I've been thinking about villains lately, because the manuscript that shall not be named (lordy, how I hate to share my titles/plots/toys) is missing a good villain and it sorely needs one
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Hmm. Thinking about villains in some of my favorite books (ones that aren't stock mustache twirling villains who are just flat out bad) what strikes me is desperation. They are desperate (for one reason or another) enough to behave in ways that are outside of acceptable boundaries to achieve whatever it is that they think will alleviate that desperation. But there's something deeper. Where an ordinary, decent person would be at that point of desperation and still not behave villainously, there is something in this person's makeup or history that turns those filters off.
I am a bad author because most of my favorite villains are from films. Eve Harrington in All About Eve is a great example of desperation. Her need for fame is so great that she cold-bloodedly hurts and uses people who have been extraordinarily kind to her.
An interesting film villain (and literary, going back to the source novel) is Dr. Sloper in The Heiress. His villainy isn't about desperation. He is calm, steady and calculating. And while he isn't deliberately setting out to cause pain, he seems to draw a certain satisfaction out of believing and reinforcing his beliefs in his daughter's worthlessness. He's as cold-blodded as Eve Harrington. Nasty!
Regina in The Little Foxes is cold and calculating, too, but her desperation is too close to the surface and it causes her to make mistakes that betray her in the end. She gets part of what she wants but is tormented by the truth of what she has done, particularly when her daughter holds it up for her to see.
Melissa, I love the depth of your old movie knowledge. And I always find it easier (and perhaps also avoid stepping on anyone's toes) by using film/tv examples.
I am a bad author because most of my favorite villains are from films. Eve Harrington in All About Eve is a great example of desperation. Her need for fame is so great that she cold-bloodedly hurts and uses people who have been extraordinarily kind to her.
An interesting film villain (and literary, going back to the source novel) is Dr. Sloper in The Heiress. His villainy isn't about desperation. He is calm, steady and calculating. And while he isn't deliberately setting out to cause pain, he seems to draw a certain satisfaction out of believing and reinforcing his beliefs in his daughter's worthlessness. He's as cold-blodded as Eve Harrington. Nasty!
Regina in The Little Foxes is cold and calculating, too, but her desperation is too close to the surface and it causes her to make mistakes that betray her in the end. She gets part of what she wants but is tormented by the truth of what she has done, particularly when her daughter holds it up for her to see.
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