Fear ~ The Greatest Impetus
The Pit ~ Batman is incarcerated in ‘the pit’ by his enemies, made to rot, helpless and impotent, whilst they burn his city into ashes. Those damned to such an abyss, to the darkness, to hell are doomed to spend the rest of their lives there, for the prison is constructed to render it impossible to escape. In the words of Bane, ‘every man who has rotted here over the centuries has looked up to the light and imagined climbing to freedom. So easy... so simple... and like shipwrecked men turning to sea water from uncontrollable thirst, many have died trying.’
Anger ~ However, upon hearing of the legend of the only person to have ever escaped the pit, that of the child’s, Bruce Wayne attempts to escape. Initially he is animated by anger. But under the force of anger, he fails. Because powerful a drive though anger may be, it is not the most powerful. For anger is not stable, rather it is fickle, fluctuating, and oscillating. One moment you are angry at this, the other moment at that. Thrown hither and thither by anger you are. Thus anger is your tumultuous master, and you his feeble slave. Just like the dynamic between master and slave is unsustainable, so too anger is as a fuel.
Fear ~ Fear is a primitive, ancient, and carnal emotion. One which cannot be eradicated, for it is immortal, having evolved to promote our survival. Though often rather than saving our lives, fear takes it. Fear has kept you alive, but has barred you from truly living. It has imprisoned you, made you cower before life, in all its treachery and danger. Sheltered and protected, you think you live, and yet you have died before having entered your grave. Alas, the same fear can also liberate you, incentivising you to truly live. In fearing death, you understand the transience of life, and hence its value. Consequently, the fear transforms from a fear of death to a fear of not living. Fear is the most powerful impetus of all. Its eternal nature renders it sustainable, unlike anger. Will fear imprison you or free you? Free you like Batman, who shed his rope, and allowed the fear of not living to find him.
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