I have inadvertently made my character depressed. She's a minor character in my science-fantasy novel, and exists to tie together some of the plot lines.
As I wrote her, this 18yo woman turned out to be a closet lesbian (which isn't a problem), and amongst other things, was overly critical of others, unable to find motivation for her life and future, not wanting to work except that work was where she connects with her lover, not wanting to take the crown (she's the crown princess of a fantasy realm) when her mother, the queen, dies, preferring that her newborn sister inherit the crown and is usually bored but doesn't want to do anything.
Reading what I had written, it struck me as pretty obvious life-long depression that her immediate family didn't notice because they were too close to the problem.
My main character is this character's half-sister, whom she hasn't seen in 12 years and never really got along particularly well with since they are very different... their interaction is frequently insulting, but it's kind of a game, to see who loses their cool first,
I don't know whether to have my MC spot this character's depression or not, and if she does spot it, do something about it or not, or if to rewrite to make this character less or not depressed.
As far as the story goes, any of those options would be equally valid, and the main character would be capable of spotting depression, and while not necessarily able to deal with it herself, could recommend someone who could treat it. The story is such that a character with mental problems wouldn't be out of place.
What would be more interesting?
