Nefero and Nike: Stockholm Syndrome?

At Chapter 90 of the Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii manga, we see Nike connect with Nefero, who happens to be her captor.

Just a quick background for those not following the manga, Nike is the future queen of Sun Kingdom and engaged to Livius, so-called ruler of the world. She is also much older than him. Livius is not very liked by certain kingdoms and plan to oust him. One of these kingdoms is the Sky Dukedome, ruled by Nefero. To ensure success, he kidnaps Nike and plans to use her rain power to overthrow Livius.

At first, Nike refuses to use her power at all cost. She didn't have any choice though because at that moment, she is ill and could not use it anyway. She makes it clear that she hates Nefero.

But as time went on however, Nefero and Nike somehow bond. Nefero explains himself and Nike admits that she understands why Nefero acted like that. It is because his dukedom is desperate to live. They did anything to hang on, even at the cost of committing treason.

Nefero requested that Nike sing a song and she follows because she believes that this is for the benefit of his people. When one of the captors is lost, she uses her power to save them and now is seen as a saviour. People loves her.

The question now is, Is Nike just being kind or is this a classic Stockholm Syndrome?

Mangaka Shiina Dai is skirting around that border.

First off, what is Stockholm Syndrome. Kathryn Wescott of BBC News Magazine has explained this in her article entitled "What is Stockholm syndrome?"

The phrase was reported to have been coined by criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot. Psychiatrist Dr Frank Ochberg was intrigued by the phenomenon and went on to define the syndrome for the FBI and Scotland Yard in the 1970s.

At the time, he was helping the US National Task Force on Terrorism and Disorder devise strategies for hostage situations.

His criteria included the following: "First people would experience something terrifying that just comes at them out of the blue. They are certain they are going to die.

"Then they experience a type of infantilisation - where, like a child, they are unable to eat, speak or go to the toilet without permission."
Small acts of kindness - such as being given food - prompts a "primitive gratitude for the gift of life," he explains.

"The hostages experience a powerful, primitive positive feeling towards their captor. They are in denial that this is the person who put them in that situation. In their mind, they think this is the person who is going to let them live."

In other words, in a sentence, "Stockholm syndrome is a condition that causes hostages to develop a psychological alliance with their captors as a survival strategy during captivity." (Wikipedia, citing
Jameson, Celia (2010). "The Short Step From Love to Hypnosis: A Reconsideration of the Stockholm Syndrome". Journal for Cultural Research.)

In even simpler terms, hostages start to believe that their captors are kind.

Why did this cross my mind as I read Nike in captivity? It looks like all the conditions to qualify for a Stockholm Syndrome is there.

Nike experienced something terrifying that is so sudden. She got kidnapped with force and brought to a faraway place. She got her voice removed and Garta got beat up badly. Heck, they were tied up for days that after they were able to remove the bind, they couldn't use their arms properly. For a rain caller, that taking of the voice alone is traumatic enough.

Nike also experienced having to ask permission for numerous things. She needs to tell them if she needs to use the toilet, if she is hungry, if she needs to change, etc. That's infantilisation.

Nike also begins to believe that her captors are kind just because she sees them bonding. She saw their camaraderie and suddenly, she's understanding. Heck, she is even actively helping them now.

Nike actually also forgot that Nefero is taking her in captivity. All she sees is a dukedom that had to undergo a dark past. She is connecting to them.

Something terrifying, check. Infantilisation, check. Thinks her captors are kind, check. Now even helping them? Massive check.

What differentiates her Sky Dukedom experience from the Sand Kingdom experience (she also got held before) is the sudden traumatic incident. With the Sand Kingdom, they were already good friends. She went to the Sand Kingdom to take a tour. The Sand Kingdom ruler just refused to bring her back because he fell for her. There was no massive psychological injury. She was actually treated very well, albeit she could not go back.

With the Sky Dukedom, she got hit in the abdomen to black her out, got tied up, got her voice temporarily removed, had to experience running to escape death, got to see her companion Garta being beaten up, and so on and on. It was one massive trauma from the beginning to the next.

And after all that, Nike started to warm up with Nefero!

The human mind is very interesting. It will do anything to survive. In this case, the human mind tries to see whatever is perceived as kindness just to be able to survive. With Nike, she quickly forgets that she is there because she was violently kidnapped in the first place.

What do you guys think?