can’t cook, sew properly, make nor manage money. I doubt if she ever held a broom in her hand too. In the end, because things ended so dramatically, she romanticizes that life in the early part of the story until the truth would creep out here and there.
So, with the first guy, she was subordinate and with the second guy, he was subordinate. With Carcel, unlike the other two, she’s equal and they act like equals. Ines listens to Carcel just like he listens to her. They talk things out. I think purely from the type of personality Carcel has, he’s able to deal with her difficult personality. In the beginning of the story, Carcel told Ines he likes girls with bad personality. He always sees Ines for who she is even when he loves her deeply. He doesn’t mind her bad traits at all. I think due to this personality of his, Ines looks at his example and it inspires her to want to change for him. For example, when Ines realized Carcel knew that she chose him to dump him, yet he still continued loving her and treating her like his world, Ines couldn’t understand his love. But because of this, it kept on making her want to change and improve for him even though he didn’t ask her to. He always accepts her just as she is. It’s Ines on her own who wants to be a better wife to him and wants to do everything in her power to protect him. That’s just one of the ways Carcel has influenced her without him even knowing it.
Ah so, he comes full circle since, from one viewpoint his "I'm only six!" is the perfect answer of a otherwise unbothered kid who's (understandably) overwhelmed by everyone talking in circles. From the other viewpoint its the steadfast answer of a kid who can recognize talking in circles as just that and insists on "I'm only six (what do you want me to do about this)". Put all his stats in common sense (and shoved the rest in "wife-worship (extra)")
LOL. Probably though some of his stats should be in duty as well.
So it’s been told numerous times by novel readers that Ines was slightly whitewashed, especially at the beginning of the manhwa where she is manipulating carcel. Is there a moment past the point at which the manhwa is at in the novel where this is revisited? Because I feel like that would be a great second opportunity for the manhwa writers to possibly do a better job.
I’m asking cause I love flawed characters who change and grow. So I’m a little disappointed that some of Ines’ flaws have been removed. I also prefer visual story telling to verbal, so I most likely won’t be reading the novel either and will stick to the manhwa which is why I wanted to see how inaccurate it is to the novel in regards to character portrayal.