The Villain (Part I)

It would probably make more sense to have the discussion on heroes before that of villains, but seeing as I ended the last post pondering on a more nefarious perceptive, I am dedicating this series to the bad-guys.

We may hope that good defeats evil by the end of the book, but let’s face it: sometimes the villain beats the hero as far as popularity’s concerned. Is it because their exhibition of unrestrained darkness is so attractive to our own repressed ids in some rewarding, sadistic way, all the while assuring the ego that our virtue is boundless compared to their standards? Or may the hero you’re reading is just plain boring. Either way.

There’s an infinite number of stories out there, and there are different types of villains to serve each story’s purpose. I’m going to divide that infinity (good thing this blog’s too right-brained for math) into four basic villains: the psychopath, the fallen angel, the self-proclaimed hero, and the reformed one.

The Psychopath:

This is the guy that made you afraid of the dark when you were a kid (or a young adult with a far too active imagination for her own good). This is the guy who will always choose wrong over right and enjoys it beyond the human ethical capacity.

Actually, the first fictional psychopath to come to mind isn’t a guy. If you have ever read the Harry Potter series, you remember Bellatrix Lestrange, and more importantly you remember how much you wanted that witch (and when I say “witch”…) to die. She was powerful, devoted to evil, and absolutely out of her mind.

Another is Jim Moriarty. No, the bookworm is not talking about the one from the Sherlock Holmes books as her name would imply, but the villain from BBC’s Sherlock television series. Yes I know this is the second time I’ve mentioned this series on my book blog, but I can’t help it. Anyway, if you were to open a thesaurus to the word “evil,” you would find his picture next to “stay the hell away from me.”

I think the psychopathic villain is really hard to pull off, because really it’s about as compelling the hero who can do no wrong.  But Bellatrix and Moriarty the exceptions (that I can currently think of).

The reason Bellatrix works so well is because she is not the primary villain of the series. It’s Voldemort’s (that’s right, I said it) job to be realistic. Second, she really makes the reader angry. We all know Voldemort is evil because we are informed so, but we don’t see him take action often. Even when he kills, it’s usually just a quick Avada Kedavra, whereas Bellatrix tends to torture the sanity out of her victims: it’s the difference between a single bullet to the head and a stabbing. Lastly, whenever Bellatrix enters a scene, you just know someone else isn’t leaving it alive.

Moriarty takes on a different side of the psychopath. Where Bellatrix is impulsive, Moriarty is cunning. In fact, he’s more frightening than Bellatrix: if Bellatrix wants you dead, it’s going to happen right then and there (you know, after a few Crucios), but if Moriarty wants you dead, the anticipation will drag on for months. You are part of his master plan, waiting for your world to crumble upon you at this toying whim.

To conclude, the psychopath exists to scare the living daylights out of you. What a jerk! To be continued…