The Villain (Part III)

Previously on “The Bookworm”: When we last left our nerdy blogger, she was posting the second installment of her villain series. So far she has discussed two types of villains, the psychopath and the fallen angel, and will now continue her one-way discussion on a third type, the self-proclaimed hero.

The Self-Proclaimed Hero:

To put it simply, this guy is a villain, but he doesn’t know it. I don’t like to put things simply though, so let’s dig a little deeper, shall we? (oh, we shall) In most cases the reader can immediately label the villain as bad because he antagonizes the hero. But what if your hero’s got it all wrong? What if whatever the hero’s trying to accomplish is actually quite terrible, and the “villain” is only trying to stop him/her? Whoa. Take a moment to grasp your conceptions of reality (and by “reality” I am clearly referring to fictional stories). A self-proclaimed hero is just that. Despite how undoubtedly evil his scheme may be to the reader, this villain thinks he is doing the right thing.

I have a love-hate relationship with young-adult author Cassandra Clare, who you will soon all know because one of her books is becoming a movie (whose trailer already makes me cringe), but my faults with her are for another post. Here I give her my utmost praise for her villain Valentine of The Mortal Instruments series. Despite his mock-worthy name, it is apparent throughout the series that Valentine is pretty bad. It isn’t until the latter half of The City of Glass when you realize that, at heart, Valentine is not evil. While anyone with a firm grasp of morality and sanity knows that his plot to unleash a demon army to destroy all Downworlders and the Shadowhunters who protect them is evil, in his mind, he is ridding the world of wicked monsters through necessary violence. You really get smacked with the hey-wait-this-villain-is-not-so-evil bombshell at the end of The City of Glass (I’ll try to be vague in my reiteration, but for those of you who have not read the book, a big spoiler lies below, so I suggest you scroll down to the next example and hide the following lines from your vision). To stop Valentine from achieving his nefarious scheme, Valentine’s son holds a blade to his throat and asks for his last words. Valentine replies with a pitiful “I’m sorry. I am so sorry”, strikes down his son, and cradles the bleeding, dying body to his chest, whispering “My son. My boy.” I love this scene because it completely captures the complex nature of the self-proclaimed hero: he is not evil, so he does not want to slay his child and doing so just destroys him, and yet he is desperate and obsessed enough to strike down whatever stands in his way, even his own son. His cause has consumed his character.

Another classic example of the self-proclaimed hero is J.K. Rowling’s Dolores Umbridge, who taught you what sadism feels like since she was the first character you ever wanted to die in your childhood reading experience. And rightfully so! She is a despicable, sadistic witch (and again, when I say “witch”…). By strictly enforcing the decrees of the Ministry, she thinks she’s ensuring justice for all of the wizarding world. So what if she has to abuse a student or two along the way? In her mind, the Ministry’s code is gospel, and any logical or moral objections the Ministry’s orders lack any warranted argument or truth (and we all know that we must not tell lies).

In my opinion, the self-proclaimed hero is the most menacing type of villain. While these villains are not necessarily bad people, their impeccable devotion to their causes can persuade them to silence their consciences for the greater good. These villains do not want to hurt you, but if you get in their way, they will not hesitate to snuff out your existence.