Harleen Quinzel: An Analysis

Dr. Harleen Quinzel, alias Harley Quinn, is one of the most complex villains in the Batman universe. She may be the Joker's sidekick, but she's no laughing matter. She has a deep, complex person hidden under the white makeup and mask. She may have a childlike personality, but underneath is a deep, mature woman. From our first look at her in “Joker's Favor”, where Joker paces across the warehouse, talking to her as she sits on his desk in her striking black and red harlequin attire, that she was more than simply hired help for the Clown Prince of Crime. A couple minutes later it is even more clear they have some sort of tie, as she trims his hair while he calls in a favor. Later, Harleen appears for the first time out of costume, to pick up a friend of Joker's at the airport. She begins to show some of her real bubbly personality in her couple lines at the airport to Charlie, not in what they say, but in the way she says them. Again, we see Harley out of costume, dressed as a policewoman later in the same episode, when she brings in a cake to Commissioner Gordon. More of her casual side is shown in her line here, “Don't stop now, Jimmy, the party's just startin'!” We also see the first evidence of her fiery wit, when she comes back to a flirting detectives' “Wanna read my my rights?” with “You have the right to remain silent, jerk,” and a hit with her club. She then cheers on the Joker, as he jumps out of the cake and poisons the police force with a special paralyzing gas. She then affixes dynamite to the helples Commissioner, and, in another example of her twisted humor, kisses him. Her more feminine side is shown when she suggests macramé as a possible hobby for Joker, “now that old Charlie's kaboom.” We are given a small look into her past, as she attempts to distract Batman. “I know what you're thinking. What a shame! A pure little innocent thing like her, led astray by bad companions.” Batman handcuffs her to a statue, and this was to be all we saw of Harley Quinn. But her connection to the Joker and inkling of a past left the fans longing for more, so Harley became a fixture of the Batman universe.
The next glimpse we get of Harley is in the second season episode “Harlequinade”. In this episode, Harley is in Arkham Asylum after the events of “Joker's Favor”, and she seems much more child like. We see her on her bed, head hanging off,with her feet propped on the wall, humming a jaunty tune as she chews bubble gum. Even her hair is like a little girls- up in pigtails. We're shown that she's smart, at least in the vocabulary area, by her line to Batman as he enters her cell- “Don't you knock before entering a lady's budoir?” We're shown her first real wit when Batman tells her he needs help- “Well, you've come to the right place. I recommend a lobotomy.” More of Harley acting like a child is seen when she later mimics Batman's expressions as he talks. We're given another small glimpse into her past, as she explains her attraction to the Joker- “...when I was a doctor I was always listening to other peoples' problems. Then I met Mister J, who listened to me for a change and made everything fun.” She later reasons “Sure, my little puddin's tempermental, but what relationship doesn't have its ups and downs?” and launches into the song “Say that We're Sweethearts Again,” to distract the gang, giving us a little insight into how her relationship may have been. Later, when Joker reveals he's planning to let all their “friends”- the other villains- die when he blows up Gotham, she shows that she does value lives, as she turns and helps Batman disarm the bomb. She for once begins to doubt the Joker, saying “I got the crazy idea Mister J may not be the guy for me after all.” But, by the end of the episode, where Harley fires off a bang sign machine gun at Joker, their crazy relationship is rekindled.
Our next major look into the mind of Harley Quinn is the episode “Harley's Holiday.” She is now trying to go straight, but is still the immature clown we know, cheering like a schoolgirl when she's informed she has a clean record and can leave. Once she's collected herself, she is confident enough to shake hands with Batman himself and say “I've got my head together and I'm gonna live my life right.” We then see her complete disconnect from the real world- she doesn't understand why people stare at her when she walks her pet hyenas. She thinks it's the “out of style” clothes she's wearing- short shorts and a tied button-up shirt. She goes into a shop, bringing in the hyenas, and generally causes chaos. She then leaves the store, having paid for a dress, but before the clerk removed the anti-theft device. She shows more of her childlike attitude when she won't give it back because, in her words, “it's MY dress, I paid for it, fair and square!” and becomes violently paranoid when the security guard approaches her. She runs back into a dressing room and emerges in her Harley Quinn attire, saying she “tried to play by the rules, but no!” and that “society is to blame!”, again showing both her high intellect and her childlike personality. In the end, though, she ends up back at Arkham, with another chance at getting out just a short time away.
We see Harley several times later, but nothing changes in these appearances, no revelations, no more looks into her past, the most relevant being Harley enjoying a sense of comeraderie when she teams with fellow villainess Poison Ivy, whom she calls “Red”. Until the episode “Mad Love”, when we are at last given a much wanted look into the past life of Harleen Quinzel. Harley herself gives us the revelation “Who's to blame? Batman, that's who. Batman! It's ALWAYS been Batman, ruining my life! Spoiling my fun! Coming between me and my puddin' from the very beginning...” We're shown that Harley wasn't always crazy. A young Harleen Quinzel, college student, was to spend a semester interning at Arkham Asylum. Her reason for Arkham? “I've always had an attraction for extreme personalities. They're more exciting, more challenging... And you can't deny there's an element of glamor to these super-criminals.” She's attracted to Joker's cell by his whistling. He winks at her. She enters her office to find a vase of flowers on her desk, with a note- “Come down and see me sometime-- J.” She confronts him the following day with an air of seriousness seldom seen in Quinn today. Joker, being the man he is, responds “Y'know, sweets, I like what I've heard about you. Especially the name! Harleen Quinzel... Rework it a bit, and you get Harley Quinn! It's a name that brings a smile to my face. It makes me feel there's someone here I can relate to. Someone who MIGHT want to share my secrets...” She got a session with him, after 3 long months. She studied all the clown's tricks, and thought she was ready. But, it only took a few words to disarm her... “You know, my father used to beat me up pretty badly,” he revealed to her. He spun her a tale of a poor young boy, abused by his father, who longed to make his dear old dad laugh the way the circus clowns did. He convinces her that he, in her words, “was actually tortured soul crying out for love and acceptance, a lost injured child looking to make the world laugh at his antics. And there as always was the self-righteous Batman, determined to make life miserable for my angel.” Even she knew it, then. She had fallen in love with the Joker. His analysis of her? “As a dedicated, career-oriented young woman, you felt the need to abstain from all amusement and fun. It's only natural you'd be attracted to a man who could make you laugh again.” She makes her affections known a week later, when after an escape Batman drags in a mangled Joker. She kneels next to him, and breaks down in tears. The same night, she steals the supplies for her costume. She breaks into Arkham, and breaks out Joker. They continued on their way, and became the kooky criminals we know and love. Harley now realizes she can use the sanity she had as a tool to her advantage. To prove her worth to the Joker, she manages to kidnap and drug Batman, subsequently hanging him over a tank of piranhas. She confides to Batman that all she wants “is to settle down with her lovin' sweetheart.” He, for the first time in his life, laughs. He tells her all Joker ever loved was himself. That his past as she knew it was an elaborate lie. In her insanity, Quinn begins to lower him, saying “You're the problem. And now, you're going to DIE, and make everything RIGHT.” It becomes clear that Harleen died a long time ago. Quinn is all that's left. Joker arrives, and we see him punch her out the window of the top floor of the building where she had Batman trapped. Despite this, she lived, and continued to love Joker. She is committed to the same asylum she interned at, and finds a vase in her cell, again with a note- “Feel better soon.-- J.”
In conclusion, Harleen Quinzel, while being criminally insane, somewhere, inside of her, has a smart, mature young woman just waiting to bloom. She simply needs to focus on the right areas, rather than her unconventional romance with the Joker.