To Be a Hero... Can a Villain Apply?

Hero versus villain... protagonist versus antagonist... Seems rather cut and dried, doesn't it, but is it really? But can a villain actually become a hero?

Of course he can. It's all a matter of perception.

I've recently begun watching Wolf Hall on Masterpiece Theater. For those who aren't familiar with this drama, it's the story of Thomas Cromwell, and the part he played in the events of his times, that is during the reign of Henry VIII. Of humble birth, Cromwell was taken under the wing of the great Cardinal Wolsey, and nurtured. The Cardinal's unmakiing was Henry's failure to have a son by his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. His pride - and his nation - decreed he must have an heir. Of course, his becoming infatuated with a young girl named Anne Boleyn didn't help matters any. She had spent some time in the French court, and was smart enough to realize that if she gave in to Henry - ie sleep with him - she would quickly lose his favor. But she held out and kept her eye on the prize - becoming Queen of England. For that to happen, Henry needed his first wife annulled, which would also have made any children by that union bastards. He only had the one daughter, Mary, and he was willing to have that happen in order to gain a son.

I've read a number of stories and histories dealing with this time period, and almost invariably Thomas Cromwell is painted as a villain for his part in the fall of Wolsey, the divorce of Henry and Queen Catherine, and  breaking with the Pope and the formation of the Church of England. But here he is actually the hero, the center of the story. The man himself has not changed, of course, merely how we are to perceive him.

So what does that mean for a writer? Just that the person who is the center of your story can be a villain and still be the hero. Not only the virtuous need apply.

In this story, Anne Boleyn is painted as a villainess, but if you should read or watch Anne of the

Thousand Days, you'll have a whole different picture of the woman who became Henry's second wife, mother of the greatest queen in English history, and first of his wives to be beheaded. Whereas Wolf Hall makes her out to be a calculating schemer, who was in league with her family to acquire power and wealth, in Anne of the Thousand Days, she is a young girl who becomes enamored of a handsome, virile king and spends years waiting to make him hers.


One of my favorite villains cum heroes has to be Dr. Hannibal Lecter. I've read all the books, seen all the movies, and love them. Hannibal is a serial killer, and an unrepentant one at that. He makes no bones about what he's done. Granted, he has reasons, and how he became the way he is is well told in Hannibal Rising. But the fact remains he has done things which don't exactly make him hero material. And yet that is just what he is, for he is the center of every story, even when he is not onscreen, so to speak.

What does Hannibal have that makes him so interesting, even as a villain? He's intelligent, and very charming... and manipulative as hell. As a trained psychiatrist, he has insight into how people think, how they work, and he isn't afraid to use that knowledge for his own means. Whether you like him or not, there is no doubt that he is the hero of Thomas Harris' books.

Another example of the villain as hero can be found in John Milton's Paradise Lost. I only read this poem for the first time in the last couple of years, and was instantly mesmerized. It begins in the aftermath of the great Rebellion - the attempt by a third of the Chosen to overthrow God which resulted in their being cast down to the newly created Hell. Among them is their leader, of course, Lucifer. Since history is written by the victors, and since Lucifer did not win in his attempt to wrest power from God, ergo Lucifer is the villain. And yet he is the hero, for he shines more brightly than any other character in the book, and he is certainly the most interesting among them. Compared to him, Adam and Raphael are dull and annoying, whereas Lucifer reveals himself made of sterner stuff, and also shows God in a less than flattering light.



Lucifer is portrayed as highly intelligent and brave, and unafraid to take on someone who is as powerful as he is, if not more so. Even knowing that God is all-knowing, he takes a stand for what he believes in and fights for it. Is that not the definition of a hero? And yet he has been vilified for many years.

Lucifer also features as the hero/villain of a series of graphic novels written by one of my favorite

writers, Mike Carey. And once again, the angels do not come off well at all. In Carey's version, which actually found its origins in Neil Gaiman's Sandman, Lucifer is fed up with being in charge of Hell and he's gone up to Earth and opened up a piano bar called Lux in Los Angeles. The story opens as an angel approaches him, sent by God to deliver a message - God needs a favor. Once again, there is no doubt Lucifer is a villain, but he is still the hero of these volumes.

A good hero is not perfect. He has flaws and imperfections which make him human, and place him within the understanding of the readers who might be less than impressed with someone who is without fault. At the same time, a villain can have his good points and his virtues. And be interesting enough to fill the role of hero.

Wouldn't life be dull if every character was one way or the other? It's how you handle the flaws that sets your characters apart, for good or for bad. Who doesn't love a bad boy?

I think every writer needs to make a hero of a villain at least once in his or her career. I know I intend do.

You've met him already, and he too is a serial killer. You'll be seeing him again.

Paradise Lost Review

Paradise Lost  

Author: John Milton

Publisher: Penguin Classics

American release date: (reissue) April 29, 2003

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/ Poetry/453 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

A terrible battle has been waged, two great forces arrayed against one another, both composed of angelic beings. But the outcome is ordained, even before the first blow is struck. And the vanquished are cast from Heaven—despite the fact that their number includes a third of the heavenly host—to a new place, newly created by He who banished them from His sight. A little place known as Hell.

The Fallen Angels lie dormant for seven days, atop a burning lake, before they finally begin to come around. First to recover is their leader, Lucifer himself. And from the moment he regains consciousness, he is nothing but optimistic and determined.

The first order of business is... what now? So Lucifer calls a counsel of those who were cast out with him and presents what he sees as their options. One, they can stay where they are, and accept Hell as their new home. “Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.”

Secondly, they can crawl before God, ask to be taken back into Heaven... and then what? Sing his hosannas for all of eternity? And just exactly what will have changed? And why should they possibly want to do that?

Or door number three... Lucifer’s intelligence tells him that God has decided to replace those whom he has cast aside, unhappy with what has occurred, and so he has decided to make a new creature, one he can lord over and accept this new being’s songs and praises and whatnots. And this creature will be known as man. And what God has wrought, Lucifer can turn against him...

Paradise Lost is the story of the fall of Lucifer and his followers, and what came after. Lucifer persuades his followers that the third choice is the best, but of course, he cannot work his wiles upon Adam and Eve from a distance, and they are locked in Hell. Being Lucifer, he finds a way to flee his captivity. It doesn’t hurt that standing guard at the gates of Hell are Sin (his daughter) and Death (his son/grandson).

From the moment he takes the stage, Lucifer is the dominant character in this book, without a doubt. With his take-charge, overcome everything attitude, he is the hero, despite any evidence to the contrary. He persuades his followers to agree to his course of action, and volunteers to be the one to go to Paradise and do what must be done, as no one else seems to be too eager to accept the task. Lucifer, alone among them, knows no fear, despite the fact that his path will be most perilous, even after he manages to exit Hell.

Why did Lucifer choose to defy God? Overweening pride? Hubris? Was it because he believed himself to be God’s equal? Or was it a case of “sibling rivalry”, when God placed his son, Jesus, at His side, as His right hand man, and instructed that everyone was to obey Jesus as they would Him, paving the way for him to inherit everything?

Lucifer had to know, going in, that everything was stacked against him, and yet he stood firm and he did it. That shows a great deal of faith in himself, a strong will, and a fierce determination. On the other hand, God knew everything beforehand, including the outcome. And He allowed it to happen. What sort of Supreme Being does that? Certainly not a loving one.

As Lucifer makes his way to Paradise, we join Adam and Eve. Their story is, to me, less interesting, because they are depicted as less interesting people. Adam is downright boring and Eve is too caught up in being in his shadow and can’t seem to think for herself. The couple receives visits from God and from some of the angels. They tend their fruit. And they have sex. And Adam names animals. When Raphael visits Adam with news of the Rebellion, he describes it to him, at Adam’s behest, in agonizingly longwinded detail. Some of the details he relates should not even be known to him, but even so, it is excruciatingly long and I felt like he’d never stop talking. And then, just as he winds up his tale, Adam hasto go and ask for more! I wanted to slap him! Then follows Adam’s own boring story.  All told, this part of the book was of less interest to me, despite being as well written as the other. But compared to Lucifer’s story, all else pales in comparison.

And then, of course, comes the temptation, as Lucifer enters into the serpent and beguiles Eve into eating the tree of forbidden fruit. So, what was the point of putting that tree there to begin with? If it was off limits, why place is there? To test them? He had to know they were going to fail. And yet He permitted it.  So it can be argued that God is as much the architect of Man’s fate as Man is.

I loved this book from the beginning, loved the language that Milton used. And I loved this Penguin edition for being annotated, the notes serving to enhance the reading. It is beautifully written, and I’m the first to admit that I’m not big on reading poetry, but I loved it. There is strength and beauty in Milton’s words, and he brings the story alive. My only complaint, other than being bored by Adam and Raphael, is that Lucifer’s end in the story is almost an afterthought, and weakly written.

From the get-go, Lucifer makes no apology for being the way he is, and shows no intention of changing. “...but of this be sure, To do aught good will never be our task, But ever to do ill our sole delight, as being the contrary to his high will, Whom we resist.”

He has a silver tongue and after allowing the others to have their say, he uses his words to convince them that his way is the best. Is there any doubt he would? That he would not suffer the judgment of fools to hold sway?

I had so many questions while I read this book, concerning God and Lucifer, and why each did what he did. Lucifer’s motives are usually clearer than God’s. It often felt like a huge set-up, a trap that mankind could not avoid, no matter what he did. There are those who argued that Eve’s eating the apple was indicative of Free Will, that she and then Adam, made their choices? But did they really? If God knew all along that it would happen? Food for thought. You could debate the questions that arise from this book for a long time to come.

I never studied this book in school, so this was my first exposure to it, and I wasn’t forced to read it. I loved it, thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and loved the insight it gave into familiar Bible tales. Next stop—Paradise Regained!

Feature & Follow Friday

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is well and happy today and looking forward with anticipation to the end of the year! We have a very interesting question this week, one not so easily answered. So let's get right down to it, shall we?

Q: WHAT BOOK DO YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD READ? IF YOU COULD GIFT THE ENTIRE POPULATION WITH ONE BOOK?

There are so many good books in the world. Of course, they are read for different reasons. Am I allowed to offer one of my own? I'll do that first, and then list the alternate, for those that might cry foul or self-serving.

Revelations would be my choice. Because it's a message of love, and hope and peace. Something the world could do with a healthy dose of.

But let's go with another book too, one I recently read and found very fascinating. Paradise Lost. It says a lot about mankind, and his relationship to God. Not all of it good. Very much food for thought. Also interesting if you know the author was blind and dictated it to his daughter. Also that he lived during the time of Cromwell... well, you can look that up yourself, if you're interested and so inclined.

So there you have it. Revelations and Paradise Lost.

Life isn't black and white, neither should your characters be

I was watching the latest episode of Hell on Wheels this morning - which was excellent, by the way, as always - and I was struck by something. The characters are so very well written, and so well rounded that it isn't just a matter of black and white, good and evil. They are fleshed out in such a way that you can't always be sure how to feel about them. As I noticed from the beginning of the season, although I've never liked the Swede, and he's a complete and total ass, I've come to admire his strength of character. After his fall from grace, having been tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail at the end of the first season, his status in the town dropped as low as it possibly could. Mr. Durant, out of the "kindness" of his heart, kept him on, but he's been reduced to collecting the town's slops. But the thing is, he does it to the best of his ability and with a certain diligence and integrity, because he has this work ethic. No, I still don't like him, but I respect him more. Even the hero of the series, Cullen Bohannon, is not a cut and dried good guy. He's very complex, and he does what he needs to do. He's still incredibly hot, though, that hasn't changed.

My point is that characters are not static, nor are they completely one way or another - neither wholly good nor wholly evil. Even the bad ones have redeeming qualities. Depends on the writer whether you can see that or not. It's too easy to set up a cartoonish world of right and wrong, where the hero - dressed in white - always wins, and the villain - forever in black - comes out on the losing side in the end. Life is not like that, as we know. Evil can and does win, and nothing is guaranteed. Good, because frankly, that gets damn boring time after time after time. Good needs a challenge to keep it on its toes, and temptation to show its human.

Take for example one of the books I'm currently reading - Paradise Lost, by John Milton. The undoubted hero of this piece if Lucifer, the fallen angel, who comes off as far more heroic, brave, and virtuous than the man who tossed him and his compadres from Heaven. This is one hell of a book - no pun intended - and I've gotten a lot out of it, and I'm only half way done. But it's no easy task to take a character that historically viewed as the epitome of everything that is dark and evil in this world and make him appear in a more sympathetic light. As I said, not everyone is all good or all bad. Not even God and the devil. By the way, did you know that Satan means adversary? It's taken on whole new meanings, and is instantly identifiable with the bad side, with devils and demons, etc, but that is the original meaning.

It's such a temptation to write our heroes as perfect, unblemished, wonderful, beautiful, etc - because that's how we want to see them. But oh how boring that would be if true. Perfection is just boring, to the max. There's a reason that women love their bad boys. Seriously. Differences and imperfections are what makes the world go round. Different strokes for different folks and all that. From what I've been reading of Paradise, it was boring. I would have to take umbrage with so many things, not least of which is being under Adam's control (he comes across to me as a bit of a mindless oaf). Also, there are no books! What's a world without reading? B-o-r-i-n-g, that's what. All they did was tend the trees in the garden (except for the forbidden one, of course. Hey, I'm not gardener, that just sounds damn boring. And singing hosannas and praises all the time? Really?  Okay, I guess there was sex. Had to be. They were naked, they were human, and they were intended to procreate. Had I been Eve, I would have gone for the serpent/Lucifer too. By the way, Eve was supposed to populate the world? What, alone? That's a vagina, not a clown car! Get real! And then think about it, if everyone born (let's say she cranked out twenty kids, which is a lot, but let's go with it), then these twenty people only have themselves to procreate with... well, you get the gist, right? WTH? According to that line of reasoning (and for those who take the Bible literally, which doesn't include me), then we're all the long term products of incest. Well, I can see it with some...

Okay, back to the subject.

Make your characters believable and make them human. Even the villain has something about him or her that isn't wholly bad or wrong. Also, put them on a somewhat equal footing. What does it prove if the hero defeats a villain he far outclasses? What test of his worthiness is that?

Change up the problems too. If you write m/m, don't always use the nobody likes gays trope, that gets old. Don't make your characters' sexuality their sole problem in life. You won't garner a mainstream audience by constantly throwing sexuality in the reader's faces. No, it has to be more subtle than that. Create characters that people can sympathize with, get to know and like for who they are, and let sexuality be a part of who they are, but not the whole enchilada. Change doesn't come easily and it doesn't come quickly. Sometimes you have to be subtle and come in the backdoor. Then before you know it, you've affected the mindset of a whole lot of people, and they in turn will pass it on to future generations, and suddenly it will just be, and people will wonder at the ignorance of people, as we make fun of those who thought the world is flat and that man can never fly.

Make your reader care even a little bit for your villain, even if he or she will never truly like him. Same with the hero. Give him a flaw, something to overcome, something to strive toward. It makes for richer and better reading, and characters that will live in readers' minds long after the last page has been turned.

Until next time, take care! I'm off to see Lawless, and no doubt I'll review it and give you my impressions!

♥ Julie