Chatterbox: Blab About Books

"The Infamous Anti-Hero" is sadly not the name of a book, although wait around, because someday I might write one with that title. No, it is a discussion/essay on the ANTI-HERO which is one of the most interesting types of characters available to the human imagination. (The term Anti-Hero will hereafter be known as A-H.)

Wikipedia defines an A-H as "a protagonist that has no heroic qualities, (such as morality, nobility, courage, etc.), blurring the line between hero and villain." Ergo, "walking the tightrope between the dark side and redemption," to quote Tom Hiddleston.

First of all, there is something undeniably human about an A-H, unshared by even the most flawed of heroes. For example, heroes may not always do the right thing, but they have a kind of spotlight of good luck that always makes him come out on top. And with villains, they almost always come out on the bottom, no matter how evil or clever they are. But an A-H has neither of these obligations, and his or her actions are perhaps more realistic. They might do good here and there, but there is always that presence of shadow that whispers, "What if I didn't, and did something to profit only myself?"

There is also, undoubtedly, an element of tragedy about an A-H (see my examples below). They are not the hero, yet they cannot revel in the glory of their wickedness, or have the prestige a villain has, by virtue of tyrannical or manipulative ways. An A-H is somehow shunted, because of that very half-light, half-shadow quality.

Wikipedia lists such characters like Jay Gatsby, Scarlett O'Hara and even the known and beloved Gollum as A-Hs, and they all do have that element of tragedy. Jay Gatsby never does get the girl, Scarlett (admittedly because of her own folly) never attains the happiness within her grasp, and Gollum, who might have lived as a normal hobbit, never could because of the Ring. Severus Snape, who became one of my favorite Harry Potter characters, is a rather good example of an A-H. Tragic past--unfulfilled achievement as both professor and with Lily--his subsequent hatred of Harry Potter, and duplicitous nature, being both with Dumbledore and the Death Eaters. Luke Castellan from the Percy Jackson series is also a bit A-Hish, although because he is manipulated by the main villain nearly the whole time, he doesn't count quite as much.

The character Roscuro from The Tale of Despereaux, is another good A-H, and his very name points that out. His full name is Chiaroscuro, which means, to those who know Art, a strong contrast between light and dark. He lives in a dungeon, but is in love with the light, which invites scorn from his cronies. When he does get to the light, he is despised by the Princess, and his way of getting back at her fuels most of his story. He finds redemption in the end, but his tale strongly speaks of A-Hism.

Finally, to cap off this essay which is getting out of hand, I would like to point out to those who have seen The Avengers and Thor that Loki, despite being touted as a dark villain, is actually quite an A-H himself. He has a tragic past, which utterly shatters him when it becomes known to him. He is a trickster, but that same duplicity is typical of an A-H (see Snape). His actions are firstly to redeem himself in his father's eyes, and his later attempt to enslave the world is partly in a futile effort to become a hero in his own eyes. He wants to become a King, but that comes from an insecurity which most of us acknowledge in ourselves, though I'm sure not all of us would go so far as to enslave the world. His actions are cruel, but they come not from pure darkness, but from a vain grasping for the light as he sees it: power and dominion.

Tom Hiddleston likes to play villains because of their psychology, but sadly, too many villains have no hidden motive. A-Hs do, however, and those motives are more readily sympathized with. And there is always that slightest chance of redemption, which is why I find A-Hs a most fascinating Character type.