Is Link a tragic character

This may seem like an odd discussion, but it is something I have thought about for quite a while and I feel the need to express my thoughts on this matter. I had come across this concept a while ago looking through a list someone posted of tragic characters in gaming. I came across the usual candidates, Solid Snake, Roxas etc. The entry that most baffled me though, was Link had been placed on the list somewhere at the bottom. Coming from someone who is not a large Zelda fan, I have played a number of Zelda titles and have enjoyed them, I was baffled to see Link on the list. Link is suppose to be a blank slate for the player to inhabit and have him become their own character. but I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt. I read the reasons he was placed and essentially it boiled down to the idea that since Link is constantly reincarnated, having to fight evil and witness so many terrible things that Link is doomed to a never ending cycle of hardships. This of course does not apply to all the games in the franchise as many of them are sequels and continue the adventures of an already established Link, such as how Majora's Mask is a follow up to Ocarina of Time and A Link between Worlds is a followup to A Link to the Past. My first thoughts were dismissive towards such a pondering, after all, I doubt Shigeru Miyamoto or Nintendo would have wanted to imply such an idea of Link being a figure of constant struggles, fights and loss, especially since Miyamoto himself is quoted to always put game-play before storytelling. Though, the more I thought about these claims and the game series as a whole, the more I began to believe the idea of Link being a tragic figure, keep in a mind I said tragic figure and not tragic hero as they are very different concepts...

• A tragic figure is a person who due to certain events is usually lead to misfortune or suffering.
• A tragic hero in classical sense, at least according to Aristotle's Law, is an admired and valiant person, whose hamartia (flaw) leads to their downfall, Macbeth is a great example of this.

Out of these two definitions, I believe tragic figure is the most appropriate when talking about Link, unless you can think of a tragic flaw he may possess, which I don't believe he has, unless you could count his unwavering courage granted to him by the Triforce. To further back up these claims it's best to imagine this from a streamlined viewpoint. Link throughout his many lives and adventures is forced every time he is reincarnated to leave his home and loved ones to embark on a journey, fight evil, face horrifying creatures and put his life at risk all for a destiny he did not ask for. To say nothing of many of the things he has witnessed in his many lives such as his Uncle's death in Link to the Past, the world's destruction (which was somewhat his fault) and missing out on his childhood in Ocarina of Time and that's not even getting to the many terrifying experiences he must go through in games such as Majora's Mask or Twilight Princess and I'm sure I'm leaving out other moments from games that I've not played which are equally frightening and sorrowful. It also becomes more intriguing when you consider that character that inspired Link, Peter Pan. For those of you who have never read the original Peter Pan book, Peter himself is presented as a tragic character. A boy who chooses to blissfully and ignorantly refuse to grow up all while sacrificing his humanity, maturity and even his ability to remember his most prominent moments in his life all while living through a constant cycle of loving and losing (Peter forgets Tinker Bell after she dies) and constantly forgetting only to experience it all over again a rinse-and-repeat cycle. To put it bluntly, Link's entire existence is also built on a rinse-and-repeat cycle, that he can never escape from, even he does not remember his experiences between certain games the fact that he has done all this before and is destined to keep doing it is all in itself saddening. This to me adds so much more to a character that I had always thought was a blank-slate. At least Romeo and Juliet have an end to their suffering, at least Macbeth has an end to his suffering, all tragedies end, except Link. Thank you all so much for reading and what do you think? Is Link a tragic character? Please leave your comments (use the "discuss" link).