Originally posted by: varshaoforange
this is SO ON POINT.
Aryan really only understands actions, his training professionally, his personal experiences, and his trauma - they all are proof that he only cares what a person does, he dgaf what they say or don't say
Imlie has NEVER understood anyone's actions, because she was raised by a mother and naani who were willing and able to say anything and everything on their minds. So Imlie grew up saying what she thought all the time -- see the really funny Imlie for the first 100 or so episodes we had when she first showed up in Delhi, and how she never could figure out how Aditya's actions/inactions reflected his love for her.
This is definitely the core difference between the two of them.
I think the other core difference is that Imlie thinks her self-respect is tied up with the respect of her family, and those she sees as family. But Aryan is truly an individual to his core. Sure, he will die for his family, but he never, esp. when he knows Narmada or Arpita are wrong, would let his family create any self-doubt in him. That's because he has amazing family who would never do that, but if they ever did, he wouldn't tolerate it. He also never lets his family talk him into anything he's seriously not willing to do: Narmada wanting him married off in the first dozen or so episodes with him, Arpita wanting him to be nicer to Imlie, etc. He respects his family's wishes, but he doesn't put his wishes below theirs, he only makes sacrifices that don't insult his self-respect.
While Imlie sees any and all sacrifices she makes for her family/loved ones as examples of her self-respect.
what i'm trying to say is that the two of them DO have self respect, it's just we don't understand Imlie's definition because the people she calls family are such trash. But we DID love her when her self-respect was tied to only two family members: Meethi and Satyakaam, because those two DESERVE all of Imlie's sacrifices. Also Meethi and Satyakaam are the most similar to Arpita/Narmada in that they would tell Imlie to do XYZ, but most of all they tell Imlie to do what makes her happy, what gives her self-confidence and self-respect. They're the family to Imlie that she needs and deserves. but everything went wrong for Imlie the day she decided that these Shitpathis were on the same level as Meethi/Satyakaam.