Theory:Virginia Gray

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The following fan theories are about Virginia Gray.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Virginia Gray suffered from schizophrenia or some other mental illness.	None	+ Her insistence on how 'special' Gabriel was may have been a delusion of some sort. • She and her husband bought Gabriel, suggesting they weren't able to conceive on their own. In her own way, healthy or not, he was special, at least to her. + Virginia's first assumption when Gabriel showed off his abilities was that he was a demon. That seems highly illogical, given the lack of religious icons in her home. - Lack of religious icons does not automatically denote atheism. - She may have been using the word demon colloquially, more or less calling Sylar evil. + The word "demon" has not been used colloquially in any period of known history. In the Middle Ages, its usage generally ended up with the person in question being executed. In more modern eras, it has been seen as an outdated noun, and has been replaced by terms such as "psychopath" (as well as a large number of less-printable words). - Not everyone uses the same syntax. - When confronted with the level of horror she witnessed, calling the perpetrator a demon may be the perfect label. + She had no idea how Gabriel acquired his abilities. Taking that into account, her response to his new powers (deciding that he is a demon wearing her son's form) makes little sense. - She wouldn't need to know how he acquired them. She only started calling him a demon after she saw Sylar's rather sinister expression, and after he hurt her. - It actually makes complete sense. She was confronted with something terrifying and unknown; most people would (at first) believe it to be the work of the devil. + Unless she had just time traveled in from the Middle Ages, her reaction would not make any sense at all. The only people left on Earth who would immediately assume that Sylar was possessed (without being mentally ill) are followers of orthodox religions. Since most members of those religions are very devout (and since most old forms of religions have strict rules), Virginia's behavior and decor make that unlikely. + Also, she didn't just think he was evil; she didn't think that the man in her house was Gabriel at all. Being terrified is understandable; acting like your son is a replicate from the Planet of the Body Snatchers is abnormal in the extreme. In fact, there are real-world people who suffer a psychosis which makes them convinced that one or more family members have been replaced by impostors. It's called Capgras delusion (and, coincidentally, is most commonly seen in female schizophrenics). - People often act illogical and without sense when they're sufficiently terrified. Had Gabriel walked in complete benign, that would be a fair point. However, she had just seen her son create a snowglobe and throw objects without touching them without any kind of explanation. In that context, her reaction is completely understandable. - That's incorrect, plenty of people believe in demons who are not orthodox. Keep in mind that a "demon" is not a purely theological concept, even someone who doesn't follow an organized religion may still believe in evil beings. - Most mothers want their children to be special. There's nothing unusual about that. + She was perfectly willing to purchase a random toddler from a very shady man, who managed to commit cold-blooded murder before he had even left the premises. That goes above and beyond most mothers' desire for their children to be special. - She purchased her brother-in-law's son (not a random toddler) before he killed his wife. She may not have known what he was fully capable of. - She didn't do it in a desire for her child to be special, she just wanted a child at that point. + In A Clear and Present Danger, Martin Gray referred to Virginia as a "sick, infantile woman". Since Virginia was neither sadistic nor an invalid, it is most likely that the adjective "sick" in the sentence refers to some form of mental illness. - Or he was simply using negative adjectives to insult, due to the probably animosity in their past.