What's in a Name?
Aug. 30th, 2005 04:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starzkiA review just got me thinking: Would Sango continue to call Miroku "Houshi-sama" after they officially became a couple?
My answer is yes.
The reason I would say so comes both from personal experience and the fact that I'm a huge fan of the X-Files. And, believe it or not, both of those reasons are related.
I think that when you meet someone and start addressing them formally (as Mulder and Scully did with each other) and what you call them doesn't transition as the relationship as whole becomes less formal, the formal use of a name becomes the informal.
That might not make a lot of sense, but hear me out.
In my own experience in playing soccer, it's often easier to remember a teammate's last name because it's sometimes printed across their back or over their locker. You've read it, so it's a little easier to remember. It's also the first, more formal name you have for a teammate. A teammate of mine had her name misspelled over her locker. Her last name was Sharp, but it had been printed "Swarp." She pointed out the mistake and everyone laughed about it, but we kept calling her Swarp. Or Swarpie. Sometimes it morphed back into Sharp or Sharpie, but any time we called her by her given first name, it somehow seemed more formal because we had all already had such a great time, informally calling her by her last name.
Another case in point: I have a friend, I'll call her Mary Hayden. Ever since I met her, I've known her as "Hayden." Everyone I knew called her Hayden and I didn't even find out her first name was Mary for a few weeks. She's one of my best friends and I've never called her Mary in her life. She now even goes by Mary to her new friends, but if I were to call her that, it would be like I was losing that special connection I have to her and all that great time I knew her as Hayden.
I think the same thing went on for Mulder and Scully. They went through so much together, all the time calling each other by their last names, that it is somehow negating their feelings by forcing it to fit into the informal role they already share by calling each other by their first names. By use of formal names in times of pressure, change, and informal good times, the formal name takes on the informal connotations. A change from that signifies a change from that informal relationship.
And back to Miroku and Sango: Sango has always called Miroku "Houshi-sama," even after they become engaged. Therefore, I think their relationship fits the above pattern. He has been there for her when she's been injured, sad, lonely, and despairing. He's also been there for her when she's been happy, fighting, friendly, and joking. He was there for her all those times as "Houshi-sama" to her. I don't think that will change and I think, barring his asking her to call him "Miroku," she would continue to use that name as it has become more informal than his given name to her.
Plus, it's really hot.
My answer is yes.
The reason I would say so comes both from personal experience and the fact that I'm a huge fan of the X-Files. And, believe it or not, both of those reasons are related.
I think that when you meet someone and start addressing them formally (as Mulder and Scully did with each other) and what you call them doesn't transition as the relationship as whole becomes less formal, the formal use of a name becomes the informal.
That might not make a lot of sense, but hear me out.
In my own experience in playing soccer, it's often easier to remember a teammate's last name because it's sometimes printed across their back or over their locker. You've read it, so it's a little easier to remember. It's also the first, more formal name you have for a teammate. A teammate of mine had her name misspelled over her locker. Her last name was Sharp, but it had been printed "Swarp." She pointed out the mistake and everyone laughed about it, but we kept calling her Swarp. Or Swarpie. Sometimes it morphed back into Sharp or Sharpie, but any time we called her by her given first name, it somehow seemed more formal because we had all already had such a great time, informally calling her by her last name.
Another case in point: I have a friend, I'll call her Mary Hayden. Ever since I met her, I've known her as "Hayden." Everyone I knew called her Hayden and I didn't even find out her first name was Mary for a few weeks. She's one of my best friends and I've never called her Mary in her life. She now even goes by Mary to her new friends, but if I were to call her that, it would be like I was losing that special connection I have to her and all that great time I knew her as Hayden.
I think the same thing went on for Mulder and Scully. They went through so much together, all the time calling each other by their last names, that it is somehow negating their feelings by forcing it to fit into the informal role they already share by calling each other by their first names. By use of formal names in times of pressure, change, and informal good times, the formal name takes on the informal connotations. A change from that signifies a change from that informal relationship.
And back to Miroku and Sango: Sango has always called Miroku "Houshi-sama," even after they become engaged. Therefore, I think their relationship fits the above pattern. He has been there for her when she's been injured, sad, lonely, and despairing. He's also been there for her when she's been happy, fighting, friendly, and joking. He was there for her all those times as "Houshi-sama" to her. I don't think that will change and I think, barring his asking her to call him "Miroku," she would continue to use that name as it has become more informal than his given name to her.
Plus, it's really hot.
