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[rhymeswithsir]

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Ilana
Contact: ltmutiny
Age: 28
Current Characters: N/A


⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Aaron Burr
Age: Late 40s
Canon: Hamilton
Canon Point: Post-Duel with Hamilton(/the end of World Was Wide Enough)

Background:
A synopsis of the musical!
It’s important to note that Hamilton, while a musical about the Founding Fathers, does diverge from history in a number of ways. For one thing, it is a musical that largely takes its inspiration from one particular biography, and therefore presents a certain interpretation of the characters involved, and their motivations, which are skewed from the straight historical record. Certain historical events are presented in a simplified manner, like the Election of 1800. (Historically Burr did not actually duel with Hamilton until 4 years AFTER the election, he didn’t really actively campaign against Jefferson for the presidency, and Hamilton had a lot less to do with the outcome than the musical suggests.) Finally, because of the rap/hip-hop nature of the musical, the way that the characters present themselves in dialogue is often very different from the way their historical counterparts would have. (For example, “we in the shit now/somebody’s gotta shovel it” is not the way anyone living in Revolutionary America would express themselves.) This is more marked in characters like Hamilton or Jefferson, but it flavors the entire show, and all the characters involved.

Personality:
One of the really fascinating things about the musical Hamilton is the way that most of the main characters not only have musical motifs, but they also have certain dialogue motifs that are repeated at various points in the play, motifs that strongly sum up who they are and what they want. Alexander Hamilton has I’m not throwing away my shot and Just you wait. Aaron Burr has three: Wait for it, talk less, smile more and I want to be in the room where it happens.

”Talk less, smile more (don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for)”
Perhaps the most central character trait Burr has is his unwillingness to be perceived as anything but moderate. In his mind, the way to get ahead is to please everyone, to be as agreeable to as many people as possible. If you voice your opinion, you run the risk of someone disagreeing with you, and therefore missing out on an opportunity to have their support. “Don’t make waves” is basically Burr’s philosophy. In part, this stems from his childhood experiences and his background. Burr comes from a well known family (unlike his counterpart, Hamilton) and therefore has a Name to uphold. Like Hamilton, he loses his family at a very early age (he was two). As he says of his parents, the only thing they left behind (other than money) was “a legacy to protect”. It makes sense, then, that he is cautious about what he says and the beliefs he espouses. If he isn’t careful with the things he says, he could screw up the public perception of his family, and that’s the only thing he has to hang onto.

Unfortunately, this behavior never particularly serves Burr well. You might not piss people off by always saying what they want to hear, but you’re equally going to piss people off by never committing to anything. Namely, it pisses off Hamilton. But it also means that he doesn’t get what he wants - power - because he’s too cautious about making a bad name for himself to make a good name. It also serves to make him seem a little bit slimy. Refusing to commit to anything also means that Burr can come off as hard to trust.

”(I’m willing to) wait for it”
Another one of Burr’s core personality tenants is intertwined somewhat with the above sentiment. He is incredibly cautious, and never (well, almost never) makes any rash decisions. He’s calm, he’s level-headed, and he doesn’t want to play his cards too soon, just in case they aren’t the right cards. Sometimes this works out for him, because he doesn’t piss people off as quickly as Hamilton does, but sometimes it works to his detriment. (For example, when trying to get a position as Washington’s right hand man, he takes foreeeeeever to get around to his point, which allows Hamilton the opportunity to barge in and take it from under his nose.)

”I wanna be in the room where it happens”
And then, finally, there’s Burr’s motivation. It may seem, from the way Burr behaves, that there’s nothing he wants or feels strongly. And that’s a lie. Just like his counterpart, Hamilton, Burr deeply wants something, and that something is...well, it’s power. This is where Burr really starts to come off as particularly shady, when compared to other characters, especially when coupled with his “don’t commit, don’t show anyone your cards, play both sides” mentality. Burr just wants to be in a position to affect the outcome of politics, but unfortunately, he isn’t shown to have a specific agenda. He wants to be able to do SOMETHING but...that’s all he really appears to want. He just wants power, and he’ll also agree with whoever he needs to, to get that power. This is exemplified in the way that he changes political parties (and sides with Jefferson and Madison, who are also set up as adversaries to Hamilton) in order to obtain a seat in the Senate. (That’s not to say that Hamilton’s desires for legacy are always pure. After all, how much more selfless is “god help and forgive me/I wanna build something that’s gonna outlive me” than “I wanna be in the room where it happens", really? It’s just that Hamilton’s desires happen to align with making the country better, and he actually stands up against people, which makes him look like a better person. Sometimes.)

Although we see a lot of hate getting thrown at him by Hamilton, and although he is the antagonist of the entire show, Burr has his good points. Part of his “talk less, smile more” philosophy means that he comes across as fairly easy to get along with (if you’re not one of those people who gets pissed at him for not taking a stand, thanks Hamilton). During the Election of 1800, he’s seen as a real threat to Jefferson, primarily because he comes off as more approachable, more friendly towards voters. (“Like you could grab a beer with him.”) There’s also no indication in the musical that this easy-going nature doesn’t have a basis in reality. He’s not a bad guy. Even after Hamilton manages to get the position that he wanted, after the guy pretty much ruins his chance with Washington, Burr still comes to Hamilton’s wedding, and sincerely wishes him well.

His key redeeming trait is probably his love for his daughter, Theodosia. He’s an incredibly fond parent, which honestly isn’t explored enough in the musical. However, he has one very touching song about her, and in the moments leading up to the duel, there’s a moment where he almost breaks down while saying (of Hamilton) “This man will not make an orphan of my daughter.” (Incidentally, the song where he sings to his newborn daughter also DOES give him a line where he says “You will come of age with our young nation/We’ll bleed and fight for you/We’ll make it right for you”, which goes a little way towards counteracting the impression that he only wants power for power’s sake.)

Also, Hamilton may be insanely intelligent, but Burr is no lightweight himself. If he doesn’t succeed at quite the same pace as Hamilton, it’s because of the way he behaves, not because he’s intellectually inferior. After all, he does manage to graduate college in two years, and even Hamilton admits that he’s a good lawyer. Hamilton’s praise also speaks to the idea that Burr is good at getting along with people, because he’s succinct, but more importantly, he’s “persuasive”.

Aaaand there’s the duel. Yes, Burr does kill Hamilton, but his actions are, at least from his point of view, mostly in self defense (he genuinely thinks that Hamilton means to kill him instead of just...wounding him, based on his interpretation of Hamilton’s actions). He doesn’t, of course, choose to back down, but then again neither does Hamilton. And the second he realizes that Hamilton didn’t shoot him, whereas he shot to kill, he regrets it, and shows it. (He yells “WAIT!”, and the sound of the actor’s voice when he says “I walk towards him/But I am ushered away” is definitely mournful, almost disbelieving.)  Part of that regret is knowing what this is going to do to his reputation (and...to his family’s legacy) but part of it is that his original intention, in all his anger, was never to actually KILL Hamilton.

Over all, Burr, like Hamilton, is a man who is deeply flawed, and deeply affected by his childhood, but not actually a villain. Just a guy whose actions assured that his role in history was to be painted as one.

Abilities: Shitty marksmanship? (That is to say: He’s a trained soldier, with all that entails. He’s just not, by his own admission, a very good shot.)

Alignment: Aiada. Burr leans more heavily towards the ‘envy’ side of the spectrum. His main motivation in the musical is that he REALLY WANTS to have a position of power (“I wanna be in the room where it happens”) mostly for the sake of...having a position of power. He repeats this motif more than once throughout the musical - once to gloat over briefly HAVING some power - and even challenges Hamilton to a duel once that desire is thwarted. Also, considering that his motto is “wait for it”, he often ends up in a position of wanting things that other people have, that he just hasn’t gone for. Yet.

Other: As the Hamilton apper noted, there is a bit of cut material for this show that I intend to use as headcanon for Burr, as long as it doesn't conflict with the way he's portrayed in the Broadway version of the musical.


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