Heroes of Austen - Part 3

It's my third and final post about the Heroes of Austen.  Yes, so very sad to say 'goodbye', but you can read posts one and two here (and come back just to look at the pictures :-)

Today, we discuss the two most intriguing Austen heroes (or literary heroes in general) - The Reformed Rogue and the Anti-Hero.

Let's check them out.

The Reformed Rogue

Here we come to the most swoon-worthy of Austen’s heroes, particularly Pride and Prejudice’s, Fitzwilliam Darcy.

- A reformed rogue is a man who begins the story quite flawed and (usually) aloof. His somewhat serious disposition or reserve is one of his attractions.

- The heroine has a distinct desire to change him or find the ‘softness’ underneath the impenetrable expression.

- He is also a character of massive emotional growth, and usually possesses dry wit to go along with his outlook on the world.

- Though many of the other heroes show change from beginning to end, The Reformed Rogue has a clear character arc – from bad boy to good; from hardened heart to soft, from rogue to…redeemed? all because of love.

Mr. Darcy- is Jane Austen’s most recognized hero. He is the tall, dark, and handsome fellow who sends off the wrong (but oh so interesting) vibes in the beginning and then, as he grows and we see more of his real character, he transforms into the amazing hero we love.

Captain Frederick Wentworth would also fit into this category.

 Julie Lessman’s fabulous rogues Cluny (Luke) McGee and Collin McGuire. Whew…

Marc DeHollander from Ruth Logan Herne’s debut Winter’s End

Cassius McLinn from Laura Frantz’s novel The Colonel’s Daughter

John Thornton from North and South

Han Solo from Star Wars

The Anti-Hero

As defined by writersdigest.com: http://www.writersdigest.com/qp7-migration-books/bullies_excerpt

An anti-hero is a protagonist who is as flawed or more flawed than most characters; he is someone who disturbs the reader with his weaknesses yet is sympathetically portrayed, and who magnifies the frailties of humanity.

While an anti-hero cannot slip into a white hat, he will always:

·         have the reader’s sympathies, although sometimes his methods will make this difficult.

·         have easily identified imperfections.

·         be made understandable by the story events, meaning that the reader will come to know his motivations and likely will be privy to his inner demons.

·         have a starring role in the story.

 THIS is the ultimate play boy, the lady’s man, the rebel. He may exude charm or have a certain dark magnetism, but underneath  we discover he can go one of two ways – good or bad, and many times…we’re not quite certain which way that will be. If too the good side, he transforms into a faithful hero. If to the bad? A villain.

John Willoughby - Though I see a little bit of anti-hero in The Reformed Rogue and the Reluctant Hero, Austen portrays the true heart of the Anti-Hero in Sense and Sensibility’s John Willoughby.

- He is the epitome of the Anti-Hero in the fact that we see some true virtues within him, but his self-interests win over his virtue.

- He has a past of poor choices led by selfishness and we get the ‘hint’ that he’s been fairly spoiled throughout his life, but always with the awareness of being a dependent (which can be quite tough on a guy’s self-confidence)

-Unlike Wickham in Pride and Prejudice, Willoughby develops true feelings for Marianne and has every intention to marry her – “had it not been for the money” of which Marianne has almost none.

- John Willougby is essential to the plot of Sense and Sensibility and helps Marianne recognize her ‘perfect’ man isn’t realistic, even if Willougby’s first scene is of him riding forward on a white horse, no less :-)

Some popular Anti-Heroes are:

Artemis Fowl – (my 15 year old thought of this one)

Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby

Severus Snape from Harry Potter

Robin Hood

Dirty Harry

Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre

Have you ever written an Anti-Hero? I bet you can think of a few Reformed Rogues ;-) Hollywood is great at portraying them for the swoon-value. Are you writing one in your novels?

Separating The Sin From The Sinner in Fiction

Sawyer from Lost
The lovable bad boy

We love our villains and we love it when we love to hate them.These are what we call anti-heroes, those bad guys who are so compelling, so sympathetic, and sometimes downright loveable. But what makes them so? What is that special something that creates a sympathetic bad guy--or gal?

I think it may have something to do with separating the sin from the sinner. So often we can only see the glaring sin and it clouds our view of the person. Say a man continually cheast on his wife-- we see him as s stupid, uncaring, unforgivable man. But what if we knew his wife berated and verbally abused him, making him feel inept and unattractive. Knowing the background and separating the sin from the sinner sheds a different light on the situation.

What if we have an accountant who is embezzling money from his company? Would it make a difference knowing his child has a rare disease and the hospital bills are mounting? Understanding the motivations behind the sin somehow helps to see the bigger picture.

Of course, good and honest motivations do not in anyway justify the sin, but it does help to see the sinner as a human being who has needs and is in desperate need of a Savior's love.

So in our writing, we need to think about our anti-heroes and give them motivation for their evil deeds. Make the motivation something we can relate to, something redeemable. We want to be able to root for them, in spite of their sin.

We want to love the character, yet hate their plots!

How often do you have trouble separating the sin from the sinner? Are you able to see God's perspective in those around you, even those unlovable ones He has placed in your life? Have you written anti-heroes that reader will love to hate?

Sherrinda

The Anti-Hero: Love 'Em or Hate 'Em?

Ahhh, the Anti-Hero. Some of you may be wondering what exactly IS an Anti-Hero. Well, I'm here to explain.

Here's a definition of an Anti-Hero: An antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis. 


Basically, an antihero is an amoral person who does some good...sometimes. 


In one definition, the appeal of the antihero is that he or she is often a HERO. Namely, he or she does what we wish we could. Where superheroes like Superman and Wonderwoman do it because they lack the physical limitations we do, an antihero does it because he lacks the moral limitations. Very often these antiheroes end up stealing the show. Sometimes you love them, sometimes you hate them.


Let me give you some examples from FILM:

• Captain Jack Sparrow, in Pirates of the Caribbean: Sure, he ends up making right decisions for the most part, but he is a law breaker, a drunk, and for the most part amoral.
• Han Solo, in Star Wars: He is a rebel, a loner, and out for himself. In direct contrast to Luke Skywalker, the hero and "all that is good".
• Batman, in The Dark Knight: While his intentions are good, his methods leave something to be desired. He is willing to break the law to accomplish what he wants.
• Clint Eastwood, in just about every movie he's ever made: He's the kind of guy who is not afraid to duel and pull the trigger first.

Examples from literature:

• The Dark Towers, by Stephen King: Roland puts his quest for the Dark Towers above the lives of his friends. 
• Sherlock Holmes has been known to commit a few crimes to solve his mysteries. He even does cocaine on occasion.
•  Severus Snape, in Harry Potter. Has ties to the Dark Lord, dislikes Harry and yet does good at times.
• Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, Edmond Dantes in The Conte of Monte Cristo

Examples from TV:

• Dr. Gregory House, House MD
• Timothy Riggins, in Friday Night Lights: Hometown Hero on the field who always chooses wrong from right, drinks, and basically is a trouble maker. But everyone likes him because he has a good heart and can put on a charming face.
• Jack on 24: Not afraid to break the law to do what he needs to do.
• Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Oh, there's more, I assure you. In fact, I got almost all these examples from TVTROPES. Check their site out for many more examples from various genres.

So, were you surprised to see some of your favorite characters portrayed as an Anti-Hero? I was. Hans Solo...sigh...I loved him more than Luke. It was that blustery, rebel attitude that really drew me in. In my mind, Han was the true hero.

In my current book, I have two villains. Evil, they are. There is no hero material in them at all. But I think in my next book, I may have to give the Anti-Hero a try. 

How about you? Has you ever written an Anti-Hero? What did you love about him/her? What did you hate? 


Sherrinda