Dear Literary Villain: The Truth Is, I Love to Hate You by Nicki Bishop

Dear Literary Villain,

 How could you? I was simply trying to enjoy the top novel on my TBR pile (it’s gotten a bit out of hand), and there you appear—a dark blot on the crisp, white page. Surely the clean, descriptive writing of my favorite author would have been absolutely flawless if it weren’t for you. I mean, after all, aren’t books supposed to transport you in time and space, lead you to try new things, and leave you with an overall enjoyable experience?

Not so, it seems. For you, Dear Villain, have spoiled the story entirely.  Your manipulative, divisive actions have put my protagonist in quite a predicament. Truly. You insist on making it increasingly difficult for my favorite character to find a happy place in this newfound story world, and I may be so inclined as to close the volume altogether. I hope you’re satisfied with yourself.

 Sincerely,

Discontented Reader

***

Do you ever feel this way? I know I do. I’m not one of those people that enjoys the pain and suffering of the characters I love. I want to see a happy ending, and I just can’t take the pain and heartache! There. I said it. It seems like every time I get attached to a main character in a brand new novel, the villain makes his way onto the page; and all I want to do is skip to the next triumphant moment for my girl.

Really. Villains. Who needs them?

*Wouldn’t Lucy be better off if there was no White Witch?

*Couldn’t Scout be happier if there were no Bob Ewell?

*What would Sarah’s life look like if Duke had never named her Angel?

*Where would Adele von Braun be if she had never crossed paths with the Third Reich?

*How free could Nym be if she were never sold to Adora?

*Would Carrington Hale be content with her status in life if there were no Isaac Knight?

*What could have happened if Havah never answered the compliment of a serpent?

Havah.

Serpent.

Eve.

Now it’s starting to make sense to me. Do you see it too? Villains are always going to be there.  There’s always going to be evil in the world—real or literary—but in the dark, the light shines brighter. In the midst of evil, the truth is easier to see. I love this truth that prevails in Christian fiction—God’s Word and God’s people always win over the enemy. Yes, we may lose a few battles, but God always wins the war.

 In the process, every main character becomes stronger, more determined, and dearer to our hearts.  It’s like that Scripture that says,

“Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” 

(Romans 12:9b, BibleGateway.com)

I love, love, love my evil-fighting, truth-bearing main characters (even if it takes them a few chapters to find the right path). They make me love them even more when they’re up against an enemy—it makes the story deeper and the truth shine brighter.

So guess what, Literary Villain?

The truth is, I really love to hate you!

Now, how about you? What characters do you love more because they had to face an enemy? What stories do you love most because of the light shining against the darkness? Let us know in the comments below!

  

My favorite Villains

Villains. You know why I love them? Because they're so complex. Well, the good ones are.

I dislike villains who don't have layers. Layers are what makes them interesting. People don't just become villains because one day they wake up and say, "Hey, today I'm going to become a bad guy."

Nope.

It's a process in the making. Years of cause and effect. Bad choices, bad circumstances. A compilation of things that lead them to finally 'turn to the dark side'.

Sometimes this can be an overnight thing, but usually, it's an accumulation of preceding circumstances, that ultimately force the person in question to make a choice.

"Will I choose to do the right thing or not?"

Then that choice leads them down into a snowball of bad choices which ultimately turn their hearts black. Is it possible for a villain to redeem themselves? Sure it is.

Just not likely.

My top favorite villains:

Catherine de Medici

At the beginning of the show Reign, it seems Catherine is simply an overprotective mother who loves her son so much, she's willing to kill to save his life. Later on, you realize that she only wants to save herself. She schemes and plots her way to the top-killing anyone who could ruin her plan.

As the series goes on we delve deeper into Catherine's warped mind. You see how ruthless she is. We hate her because she threatens Mary, Queen of Scots. Just when you really despise Catherine, they throw in a wrench that tears your heart out. You find out she'd been brutally gang-raped as a young girl, forever shaping her distrust and utter contempt for everyone around her. Especially men.

Her lover, Narcisse, admits to a confidant that the only thing worse than being hated by Catherine de Medici is being loved by her. She must force people to love her, by any dark means necessary. I would never want to cross paths with her.

Eventually, Catherine bites herself in the buttock and devises a plan where she hides her son's baby away for her own selfish benefit. Staging his death. Her son mourns bitterly, and later it's revealed that she was behind the plot. Her son banishes her forever.

This is the kind of villain I love to hate. She does horribly despicable things, yet you have compassion on her, because of the way her mind is twisted by past events.


Kylo Ren

I absolutely adore him and all his hissy fit, angsty drama. He's just the type of villain I love.

He tries so hard to be wicked, and yet he's so bad at it.

He wants to live up to Darth Vader's legacy, but there's too much good in him to make it work properly.

His temperamental attitude makes for some hysterical scenes, throwing fits that would match a three-year-olds tantrum. He's such a big baby, and you either want to comfort him or slap him silly. Sometimes both.

That hilarity and compassion come to a quick halt, toward the end of the movie The Force Awakens, when he actually kills his own father. You have to take a step back and go, "Dude! You're pretty awful! How could you?"

I cannot wait to see where they take his character with the next movie. I'm guessing it's going to get darker before it gets better.

Rumplestiltskin

My #1 favorite villain of all times is Rumplestiltskin from Once Upon a Time.

He is the best of the best. He makes every other villain look weak and stupid.

His cunning and wily ways are beyond fantastic. You hate him, love him, and hate him again. You can't help but flip flop your emotions for this crazy man.

He plays the "Dark One" in OUAT and does an excellent job of it. Sometimes you are rooting for him and sometimes you're booing at him. He's so sneaky and cruel, and yet you can't help having a little crush on him just because of his pure brilliance.

As a man, Rumple is weak,-a coward even- but as the Dark One he has power and uses it with manipulation, bribes, charm and stealthy deals that sometimes even the smartest of characters can't pass up.

When Belle finds good inside of him I wanted him to turn away from the bad side, and yet, I almost didn't because he's just so darn good at being bad, and you know he'll be boring as just a man. I can never take my eyes from the screen when he's on it.

He's disgusting and vile, and yet I can't help but feel for him and want him to win.

It's a terrible conundrum.

One I will gladly have over and over as I watch OUAT if that means I can spend more time figuring out Rumple's multiple, colorful personalities and what he's scheming to do next.

3 Literary Villains I Really Love To Hate

I love a wily villain who slinks onto the page with a sneer. Masterful plot to take down the hero? Check! Anticipating and successfully parrying every attempt of said hero to fight back? Count me in! A fantastically devious name/mind/costume? Yes please!

We're exploring villains this month on the blog, and I get to kick us off.

There’s nothing better than a well-written antagonist to act as the perfect foil for the protagonist. What fun it is when a book has one (or two, or three!) scoundrel to make the story line interesting. And it’s all the more exciting when the baddie finally gets their inevitable comeuppance.

Literature is full of dastardly characters you’d never want to meet in a dark alley, and I'm rounding up my faves.

Ready?

Cos they’re coming at you swinging. 

In no particular order, here are the villains I really love to hate!

Big Bully on the Prairie: Nellie Oleson

Ooooh, Nellie! Laura Ingalls Wilder combined three people from real life to make one outstanding antagonist. This bad girl was everything Little House’s Laura wasn’t: blonde, wealthy, spoiled, and lazy. Nellie kept her dresses immaculate, her complexion fashionably pale, and her hands soft. 

I distinctly remember, at the age of ten or eleven, punching my book because I was so, so angry with her for speaking rudely to Ma. Even now, more than thirty years later, I still get hot under the collar when I remember how Nellie tried to steal Laura’s beau, Almanzo. 

I was extraordinarily pleased when Laura first got her revenge on Nellie by tricking her into muddy water where the leeches got her, and I may have audibly cheered when she outmaneuvered Nellie at last and won Almanzo’s heart completely. 

The Regency Cad: Mr. Wickham

Yes, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are two of my most bestest lovey-dovey characters from literature (I wrote about them here!) 

Therefore, it only follows that Mr. Wickham is also a villain worthy of my scorn. 

He’s tall, handsome, an officer in the militia, and, for a while there, he’s interested in Lizzie. What’s not to make a proper English gentlewoman’s heart go pitter-patter? And his sob story of the wrongs wrought upon him by the snobbish Mr. Darcy! Who knew he was going to turn out to be such a scoundrel?

I love how Jane Austen layered this character. She kept me guessing what mischief Mr. Wickham was going to get in next!

And *SPOILER ALERT* the fact that he's the one who whisks Lydia off to live in a life of sin vindicates Mr. Darcy's opinion of him AND provides a perfect opportunity for Mr. Darcy to sweep in and remedy the situation inasmuch as he's able to.

The Fairy-tale Fiend: Queen Levanna

She's got power. She's got brains. She's got glamor. 

The Lunar Chronicles elegant enemy, Queen Levanna, has got it all.

Marissa Meyer developed a chilling version of Snow White's stepmother who is even more terrifying than the original. But Meyer doesn't stop there. Levanna gets to tell her own story in Fairest and I have to admit, I was a little sorry for her. It didn't stop me from wanting to see her stopped however!

I read breathlessly through this series and wondered how in all creation Cinder and crew were going to fight this crazy queen. I wasn't disappointed. The ending was sooo good! 

Well, there you go. Those are my top 3 baddies. Until next time...

What did you think about my list? Don't forget to check back here for the rest of our series this month about villains!