So today I thought I'd talk about villains. I read primarily historical romance novels, so I don't know that my topic will be entirely relevant in regards to contemporary novels, but I definitely welcome contradictions or comments about your favorite contemporary villains.
I like a villain with a motive. An honest to God, legitimate reason for hating the heroine or hero. What I dislike is a villain going to great lengths to make life miserable for our hero for vanity, or even worse, because they are "mad." Using madness as a reason for the villains' actions seems like a cop out, an excuse not to put more work into the villain's character. And I hate the stereotypical petty, bitter, female villain who only causes trouble because her pride is wounded by the hero or heroine. If we're going to work towards legitimate female roles of power in romance novels, these kind of stereotypes aren't even good enough for our villains.
A satisfying villain is ruthless, clever, a little violent even, but also vulnerable. I like complex villains, whose back story is tragic and inevitable, who shows a little honor in the end, even if it is mis-guided.
What kinds of villains do you like? Any characteristics that drive you nuts?
I'm not sure if there will be a post next week, but I will tell you that one of my pet peeves is when the characters on the cover do not have the same hair color as the descriptions of the characters in the book. I doubt I'll be able to make a whole post out of that, but it's been on my mind.
Happy Holidays, season's greetings, and I hope you are snuggled up with the ones you love as we say goodbye to another year.
Non-literary exception: Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight. When he burns the pile of money, you know he's bat shit crazy; and after that scene, he becomes a more terrifying and formidable foe. This is because the first step to defeating one's enemy is to know that enemy. If the enemy is "mad" and there's no clear motive behind his/her treachery, the hero/heroine cannot fully know the enemy. But you're right that the writer should put more work into developing villainous characters. If the villain is driven by madness, we at least have to know what drove him/her mad.
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