So I was reading Shadow of Kyoshi and I found two little things that pertain to the upbringing and social rules of the Fire Nation. The first is, “Avatar Szeto was an ideal for us officials to live up to, and a shining example of Fire Nation values in general. Efficiency, precision, and loyalty.” And the second is, “I Know it sounds frivolous and wasteful but appearances matter in the palace. Fire Nation nobles dress and act to represent their clan affiliation and rank. Our peers notice our smallest choices and assign meaning and intentions to them.”
I think that both of these serve as more proof that Azula is the product of her upbringing and environment. The Fire Nation is a stern and hostile place to be raised in, especially for nobility and royalty. And I think that this is a huge factor in why Azula is the way she is. It’s why I don’t like it when people call her a sociopath. I would argue that she has a very deep understanding of people and societal etiquette but on a very political level. She was so awkward at the party because the lower class operates rather differently than the nobility does.
So I’ll get into the first quote first because I think that there is less to unpack there. I think that Azula embodies Fire Nation ideals just as much as Szeto. But she is what happens when those values are twisted, bastardized, and corrupted. Azula was raised on the aforementioned values but by the time her era of the Fire Nation came about, the corruption was well and festering. For it, she learned to be efficient, precise, and loyal but in a more sinister way. By all means Azula is all of these things; she is dangerously efficient (conquering Ba Sing Se while gaining important intel), she is precise (this has been quoted in canon), and she is loyal. Her loyalty lies with Ozai and her Nation.
This loyalty is what makes her a more grey antagonist. I think that Azula truly thought that she was doing right. And by all means she was doing right by her people as far as she was concerned. The problem is that what was best for the Fire Nation was detrimental to the other Nations, hence why it is perceived as evil. I think that deep down Azula wanted to bring glory and honor to her nation and per her nation’s values, she was doing good.
This loyalty though was also twisted by Ozai. Because, perhaps more than she was to her nation, Azula was loyal to him. His twisted ideals and values were projected onto and ingrained into her until they became her own. And this is what I think lead her to the darker side of things. Ozai was a corrupt lead her and the corruption, via Azula’s loyalty to him, spread to her.
But this wasn’t the only thing that lead to Azula becoming Azula. The second quote is a very good example of exactly why the princess is such a perfectionist. It is noted that appearance is heavily regarded in the Fire Nation, specifically in the palace. The palace where Azula was born and raised. This is why one hair out of place is so devesting to Azula. Ozai isn’t the only one who drilled perfection into her. The Fire Nation as a whole has done this. She was brought up in a place where "peers notice our smallest choices.” Where the teeniest details are scrutinized. Azula was raised in an environment where she constantly had to be aware all the time. She literally could not just be a child. Especially not with a father like Ozai who was hellbent on weaponizing her too. From the start she was groomed for war and politics. And part of this grooming probably included putting a large emphasis on her physical appearance to the point where one hair out of place is means for concern.
Because one hair out of place can indicate weakness (”and assign meaning and intentions to them”). Everything Azula did at public functions and war meetings would be analyzed by potential foes and so every detail needed to be worked out; every action, every clothing article, every hairpiece.
Combining this with the need for precision and efficacy, you have a very dangerous combo. With all of the above in mind two things are apparent for me; that it’s no wonder Azula finally cracked and fell apart and that she isn’t an inherently evil/socially inept person. She is literally an embodiment of her Nation’s values and societal rules. People constantly say that she is an extension of Ozai and his views; I do agree with this. But I think that it goes beyond that; she is an extension of the Fire Nation as a whole and the corruption within it, not just of Ozai.
