Making Towers to Heaven
“You have a frightful mask. But being able to see into people’s hearts and minds seems useful…”
—The Happy Mask Salesman
Early in this article, I mentioned that the Stone Tower is likely an allusion to the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel. The people of Termina tried to build a tower that would reach the heavens. The Goddesses disapproved and foiled their plans, and afterwards Termina was a cursed land.
In the Biblical story, people tried to build a tower that would reach Heaven. God disapproved and foiled their plans. Afterwards, each person spoke a different language, and cooperation seemed to become impossible. Mankind had become divided.
Though the people of Termina do not all speak different languages, they are similarly divided when Link enters their land. They do not understand the hearts of their friends. They lose faith in their friends. They grow suspicious of each other. They bicker with each other. They seek vengeance when they are wronged. They become lonely and isolated. They keep secrets.
They hide their faces under masks.
“Your friends…What kind of…people are they?
I wonder…Do those people…think of you…as a friend?”
“You…What makes you…happy?
I wonder…What makes you happy…Does it make…others happy, too?”
“The right thing…What is it?
I wonder…If you do the right thing…Does it really make…everybody…happy?”
“Your true face…What kind of…face is it?
I wonder…The face under the mask…Is that…your true face?”
—The Masked Children
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i’love dis game
Reply to ulyesazI think the salesman, prior to acquiring the mask, probably did not believe in any such curse, it was a rare and valuable item, and he is a salesman, therefore, he wanted it, purely for commercial use, only once he laid his hands upon the mask, did he realize the true evil that slept within the mask, I assume it was then, that he vowed to guard the mask, to keep Majora from ever waking.
Reply to Skull Kidaye, but I also thing you might have got one thing backwards, if Majora was sent to destroy the architects, or stop their blasphemy, why would they have monuments built to honor her? I believe the architects may have summoned majora as their own “goddess” of sorts to help them destroy the Goddesses. The Fierce Deity was the Goddesses guardian angel, or enforcer, sent to destroy Majora, while the goddesses would flip the tower to take care of the architects. If the fierce Deity was on the side of the architects against majora, why would there not me monuments to him?
Reply to Skull KidIf that’s true, then why do you get The Fierce Deity Mask from the Majora kid on the moon? Wouldn’t every part of Majora despise the Fierce Deity for attempting to stop it? It just dosn’t make much sense…
Reply to KaharaIf you notice at the begining of the game when he walks through a certain part of the cave the hallway turns upside down while gravity seems to flip with it as well thus proving the first part of this theory. But if this is true are there other paralel “flip” worlds in the LoZ? Such as in ocarina of time, forest temple if memory serves right. A certain hallway take you into an upside down version of a room. In this area could you possibly be in termina? a small enclosed cave of some sort? Probably not. But it does introduce a new idea to this theory, the possibility of a mirror hyrule or hyrule “two” as some people say in other theories. *see the gametrailers.com zelda theory video* in which termina Could still be doomed, in a great flood bringing us to the windwaker…and it goes on but no more rambling from me.
Reply to NogardodomokomododragonIf Majora is a demon straight out of hell sent by the godesses to destroy Termina, then the Fierce Deity might be their way of controlling it. Once Majora finished its job, who’s to say it wouldn’t move on to other countries? So, the FD would be sent in to obliterate it. This might also be why Majora gives you the mask, it knows its power weaker than it and that it is destined to die. Yet, it makes a joke out of the deal, as it’s nature is, and wants one last “game”.
Reply to KatukoWow, that was really interesting. When I was younger and I played it, I never really knew about the allusion to the tower of babel, and the hidden message behind MM.
Reply to JamesAmazing article.
Nice article man. I had a huge write up on MM about 9 months ago but i stoped writing it out of the blue (long distance work).
Your first article made me want to go play it again and I did. I had writen about my experiences and the feeling i had gotten as i played the game. Far different then when i played as a child. For this, MM has defenetly found a place in my heart.
I never did beat the game… I stoped writing after my experiences in Inkana.
The game is still saved, now that i finaly have time again… i think i shall go to clock tower and begin the final chapter in the MM story.
nice work man
Reply to LinktomyassI like how you found and carved up the themes by looking at the game carefully. I’m still curious about the Fierce Deity though. Its fierce, right? How does that associate with faith?
Reply to darkbeastganonHe is the ‘Fierce Deity’ because of his god-like abilities and almost literally, no limiters on his power. He is a symbol of strength in this world of weakness - the one light shining through the dark.
One will guard their faith with whatever they can. The Fierce Deity acts upon his faith to assist the people in need. The blank eyes of the Fierce Deity serve as him being a symbol, not a set person.
There’s also the Mask Itself. This is but a theory of my own, but I believe that the mask would not turn everyone who dons it into that specific being, but rather, into a powerful being built on their own strength of their faith. By believing in the power of the mask, by putting faith into its frightening design, one can unleash true might to eliminate those that oppose their own faith.
As a finisher however, I give you text copy-pasted from the Zelda Wiki:
“He’s a ferocious god!”
—Anju (Manga)
-The Fierce Deity’s past remains largely unexplained in the game, though it is likely that it is an ancient being like Majora. It is unknown if Fierce Deity is like the Goron and Zora masks, with a soul sealed inside them, or like Majora’s Mask, where it is the soul. However, since Anju’s quote doesn’t divulge much, it is currently impossible to tell. The Fierce Deity was shown in the manga to corrupt even Link, leading the reader to believe the mask houses a very powerful spirit, even though Link did possess enough control to remove the mask at the end of the fight against Majora’s Mask.
Some speculate that the mask is Link’s Terminan counterpart, because the mask itself resembles Adult Link.-
Reply to SerenadeI have a question if the goddesses flipped the tower so that when the first time you show up it’s the worng way (the right way being the way the architects built it) wouldn’t the hand be cursing the ground and or hell. Also, how would they build it upside down, where getting out of the tower to go to the ground would be to head to the top?
Reply to RabbottWow, that is deep. I mean, that is really, really deep.
Reply to TexasProudCowgirlThat was such an excellent read.
Reply to LegitzIt really opens up alot more thought paths related to this game.
Thankyou.
Fantastic! Great pleasure reading your theories which are all supported brilliantly
Reply to Callum MOMG….
You are so deep man!! Everything truly makes sense!! WOW!! I just wanna say that you are amazing!!!!
MAJORAS MASK FOR THE WIN!!!
Reply to Henrik Ljungdahl