Understanding and translating 健気（けなげ）


The scene goes like this. Takada and Tetsuya are talking about Reiko possibly
having romantic feelings towards Tetsuya. Tetsuya says there is no way this is
true since she flat out rejected him before (but the truth is that she
rejected him because of her extremely ツンデレ-like character, plus she felt a
certain social pressure since he is a "common man" and she is sort of like an
お嬢様).

Takada responds :

>
> 哲也、俺お前のストレートな性格好きだよ。でもな、人の心ってのはもっと複雑なもんなんだ。麗子ちゃんだって恋する男には健気なんだと思う。それが上手く出せないだけだ。
>
> _(rough translation)_ Tetsuya, I like how straightforward you are. But
> people aren't always so logical. I think even Reiko-chan is 健気 to a person
> she's in love with. She just doesn't know how to express that love.

And after that Tetsuya thinks to himself:

> 麗子さんが健気に俺を…

I'm having troubles grasping the exact meaning of 健気 here. From reading
definitions and some articles I understand it has to do with her caring about
him very seriously (and it also means that this attitude of hers is admirable
and worth praise?). But I'm not quite sure why Takada uses 健気 here to convince
Tetsuya, and I find difficult to put it in English words in a way that would
sound nice.

What would be a good way to translate 健気 here? Would I need to restructure
Takada's speech to convey the idea better?




健気に in romantic context is often used with 尽くす and I think this usage conveys
the nuance well. It describes how a person selflessly devotes him/herself (but
mainly women), and refers especially to how pure & focused the person is in
that devotion.

E.g. when a person is being 健気, they:  
- Prioritise the other, especially their goal (over their own goals)  
- Don't complain and hide how they are struggling (especially from the other)  
- Don't lie, be malicious or manipulative etc. (i.e. be pure)  
- Endure hardship 

That's the original meaning but like the phrase "awesome" it's been overused
and doesn't always carry that sort of gravity - it can just mean someone is
女らしい (because 健気 is essentially seen as the ideal behavior of women in the
traditional value system).

In this context I think Takada is trying to say 麗子 would also behave that way
(i.e. 女らしく) to her SO, but can't because she has trouble showing her true
emotions.




健気に in romantic context is often used with 尽くす and I think this usage conveys
the nuance well. It describes how a person selflessly devotes him/herself (but
mainly women), and refers especially to how pure & focused the person is in
that devotion.

E.g. when a person is being 健気, they:  
- Prioritise the other, especially their goal (over their own goals)  
- Don't complain and hide how they are struggling (especially from the other)  
- Don't lie, be malicious or manipulative etc. (i.e. be pure)  
- Endure hardship 

That's the original meaning but like the phrase "awesome" it's been overused
and doesn't always carry that sort of gravity - it can just mean someone is
女らしい (because 健気 is essentially seen as the ideal behavior of women in the
traditional value system).

In this context I think Takada is trying to say 麗子 would also behave that way
(i.e. 女らしく) to her SO, but can't because she has trouble showing her true
emotions.

