Hamilton321
Prince
If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by
Christian example? Why, revenge. The villany you
teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I
will better the instruction. -Shylock
An anti-villain is a category of antagonist who is evil but does what they do for a just reason, or who is forced to take the path of evil despite initially having good intentions. They may be more noble or heroic than an anti-hero, but the means to achieve their ends are often considered exploitative, immoral, unjust, or just evil. Anti-villains should not be confused with anti-heroes; protagonists who have moral flaws or who do not have pure intentions. Anti-villains are antagonists and often victims, they are plain evil and they cause harm to the protagonists of the story, yet they have not chosen their dark path, it has been thrust upon them by an earlier injustice. Anti-villains are the loneliest character type, being out of place in the society they reside in, they have no friends, no joy.
A famous example of an anti-villain is the character Shylock from the popular 16th century comedy; The Merchant of Venice. Shylock is an antagonist, a Jew who greatly complicates the plot and feels great antipathy for the play's protagonists. Shylock loans money to the play's protagonist; Antonio, but the contract has a horrific twist; if Antonio cannot repay the loan then he will have to give a pound of his flesh taken from whatever part of the body Shylock sees fit. Antonio is not worried at first, but a single storm literally sends his investments to the bottom of the sea. Shylock now ecstatically takes Antonio to court, seeking to convince the court to sanction his claim on one pound of Antonio's flesh which he desires to be taken from the heart.
As you can see, Shylock acts quite a lot like a villain. Shylock, however is a complicated character, he does wicked things because of the injustice which he has suffered at the hands of Christians throughout his life and the betrayal of his only daughter. Shylock feels, rightly, betrayed by the intolerant society he lives in and seeks to achieve justice by killing Antonio. This is an overreaction, but not one that is uncommon in human nature, in act III, scene I it is clearly articulated by Shylock in a 20 line monologue that his grudge against Antonio is rooted in a desire for social justice and this motive helps make the Merchant of Venice into one of the periods most progressive pieces of culture from the 16th century. Shylock's monologue could be repeated by any oppressed person who desires to take social justice into his own hands by taking recompense from his former oppressor.
Anti-villains are a character type which come in and out of style over the centuries, anti-villains are generally more popular in fantasy during confusing or moralistic times when people desire characters who are not shallow. Anti-villains are often used to add complexity and volume to short, simple plots or to tie disconnected plots together. Countercultural writers in particular use anti-villains to engage in veiled social critique during moralistic times when a direct challenge to the mainstream point of view would be ostracized. Anyways, if you are an author who desires to expand one's writing I would recommend considering the anti-villain character type, in my experience anti-villains are fun to write about, though one should be careful not to put too many in a single fantasy world.
Christian example? Why, revenge. The villany you
teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I
will better the instruction. -Shylock
An anti-villain is a category of antagonist who is evil but does what they do for a just reason, or who is forced to take the path of evil despite initially having good intentions. They may be more noble or heroic than an anti-hero, but the means to achieve their ends are often considered exploitative, immoral, unjust, or just evil. Anti-villains should not be confused with anti-heroes; protagonists who have moral flaws or who do not have pure intentions. Anti-villains are antagonists and often victims, they are plain evil and they cause harm to the protagonists of the story, yet they have not chosen their dark path, it has been thrust upon them by an earlier injustice. Anti-villains are the loneliest character type, being out of place in the society they reside in, they have no friends, no joy.
A famous example of an anti-villain is the character Shylock from the popular 16th century comedy; The Merchant of Venice. Shylock is an antagonist, a Jew who greatly complicates the plot and feels great antipathy for the play's protagonists. Shylock loans money to the play's protagonist; Antonio, but the contract has a horrific twist; if Antonio cannot repay the loan then he will have to give a pound of his flesh taken from whatever part of the body Shylock sees fit. Antonio is not worried at first, but a single storm literally sends his investments to the bottom of the sea. Shylock now ecstatically takes Antonio to court, seeking to convince the court to sanction his claim on one pound of Antonio's flesh which he desires to be taken from the heart.
As you can see, Shylock acts quite a lot like a villain. Shylock, however is a complicated character, he does wicked things because of the injustice which he has suffered at the hands of Christians throughout his life and the betrayal of his only daughter. Shylock feels, rightly, betrayed by the intolerant society he lives in and seeks to achieve justice by killing Antonio. This is an overreaction, but not one that is uncommon in human nature, in act III, scene I it is clearly articulated by Shylock in a 20 line monologue that his grudge against Antonio is rooted in a desire for social justice and this motive helps make the Merchant of Venice into one of the periods most progressive pieces of culture from the 16th century. Shylock's monologue could be repeated by any oppressed person who desires to take social justice into his own hands by taking recompense from his former oppressor.
Anti-villains are a character type which come in and out of style over the centuries, anti-villains are generally more popular in fantasy during confusing or moralistic times when people desire characters who are not shallow. Anti-villains are often used to add complexity and volume to short, simple plots or to tie disconnected plots together. Countercultural writers in particular use anti-villains to engage in veiled social critique during moralistic times when a direct challenge to the mainstream point of view would be ostracized. Anyways, if you are an author who desires to expand one's writing I would recommend considering the anti-villain character type, in my experience anti-villains are fun to write about, though one should be careful not to put too many in a single fantasy world.
