Having to leave your family behind for the greater good of humanity is definitely a very difficult choice to come by. It may be even harder to face the consequence of not having a family to return to if one decides to do nothing instead. The life of slave number 23 would change forever the moment he met the dwarf who lived in the flask. An encounter that would leave him with a curse and a blessing. Coming across a powerful being who lives in a flask, might feel like a lucky thing to find, especially for someone who may come from nothing and only longs to have something. Before Von Hohenheim met the strange being he was a nameless slave to the royal family of the ancient city of Xerxes. Being merely a subject and source of blood or the experiments of his master, the alchemist of the ancient city. This city will give birth to a creature called a Homunculus through the arts of alchemy, setting forth the path for its own demise.
In the anime Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, an adaptation of the manga by Hiromu Arakawa, the Dwarf in the flask embodies the trickster archetype by taking shortcuts in life. The dwarf is selfish and has only one ambition, to become the most powerful being and that involves taking the souls of all the people on earth. Not to mention that he believes himself to be superior to humans, making it easier for him to sacrifice human souls in his search for immortality and perfection. The dwarf is also a doppelganger to slave number 23. Taking on his exact appearance but that’s about where their similarities end. Slave number 23 blood and the essence of the Eye, where the power to wield alchemy derives, were mixed together in an experiment by the royal alchemist. The Blood provided a life force to bring the Homunculus into existence. The Dwarf’s views on humanity are clearly displayed by how he treats Hohenheim, first he insults him by telling him that he cant believe he was created from the life force of someone who can be so stupid, yet he thanks him for giving him life to begin with because he knows that can not exist without the blood of a human. This puts the Homunculus in a realm of duality as he is the very thing he wants to surpass.
The Dwarf then takes on the role of a guide for slave number 23, first by giving him the name of Von Hohenheim, then by educating him and teaching him alchemy, the dwarf provides Hohenheim with opportunities that allowed him to rise in the ranks of the kingdom of Xerxes as an alchemist. This is a common characteristic of a trickster, often being a wielder of magic, that gives him the knowledge and abilities to transform. By passing along these powers to his foil, Hohenheim, will undergo a transformation of his own, from being a slave to being a powerful and respected alchemist. This new found knowledge teaches Hohenheim to become appreciative of life and develop his ambition to have a loving family. Hohenheim reflects the tricksters apritations, i.e. humanities aspirations and impulses, to have a meaningful life devoted to loved ones. He wants to build meaningful connections that he was stripped of as number 23.
To achieve his selfish plans of proving himself to be the ultimate being, the Dwarf sacrifices the people of Xerxes. However the dwarf fails to mention his true intentions to Hohenhiem making him deceptive and selfish. His pride and ego drive his greed that will never be satisfied, no matter how grand his existence is, he craves will always crave for more. In his search for perfection and seeking godlike status the Dwarf shed his vulnerable parts, the parts that composed his humanity, and became the Father to his children, the seven deadly sins, who are Homunculus with their own limitations, these limitations prevent them from living a fulfilling meaningful life. Gluttony is stuck in his consumption for all, having a hunger that will never be satisfied. Sloth is an exaggerated embodiment of laziness and energy invested when taking shortcuts. Lust’s insecurities are displayed by the joy she gets when demonstrating her superiority. Wrath both hates and respects humans, he wants to be part of their society. Evey’s disgust of human nature is a result of her jealousy for humans. Pride has a growing grudge and respect for the meaningful connections humans share. And Greed has a void that cannot be filled because of his lack of a soul. The dwarf then goes from looking like a blob in a flask to being a mirror image of Von Hohenheim. Their resemblance to one another ends there, as the Dwarf (now Father) is a stoic, bland version of Hohenheim.
As a way to show his gratitude for providing him with life the dwarf gives Hohenheim the gift or curse of immortality. The burden of immortality means that the souls of the millions of people who were sacrificed will forever live inside Von Hohenheim, a curse of forever living with the cries of the tormented souls living inside him for eternity. However, Hohenheim decides to listen to these souls instead, and get to know the souls of the ancient city. This connection with the souls of Xerxes allows the people to pass down their knowledge of alchemy and medicine to Hohenheim, making him a very powerful alchemist. The very gift the dwarf gave in gratitude will be his downfall.
Hohenheim sees himself as a monster for carrying all of these souls with him. He embodies humanities longing for human connection. But his immortality and the sin he carries with him, stops him from living the life and building the connections he craves. He fails to show his love and affection for his family and often comes off as cold because he cannot bear with the thought that one day they will die. He is also afraid of passing down his curse and pain to his family. This desire to be with his family and protect them will set him on a journey to find a way to shedd his immortality and find a way to stop Father from achieving his plan and taking the souls of the city of Amestris. He embodies the rebellious spirit of a trickster by being a force of chaos in his plans to overthrow Father and sets course on a path of salvation and justice.
By leaving his family Von Hohenheim embraces the duality of humanity. He learns what equivalent exchange truly means and in order for him to gain the happiness he wants he needs to leave it all behind. Further Edward Elric, Hohenheim’s son, is an embodiment of what he aspires, he is the Legacy of Von Hohenheim and humanity. His son has everything he ever wanted; a loving family, feeling accomplished with his work, and never taking life for granted.
Being of the same coin, both Father and Hohenheim represent what it means to be human and what it means to build meaningful connections with the people around you and live a fulfilling life. Because the Dwarf tried to take the easy way out, he lost his way and became bridle once confronted. He never learned to overcome his flaws and fears to strive to become something better. Instead his strping of his flaws and hence his children demonstrate a lonely being who is scared of being hurt. At the end Father is an embodiment of the trickster by being a catalyst of chaos and change. His powers allowed him to transcend through realms, demonstrating what it means to be human. His ignorance to the fundamentals of life left him an empty vessel that lost his way.
His foil, Von Hohenheim represents the rebellious and aspirations of the trickster. His longing for human connection led him to live a fulfilling life and accept his past and who he is. He represents what it means to be human by overcoming your flaws and passing down your values and aspirations.
Mythology 