In FMA 03, when Ed and Al performed human transmutation they ended up creating a homunculus – Sloth. It might seem a somewhat random choice at first glance. Nothing about Trisha Elric was particularly slothful, indeed she raised Ed and Al alone, giving them tons of care. She doesn’t particularly show any vices in the brief time we get to know her.
But then, the point of Sloth’s character is to show that she is not Trisha Elric. She may look just like her but she was created by Ed and Al. This post is made in order to talk more about Ed and his similarities with Sloth.
A critique I sometimes see of Sloth is that she doesn’t embody her sin very well. None of the homunculi in 03 really embody their sins perfectly though, as they were merely named after the sins by Dante. But like, what is the sin of Sloth? It means laziness, sure. But it’s not just reluctance to do work and the desire for rest. The homunculi in 03 are actually incapable of sleep. Sloth also means not caring about things I.E indifference, apathy. This is mental laziness if you like, and denial and avoiding your problems rather than having the willpower to deal with them are other examples of mental sloth.
The homunculus Sloth is very apathetic. She ruthless, shown to be able to kill people without a second thought if they become an inconvenience. She wants to kill Ed and Al because their existence is making her feel things and she doesn’t want to deal with it any more.
I think that the homunculi in 03 all reflect their creators in some ways. For instance, Scar’s brother was in love and ended up creating Lust. He was a very curious person, learning alchemy despite being an Ishvalan and Lust also seems very curious and knowledgeable. Izumi is a very violent person and she creates Wrath. Ed’s not exactly Slothful – Pride might seem a better fit.
But he and Sloth are alike in some ways. Following the human transmutation, both wake up and are encouraged to join the military – Ed by Roy and Sloth by Dante and Pride. Both join the military, Ed feels guilty about the human transmutation and wants to fix things by restoring his brother, Sloth is troubled by the human transmutation and wants to fix things by becoming human. And so, both of them decide to try and get the Philosopher’s stone, having convinced themselves that it will be the solution to their problems. Sloth’s being manipulated, blindly following Dante. Ed’s also being manipulated by Dante. Neither of them are willing to accept their fates.
One of the big themes of FMA 03 is death. Edward has trouble accepting death. His reaction to hearing Winry’s parents are dead is to suggest bringing them back. At his mother’s grave, he doesn’t cry because he refuses to accept she’s gone and suggests bringing her back. Edward is motivated by this denial, (Pride is another big motivator, believing he’s smart enough to do what no one else has ever managed). Later, Nina’s death really shakes him and his instinctive reaction is to try and bring her back – Mustang very coldly tells him to move on. Ed later tells Rose that she needs to try and move forward too. She had allowed herself to believe that Cornello could bring her dead boyfriend back to life. Rose takes this advice to heart, ironically far better than Ed himself can.
As well as trouble with accepting death, Ed has trouble accepting that he could have created a homunculus. Izumi and Wrath have to spell out exactly how a homunculus is made before Ed can believe they’re created through human transmutation. Even then, he refuses to recognise Sloth. (And he totally can’t miss it, he stares hard at Sloth the first time he saw her and Winry recognises her in a second.) Literally right after Wrath explains how a Homunculus is created, he runs into Sloth. But Ed pretends she’s all she appears to be – the fuhrer’s secretary. Al attempts to bring up this multiple times but each time Ed dismisses him, doing anything to avoid that conversation.
But Ed grows up over the course of the series, he grows more selfless over time, becoming more concerned with problems outside himself and his brother. In Liore, the first time he visited, he is utterly concerned with his own goal and in the end he’s only angry that he didn’t get the Philosopher’s stone for his trouble. He doesn’t even realise that he’s only caused instability and conflict for his actions. On his return to Liore he’s forced to face the consequences of his actions and its also the first time he confronts Sloth. After Liore, he’s got the stone but he doesn’t want to use it anymore. His goal is now to stop the homunculi because they are dangerous creatures who want to start wars and cause much death and despair. Therefore, he goes to Risembool to visit his mother’s grave in order to defeat Sloth.
Sloth doesn’t change, she doesn’t want to change. She doesn’t allow herself to care about others and ultimately she forces Ed and Al into a fight to the death. She can accept nothing else. Only when she’s defeated and there’s nothing else to do does she seem to really care. Maybe she just wants to hurt them with sweet words (she can pretend to be kind very well) but maybe she immediately forgives them and accepts her death. All the homunculi are frightfully accepting of their own deaths actually. Scar called Nina a sin against nature and kills her as a kindness. It seems the homunculi see their destruction in the same way.
After this, Ed goes to face Dante fully accepting that he has a duty to stop her. He forgives his father after Hohenheim explains himself to him. Forgiving meaning accept that Hohenheim regrets much of his past and is trying to do what he can to improve now and letting go of his anger, (Still condemning Hohenheim’s past actions as pretty evil and selfish.) Blaming Hohenheim for Trisha’s death is another symbol of his denial, inability to accept death as a natural part of life. Forgiving him is part of Ed growing up.
His final action is to perform human transmutation to try and save Al. Ed’s changed in some was but his care for his brother is too much a part of him. Still, he accepts it may not work, it may be for naught, but he still has to try and even smiles gently as he performs it, knowing he probably won’t survive.
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There’s something admirable about Sloth’s rejection of her former life and wish to realise her actual self. It’s quite feminist even (rejecting the role of a housewife forced on her by other in order to embrace her true self.) Her problems are more her methods and that being in denial is not the same as moving on.
Zetalial 