Literary Villains

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silly and insipid wife. One could argue that without the villain, the hero would never become heroic, for he would have no chance to show his goodness, his selflessness, and his true heart… either to win the girl, to save the day, or simply to survive.

Herein, you will find a motley crew of nasty, diabolical, backstabbing, murdering fiends that all are memorable in some way, even if it’s simply for the fact that we utterly despise them. I’d say ―enjoy,‖ but…

XOXO,

Charity

Cinema has no end of diabolical, fearsome and even likable villains, but literature has an even deeper wealth of truly despicable figures (Dickens in particular can lay claim to a great number of them), who embark on unforgivable actions and give the hero or heroine of the tale no end of emotional trauma and bad experiences.

Fortunately, what fiction also teaches us is that in the end, good wins. The villain may get the upper hand for a time, but he or she will get a nice comeuppance in time, whether that is a bullet as a result of their general unkindness or merely being ostracized from society and left to live out life with a truly

as time goes by 14 Classic Movie: Billy Budd

digging deeper 24 Spirituality in Film: Hannibal

w here would literature be without

villains? If there were no human evils to overcome, heroes would not embark on adventures. Damsels would not need rescued. For just about every hero in a novel, there is an evil personified in a living individual. The characters of Bleak House are tormented by the rigid, vile Mr. Tulkinghorn (among a host of other bad guys!). The Bennet sisters face a lesser but just as insidious evil in the form of the manipulative, seducing Mr. Wickham. And, of course, Harry Potter goes up against the diabolical Lord Voldemort, to save all of wizarding kind. Authors simply know that as difficult as life can be, often life itself isn’t enough of a challenge for a main character. There must be evil individuals in that character’s life, to further complicate their decisions and even to lead them astray for a time. Sometimes these evils are obvious, and sometimes they’re more cunning… such as the evil of a friend who gives bad or selfish advice.

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John Willoughby 4 Rev. Dimmesdale 6 Professor Umbridge 8 Curley & His Wife 9 St. John Rivers 10 Mrs. Norris 12 Lady de Winter 16 Bradley Headstone 18 President Snow 20 Madame Defarge 22

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n ot all villains are bent on evil. Most do not even consider

their actions evil. In their minds, they’re looking out for their own best interests or they are ―following their heart.‖ Many even have good qualities; they love and give and show flickers of morality. Mr. John Willoughby of Jane Austen’s timeless classic Sense and Sensibility is one of those villains who is

not exactly a villain, but he’s not a good man either. When he makes his debut in the story, he seems to come in the form of a knight in shining armor but in reality he is the downfall of many.

When tragedy strikes the Dashwood family, the four ladies leave their home and move into a cottage far away in Devonshire. Between silly neighbors and a colonel who is instantly smitten, Marianne

Dashwood feels smothered by her new life. As much as she loves her family, they do not understand how this new atmosphere stifles her. On a walk with her younger sister Margaret, Marianne falls and

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sprains her ankle. Almost as if he came straight out of one of the romances she likes to read, a young, handsome man happens upon her. He rescues her in her plight and carries her to safety. He introduces himself as John Willoughby of Allenham. His wealthy aunt lives not too far away; she is elderly and he will inherit everything from her. Between his good looks, charm, lively spirit and secure fortune, Marianne's romantic sensibilities are instantly piqued. Willoughby is her equal in every sense. While she is often scolded by her older and more sensible sister Elinor, Willoughby matches her in all her passions and pursuits. He seems truly devoted to her. From giving her a horse, to taking her on rides alone, to showing her the house he will inherit, Marianne is convinced it is true love and throws caution to the wind. But on the day she expects to receive a marriage proposal, Willoughby informs her he must go to London and has no reason to return. He tells her that his benefactress has disinherited him and chosen another relative,

her affections. Somewhere along the way he fell in love with her, wanted to marry her … and would have were it not for the sake of money and security.

Although Willoughby appeared early on as the night in shining armor, it is Col. Brandon who is the real hero of the story. Unlike Willoughby, the

Colonel is selfless, even when Marianne rejects him time and time again. In the end, he wins her whole heart.

The end of Sense and Sensibility, leaves Willoughby married to a cold woman he doesn’t love. While Marianne redeems herself, Willoughby likely continues on his path of self-destruction. Due to

his selfish ways, we can only imagine that he didn’t stay faithful to his wife and pursued happiness elsewhere. That is the result of living only for yourself and your own amusements, rather than following God’s Will and putting others first. Though Willoughby is in the wrong, we can learn from his poor example and do what is right. ♥

Willoughby. He manages to avoid her until he comes face to face with her at a public dance. Again, Willoughby takes the easy way out and snubs her. It’s only when his betrothed confronts him that he sends back Marianne's letters and lock of her hair, along with a coldly worded rejection.

While Marianne writhes in pain and Eliza is left to raise her child on her own, Willoughby marries into wealth and secures his future. But money doesn’t buy happiness and when he hears that Marianne is on the verge of death, he rushes to her. Elinor refuses to allow him to see her but listens to his side of the story. As it turns out, when he first met Marianne he had no intention of loving her but knowingly engaged

but doesn’t disclose the whole ugly truth. His aunt had discovered that several months prior he seduced a young girl, Eliza, got her pregnant and abandoned her. The young girl is none other than the charge of Col. Brandon. While several years his senior, Col. Brandon challenges Willoughby to a duel and wins… not only for the

honor of his charge, but for Marianne as well.

Willoughby genuinely loves Marianne—at least in his mind he loves her. He planned to propose to her but panicked at the idea of being penniless. When the heiress Miss Grey catches his eye, he pursues her and it isn’t long before they are engaged. Simultaneously when the Dashwood sisters arrive in town, Marianne does what she can to get in touch with

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Visit Veronica’s Blog.

A dultery is a sin

that spreads its

roots into many

lives. If a pastor commits

adultery he brings this sin

upon the community at-

large, himself, the woman,

a child (if formed), the

families, the church and

God. In a pastor, one hopes

she can trust her soul to be

cared for as a shepherd

tends his flock, to find a

man who is responsible,

gentle, fatherly, protective

and providing. Young

Hester Pyrnne (married to

an elderly man but alone in

a small early American

community) is drawn to the

Oxford-trained minister,

Rev. Dimmesdale… a

flaming hypocrite!

In writing about a villain, I

wanted to find one that is

less common or frequently

overlooked. In Nathaniel

Hawthorne’s classic novel,

The Scarlet Letter, many

people pick Chillingworth

(Hester’s husband) as the

villain. He’s driven by

revenge, a despicable and

unworthy husband, yet

Dimmesdale is the truest

villain by displaying the

hypocrisy of a ―righteous‖

Puritan society. He had the

letter inscribed onto his

soul, hidden from everyone,

while Hester was publically

scorned—a reaction

encouraged in the strict

Puritan early American

community.

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The purpose of a pastor is

to protect and nurture the

eternal souls of those in

his congregation. God

entrusts him with this

noble purpose. Yet Rev.

Dimmesdale falls in lust

and takes advantage of

Hester. To me this is

painful enough, but he

becomes a greater villain

in my eyes by being silent

when Hester is publically

accused and ridiculed. I

abhor the sin of silence.

An act of sinning is a sin

of commission; the act of

being silent is the sin of

omission. Both are

equally grievous sins in

the eyes of God.

From the beginning of the

novel, the entire town is

in chaos over Hester, a

mother to a fatherless

child. She is disgraced for

adultery, made to wear a

letter ―A‖ on her garment,

and shunned by everyone.

It’s hidden from even the

reader that Dimmesdale is

the father to her child.

Sadly, even today a girl

carries the burden of

exposure and ridicule if

she has a child out of

wedlock because her sin

can’t be hidden. Some

men think it’s the price a

woman pays for the

chance she takes, so they

bear no responsibility to

her, especially if they have

no emotional feelings for

her. How sick this sounds

and how sad! While the

girl bears her shame in

front of all, the man

doesn’t have to confess

publically. (Now a woman

can avoid this through the

sin of abortion! Hester

couldn’t hide or abort it!)

our lives, to take personal

responsibility, and to take

responsibility for our

sinful actions even if they

aren’t evident to others.

We must not think the

greatest villains in life are

those who are exposed,

but look first within our

own souls to examine

―hidden‖ un-repented sins

that provide a place for a

deadly foothold to grow.

In the end, Dimmesdale’s

guilt of hypocrisy does

lead to his death, though a

careful observant reader

would know they’d been

watching this villain’s

slow internal death

throughout the novel.

The wages of sin is death,

but the gift of God is

eternal life. Therefore, we

should go to God,

willingly confessing our

sin to receive forgiveness.

God is faithful and just to

forgive us of our sins and

to cleanse us of all

unrighteousness. By

dealing rightly according

to God with sinfulness, we

are collecting potential

testimonies to be used as

trophies of grace for God.

One can only imagine the

outcome if Dimmesdale

had openly confessed his

sin when it mattered

most! How could God

have used his life’s

testimony to bring about

genuineness in the

Puritan mindset?

But alas, this is simply a

character of a novel… is it

not? ♥

judgmental, and a very

disliked man. He lurks in

disguise seeking out the

sinner. Undeniably he is

despicable in his pursuit

of Hester’s anonymous

lover, but he alone

searches for the truth.

It’s much like the female

adulteress written about

in the New Testament.

Jesus saved her from

being stoned by a mob of

religious men. Again, only

one person was accused

and shamed—the woman.

And it is with this in mind

that Nathaniel Hawthorne

crafts his classic novel by

allowing Hester to make

substantive observations

about the treatment of

women in such matters.

Her elderly husband, who

sent her to live in America

alone and never followed

her, carries the weight of

her sin morally but not in

the story. He is guilty of

setting her up for

temptation, which the

Bible warns us against as

husband and wife. It was

during the time that she

waited for her husband

that she had an affair with

Dimmesdale, which led to

the birth of her child.

The townspeople spread

rumors that the girl’s true

father is the Devil, thus

causing her also to be

feared and shunned. This

shows the handiwork of

the Devil’s plan to destroy

all lives. Not only does the

sin destroy Hester, but

her child’s reputation and

well-being as well! We can

learn much from this

classic novel. It teaches us

to be watchful of sin in

Arthur Dimmesdale is a

beloved pastor who

preaches with eloquence

and emotion. He seems to

be a compassionate leader

able to provide spiritual

guidance. In the end when

he tries to confess his sin

in a sermon, the church

believes it’s an allegorical

testimony of a sinner

rather than a confession.

Dimmesdale’s silence in

the presence of the public

exposure, ridicule and

punishment of Hester is

what makes him a great

villain. How unholy! How

unrepentant! How un-

useable by the Holy

Spirit! How spineless!

Hester Prynne, wearer of

a patch of fabric in the

shape of the letter ―A‖ that

marked adultery, was a

guilty girl married to an

absent elderly scholar,

Chillingworth. But as in

life, a hidden sin is often

much more serious than

what is known. It goes on

to create destruction: evil

festering, growing and

infiltrating more lives.

One person cannot be a

lone adulterer. It takes

two to commit that sin.

The Puritan community

spends no thought or time

seeking out the guilty man

and Hester is unwilling to

reveal his identity.

Therefore Chillingworth

does the duty that should

be done by the entire community—seeking to

find the responsible

culprit who is hiding his

sin. As holds true to many

who try to discover the

facts and root out

deception, Chillingworth

is seen as a revengeful,

Visit Lindy’s blog. 7

L ord Acton first said,

―Power tends to

corrupt and absolute

power corrupts

absolutely.‖ Professor

Umbridge of the Harry

Potter series presents an

excellent example for that

phrase. We first meet her

when Harry is brought

before the High Court.

Though toad-like in her

appearance, her honeyed

voice masks a desire to get

what she wants, no matter

the cost.

As the Defense Against

the Dark Arts teacher, she

quickly makes it known

that even Hogwarts is not

safe from her prying

fingers. Before long, the

Minster of Magic,

Cornelius Fudge, appoints

her High Inquisitor and

she does everything she

can to rule the school.

Instead of letting the

teachers and Dumbledore

enforce the rules, she

constantly finds new

things to ban. If someone

challenges her power, she

finds a way to make that

person pay. When Harry

challenges what she

teaches during class, she

forces him to write with a

pen that uses his own

blood to engrave a

message on the back of

his hand. She became

High Inquisitor because

Professor McGonagall

dared to contradict her

authority. And when

Marietta refuses to utter

another word after being

branded a sneak,

Umbridge shakes the girl

to get the truth from her.

Umbridge looks for those

who are weaker than she

is. She constantly acts as

if Hagrid speaks barely

passable English as a way

to fire him. She makes fun

of Professor Trelawney

and enjoys the woman’s

distress and fear when she

fires her. Part of the

reason Malfoy and his

friends admire Umbridge

so much is that they are

finally given free reign to

act as they want. They can

treat those who are like

them favorably and take

points away from those

who oppose them. They

are even encouraged to

use curses against Harry

and his friends.

Quick to be offended,

Umbridge’s voice grows

high-pitched and sweet to

hide her growing anger.

Though her desire for

power and control is

limitless, her abilities are

rather mediocre. She can’t

reverse Hermione’s jinx

on Marietta, nor can she

clean up the swamp the

Weasley twins leave

behind when they quit

school. She expects Snape

to instantly create a

potion that takes a month

to brew. Many students

suffer ―Umbridge-itis‖

when around her and she

is unable to find the

cause. With such

lackluster magical

abilities, it

becomes obvious

that she rose to

power through

nothing more

than guile and

manipulation.

What makes her

such a loathsome

person, though, is

that somewhere

deep inside of her

is some good.

She is able to

produce a

Patronus,

something

Death

Eaters

can’t do

since

that is

the opposite of what they

stand for. To produce a

Patronus, you must have

some good inside you, and

if Umbridge truly did, that

means she knows the

difference between right

and wrong and chooses to

do what is wrong. Even

her wand indicates her

true nature: a short wand

often reveals a stunted, or

undeveloped, emotional

nature.

Umbridge acts despicably

toward all who stand up

to her, and this is what

makes the ending of

Harry Potter and the

Order of the Phoenix so

satisfying. She pays for

her hatefulness, cruelty,

and bigotry in a way that

makes the reader cheer.

To top it off, Dumbledore,

in a show of his always-

good nature, rescues her.

But she never thanks him;

instead, she continues to

hate those she does not

understand.

For not actually being the

main villain in this novel

or indeed of the series on

the whole, Umbridge is a

nasty piece of work. She

claims to love the rules

but all she loves is power.

In the end, though, all

that power led to her

demise. Her life is a vivid

picture of how unlimited

power will lead to total

destruction. She tries to

destroy the lives of those

around her, but ends up

destroying herself. ♥

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J ohn Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is story of two

friends in the Depression. George Milton and the mentally-challenged Lennie Small search for work after being run out of their last place of employment due to a somewhat serious mishap by Lennie. They eventually find work at a ranch and manage to make new friends as well as a couple of enemies. Both of them, especially Lennie, draw the ire of the boss's son, Curley, a bully with a bad temper and an inferiority complex, as well as Curley's wife, a femme fatale who finds living on a ranch with its all-male inhabitants to be insulting. Although the two men make only brief appearances in the novel, they represent the evil of the story.

Most folks find bullies to be evil. Bullies have no purpose in life other than to make those around them miserable or hellish. School yard ―toughs‖ enjoy picking on others half their size and avoid those much bigger than them. Now imagine the schoolyard bully as an adult. His attitude doesn’t change and neither do his violent habits. Curley fits the description of a school bully. To make up for his

part to have Curley beat him senseless should they be spotted together. Although she seems harmless, Curley's wife is anything but, to any man who crosses her path.

Literary villains are all despicable in their own right. Some are sleaze-worthy seducers, some are cold-blooded killers, and some are just plain indescribably evil. Of Mice and Men has few villains but these two in particular stand out. The story's two protagonists, George Milton and Lennie Small, both have big plans of saving enough money to purchase a home and a plot of land to take care of. Their employment on the ranch is a means of succeeding in this venture and surviving during the Depression. But Lennie's large stature and limited mental capacity leave him to be victimized by a man smaller than himself but with an ego twice as big.

It’s a tale of dreams confronted with subtle evil in unexpected places. The plans and hopes of these two friends are threatened by the novel's antagonists, whose true villainy is shown in their behavior, despite the fact that their own way of life isn't threatened by the heroes. ♥

While not as evil-minded as her husband, Curley's unnamed wife has her share of sins. Being the only woman around, she grows bored and tries to flirt with the ranch hands. Fortunately for them, they distance themselves from her knowing full well that they’d encounter the wrath of her husband if they ever reciprocated her advances. What makes her evil is her attitude and her insults to the men. She, being the

beautiful trophy wife, feels living on the ranch is beneath her and would much rather be ―in pictures.‖ She claims she was with men who promised her a

career in film. She insults the employees by not only calling the black stable hand Crooks, a racial epithet, but also threatening to have him lynched if he ever crosses her path. She also calls Lennie a ―dum-dum,‖ but succeeds in ―tempting‖ him to sit and talk with her. This looks like a deliberate attempt on her

short stature, Curley takes on a ―tough guy‖ image by threatening to beat up anyone who looks at him funny or as much as talks to his wife. He doesn’t hide his hatred for men twice his size, especially Lennie, who is a giant with the heart of a child. His background as a lightweight boxer does give him some leverage, but Curley's hair-trigger temper gets the best of him and he takes it out on Lennie because the latter allegedly smirked at him (which was not the case). As a result, Curley beats the poor man almost senseless until Lennie manages to break Curley's hand by crushing it with his own. Despite Lennie's mental capacity, Curley is not above beating him up. Being able to pick on a bigger man, win or lose, makes him feel tough to compensate for his short stature. Because of his temper and attitude toward ―weaker‖ men, he is truly this story's villain… or is he?

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F or my literary

villain, I offer a

minister and

aspiring missionary who

wants nothing more than

to do what he is called to

do; a man called good by

all the people who know

him; a man who believes

serving God as a

missionary is the greatest

thing anyone can do; a

man willing to give up

everything important to

him to go out and live,

serve, and die in India,

doing the work of God; a

man determined to help

preserve the virtue of a

young woman he knows

and admires and offers

her the chance to do what

is truly noble and serve

God by his side. This man

is Jane Eyre’s St. John

Rivers, one of my least

favorite fictional

characters of all time.

As an aspiring theologian

and missionary myself, I

love missionaries and

ministers in fiction, and

other characters who are

bound and determined to

do God’s will against all

obstacles. But I can’t

remember a character

who agitates me to the

degree that St. John

Rivers does, every single

time I read Jane Eyre,

which is frequently.

For those unacquainted

with the plot , here are

some spoilers necessary

to understanding my view

of St. John as the villain

of the piece. Little, plain,

impoverished, and

intelligent Jane Eyre,

after a loveless childhood

and harsh education,

becomes a governess for a

child in a mysterious

manor house in a remote

area of England. She

meets, falls in love with,

and becomes engaged to

the master of the house,

Edward Rochester, a

peculiar, ugly, mercurial,

none-too-virtuous but

ever so compelling man

with a secret. The secret,

which makes a Gothic

novel of the book, is that

he is already married and

has his thoroughly insane

wife locked in the attic.

When Jane finds out, she

flees the temptation

Rochester holds out to

her of moving to the

Continent and living in a

false marriage. After

hardship, she is taken in

by her cousins Diana,

Mary, and St. John

Rivers, lives and works

with them, and is

eventually offered the

chance to leave England,

and all its painful

associations, and go to

India as St. John’s wife to

live and die a missionary.

She chooses to find out

what happened to

Rochester in her absence

before making a final

decision, learns his wife is

dead, and marries him.

There’s no real bad guy in

this story, no real villain,

other than circumstances

and personal temptation.

By all accounts, Rochester

should come closest

because he tries to trick a

virtuous and godly young

woman into a bigamist

marriage and then tries to

tempt her into becoming

his mistress. His rival, the

handsome St. John, is

portrayed as ―good,‖

upright, and self-

sacrificing yet I call St.

John the antagonist, not

Rochester. Wikipedia

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says, ―An antagonist is a

character, group of

characters, or institution

that represents the

opposition against which

the protagonist must

contend.‖ The opposition

St. John offers Jane Eyre

nearly undoes her.

manipulates her into

almost agreeing to his

request. She can stand up

to the fire of Rochester

but not the ice of St. John.

But we, the readers, know

his agenda is all wrong.

Jane’s purpose is not

missions in India, as good

and noble as missions in

India is. Jane belongs

with Rochester. The point

of the whole book is that

she belongs with him. In

fact, when Jane returns to

Rochester, she performs

her own missionary work,

because her return brings

him to an understanding

of God’s love and

forgiveness. In obeying St.

John, the missionary, she

would have been false to

her true Christian

purpose.

St. John Rivers is not a

classic villain, nor do I

think Charlotte Brontë

intended to write him as

one. But he stands in the

way of the story’s

fulfillment, which makes

him an antagonist, and he

inserts his will for God’s,

which makes him even

worse. He is a more

immoral character than

even Rochester, because

in all his claims to

godliness, Christianity,

ministry, and following

God’s will, he gives no

room in his life for the

love and mercy that make

a true believer. St. John

Rivers nearly destroys our

protagonist, and that

makes him the

unintended villain. ♥

loneliness to try to take

what comfort he can in

the piquancy of Jane’s

presence, unaware of the

forgiveness and comfort

of Christ. He truly loves

plain, insignificant Jane.

He is a protagonist, and

we long to see him find

joy and love with Jane.

St. John, on the other

hand, is a man seemingly

of virtue and godliness, a

minister with Christian

authority but no Christian

love. He has no love for

his intelligent little cousin

Jane. He only knows she

would make a good fellow

laborer. Love, and with it

gentleness, mercy, and

forgiveness, is not part of

St. John’s Christianity. He

is a cold man, a harsh

man, and what is more,

an arrogant man. He

believes his will is God’s

will, and anyone who

opposes him and his

agenda, as Jane tries to

do when he proposes

coldly to her, is opposing

God. When Jane at first

refuses to marry him,

believing his diamond-

hard character will kill

her if she is forced to

submit to him, he believes

she is denying God in her

life and is worse than the

heathen. He treats her

with cold, hard anger and

unforgiveness.

By the end of the book, he

has nearly brainwashed

Jane into believing he is

right. By his coldness to

her when her whole being

cries out for the love and

kindness of family, he

While Rochester creates

opposition for Jane by

tempting her to sin with

him, she is strong enough

to oppose him and run

away. Rochester is a sad

character, as much sinned

against as sinning, driven

through pain and

11

S he may not possess nefarious magical powers used for ill.

She may not live in an eerie castle or have a deadly criminal past. Her goal in life is not world domination. But Mansfield Park’s Mrs. Norris is so mean and false in her attitudes and impressions that she makes people’s lives—namely her niece, Fanny Price—ever the more difficult and unhappy.

Mrs. Norris loves money. On the one hand, her preoccupation for it is understandable because unlike her sister, Lady Bertram, she didn’t marry a wealthy man. Mr. Norris was a parson and friends with Sir Thomas; while they are not ―contemptible‖ towards one another, the union appears to be one of convenience and obligation. Mrs. Norris learned to manage a frugal household not only to accommodate their needs but also to make ―a yearly addition to an income which they had never lived up to.‖

While she is economical when it comes to her own household, Mrs. Norris has no problem ―spend[ing] that of her friends.‖

Despite bearing little love for her own sister, Mrs. Norris is constantly at Mansfield Park, managing the household and always ready to enjoy the comforts of their home. Her love for money and the comforts of the upper class can be seen in the way she treats her nieces, Maria and Julia, whom she reminds every so often of how many of their accomplishments are the result of their socio-economic status.

Coupled with her love and concern for money is ―her love of directing.‖ She especially likes to tell people of her role in certain developments or subject matters, saying things like ―owing to me‖ to credit herself in the discussion. She enjoys her role as confidante to her brother-in-law, influencing and advising him, so much so that it seems she is closer to Sir Thomas than his own wife. She is greatly proud of Maria’s engagement to Mr. Rushmore, a wealthy man. When Tom Bertram and his friend Mr. Yates decide to put on a production of Lovers’ Vows during Sir Thomas’ absence, she places herself in charge

of helping put together the set. Her pride in her own schemes is so great that she becomes upset whenever someone revises it, like when Edmund offers to stay at home so Fanny can join Mrs. Norris and his siblings in visiting the Rushmores.

These characteristics come together to form one particular vice that resonates in Mrs. Norris’ character throughout the novel: vanity. On the outset she seems ―thoroughly benevolent‖ and likes the appearance of ―being the most liberal-minded sister and aunt in the world.‖ But her actions don’t support her words; although she is the one who proposes the idea of bringing Fanny to Mansfield Park and agrees to share custody in raising her, Mrs. Norris later talks her way out of her obligation of bringing her into her home, arguing that she is in no position to care for a young person with her reduced income and widowed state. Her desire to look useful also compromises her responsibility as an adult such as failing to put a stop to the makeshift play—knowing that Sir

Thomas won’t approve—and setting a proper example of kindness and right conduct to her nieces.

Mrs. Norris’ treatment of Fanny over the course of the novel shows how contradictory her actions are to her words as well as how uncaring she can be. She has ―no affection for Fanny‖ and has ―no wish of procuring her pleasure at any time,‖ to the point that she will deny her simple comforts such as the use of a carriage to take her to dinner at the Grants’ home or a pleasant conversation with Lady Bertram while working on a hem. She constantly reminds Fanny that she is socially ―beneath‖ them and she should be thankful for Sir Thomas’ generosity. She both encourages and exacerbates Fanny’s timid, introverted nature by telling her time and again, ―wherever you are, you must be the lowest and last.‖ Saying such things also reinforces Fanny’s status as an outsider in the Bertram household, despite spending her formative years in their tutelage. Like the stepmother in Cinderella, Mrs. Norris

12

is very bossy toward Fanny, putting her to task with chores around the house. She often scolds Fanny, especially whenever she catches her in a moment of rest. Mrs. Norris has absolutely no regard for Fanny’s well-being, leaving her out to work on the garden in the sun despite knowing that her health is generally fragile.

Mrs. Norris’ unkind behaviour eventually pays her in kind. Upset by Maria’s downfall and blaming Fanny for refusing Henry Crawford’s proposal, Mrs. Norris leaves Mansfield Park to take care of her niece. Rather than feeling sad by her departure, her relations are relieved and she is ―regretted by no one at Mansfield.‖ Sir Thomas lost his good opinion of his sister-in-law after he returned from Antigua and ―felt her an hourly evil.‖ Although Maria

money and appearing resourceful and generous contributes to her poor behaviour toward other people, especially her niece, Fanny. She actively seeks to keep Fanny from truly enjoying the company of the family who took her in. In a way, she also contributes to the dysfunction of the Bertram household through her reinforcement of snobbish attitudes of social standing, especially amongst her nieces. Mrs. Norris leaves some ―bitter remembrances behind her,‖ but the people who were most affected by her behaviour—

namely Fanny—survived her company without reciprocating her meanness. ♥

Jane Austen supposed in the narration ―that their tempers became their mutual punishment.‖

Mrs. Norris is a miserly woman whose love for

was her favourite, she had no genuine love for her, or vice versa on Maria’s part. In the end, Mrs. Norris and Maria were stuck together in the countryside; even

Visit Lianne’s blog here.

13

ometimes, no

matter how hard

you look for a

glimmer of goodness in a

person, you won’t find it.

There are times when a

man or woman has zero

redeeming qualities and,

in fact, they are rotten

through and through…

evil to the very core. One

such man is Captain John

Claggart, the antagonist of

Herman Melville’s Billy

Budd.

Based on the 1949 stage

adaption of the novel,

Billy Budd is a 1962

period drama starring the

sensational Robert Ryan.

Peter Ustinov, who also

directed the film, stars

with Ryan, while the title

role introduces newcomer

Terence Stamp (in an

Oscar-nominated best

supporting actor nod).

David McCallum and

Melvyn Douglas are the

supporting players.

While on a wartime cruise

in 1797, The Avenger, a

ship of the British Royal

Navy, stops the merchant

ship The Rights of Man

which is bound for the

West Indies. Needing to

impress one of that ship's

men into naval service,

the officers board The

Rights of Man and come

away with Billy Budd, a

teenager. A simple boy,

Billy can’t read or write,

and when he gets nervous,

is unable to speak and

instead he stutters.

The Master at Arms

on The Avenger is John

Claggart (Ryan), a man as

evil as the day is long.

Cruel and sadistic, he

rules over the crew with

viciousness and brutality,

finding pleasure in having

the men flogged, often for

infractions they're not

even aware of. All the men

despise Claggart, which

delights him.

Billy Budd, on the other

hand, is kind, friendly,

and good. When all the

men complain about the

Master at Arms, Billy

insists that since no man

takes pleasure in cruelty,

there must be a reason

when someone is flogged

or put on report. Even

after Claggart forces a sick

man to stand watch, Billy

believes he must have had

a reason for doing so. It is

not in Billy to consider

that one human being

would purposefully, and

for no reason, hurt

another.

Believing Claggart to be

good deep down, Billy

seeks to befriend him

while topside one evening,

an act which causes the

man's hatred towards

Billy to increase; and

when Billy refuses to take

part in an assassination

attempt on the master at

arms, his fate is sealed.

The evil in Claggart is so

infuriated by the good in

Billy that he will stop at

nothing to destroy the

boy.

Billy Budd is gripping and

amazingly acted. The

always-brilliant Robert

Ryan positively oozes evil

in this film. While Mr.

Ryan often portrayed "bad

guys" and did a fantastic

job doing so, I find this

role to be perhaps his

most wicked. There is

absolutely nothing decent

or redeeming about

Captain Claggart. He is

simply rotten through and

through, and Mr. Ryan’s

portrayal of the evil,

malevolent man is

completely stellar. The

Billy Budd character is

kind, forgiving, caring, honest, trustworthy—the

kind of person we wish

there were more of in this

world. Terence Stamp

does a beautiful job

bringing Billy to life. Peter

Ustinov, who produced,

directed, and starred in

the film, is quite good in

his role as the ship's

captain… a man torn

between justice and

mercy.

Fostering such questions

as ―Is black always black

and white always white,

or are there gray areas?‖

Billy Budd is a great

discussion piece. . Be

warned, it’s not a feel-

good story, but it is

incredibly thought-

provoking and well worth

watching. ♥

14

H appy 110th

birthday to one

of the classiest

gals of Hollywood's

golden era (or any era!),

the lovely Miss Claudette

Colbert (September 13,

1903 - July 30, 1996).

Born Emilie Lily

Chauchoin (or Lily Emilie,

depending on the source)

in Paris, Claudette Colbert

was one of those actresses who could do it all—

comedy, drama, stage,

silents, talkies, TV.

Having moved to New

York with her family when

she was nine years old,

Lily (who had changed

her named to Lily

Claudette) began her

show business career on

the Broadway stage. The

stage would remain a

love, and it would draw

her back regularly

through the years.

In a career spanning over

six decades, Claudette

made 62 films, earning a

Best Actress Academy

Award for her work in

Frank Capra's It

Happened One Night.

She would be nominated

two more times for that

award. Her appearance in

the 1987 TV mini-series,

The Two Mrs. Grenvilles,

garnered her an Emmy

Award nomination (Best

discovered the completely

charming "bus movie." I

fell in love with Miss

Colbert; she’d been one of

my favorite actresses ever

since. I think she's classy,

elegant, sophisticated,

feminine, and always a

delight to watch!

So, Miss Claudette

Colbert, here's to you on

your 110th birthday. You

were a wonderful actress,

and you will always be

one of my favorites.

Thank you for making so

many terrific movies,

including two (It

Happened One Night and

Imitation of Life) which

are among my 20

favorites of all time. ♥

Supporting Actress) and a

Golden Globe win. Her

stage work brought a

Tony Award nomination

her way. Not many

actresses can boast of

having Oscar, Emmy, and

Tony nominations, but

this "can do it all" gal did.

Over the course of her

long career, Miss Colbert

was paired with a variety

of leading men, including

Don Ameche, Clark Gable,

and Fred MacMurray.

The lovely, classy

Claudette came into my

life through It Happened

One Night. It was close to

seven years ago, when,

having long-loved It's a

Wonderful Life, I went on

a quest to see more of

Frank Capra's works and

Montgomery Clift Get reviews of his films on

Patti’s blog!

Patti loves the golden age of

Hollywood! If you do too, you’ll love

her blog!

Vivien Leigh is the November

Star of the Month!

15

A few months ago,

author Neil

Stephenson stated

in an interview that his

novels never have female

villains because for a

villain to be convincing,

they have to be powerful.

Ouch. Apparently

Stephenson never read

Alexandre Dumas’ The

Three Musketeers, which

features one of the best

villains in literature, man

or woman: the mysterious

and sly Lady de Winter.

Like Cardinal Richelieu,

Lady de Winter is a major

antagonist for the

Musketeers; unlike

Richelieu, she’s described

as ―evil‖ and ―a demon.‖

Known by various

aliases—Lady Clarick,

Milady, the Comtesse de

la Fère, Anne de Breuil,

and Charlotte Backson,

among others—the true

identity, even nationality

(she can pass as English

or French, as she chooses)

of Lady de Winter is an

enigma. The reader

doesn’t even start

connecting her identities

until nearly halfway

through the novel, and

her various plots take

even longer to unravel.

Let’s take a look at this

―demon’s‖ various crimes:

as a spy for Cardinal

Richelieu, Lady Clarick

plotted to kill the Duke of

Buckingham and steal

diamonds given to him by

Queen Anne of France.

She hired men to kill

d’Artagnan after an

assignation between

them, and she tried to kill

her brother-in-law and

the heir to the de Winter

estate numerous times.

But by far her greatest

crime, at least as far as the

Musketeers are

concerned, is that she

broke Athos’s heart. Athos

is everyone’s favorite

Musketeer because he has

a Dark Past, and the key

element to that Dark Past

is that before he joined

the Musketeers, he was a

nobleman who fell in love

with a poor young girl.

Athos’s sun, moon, and

stars revolved around her

until one day he saw a

fleur-de-lis brand on her

back, a sign that she was,

in fact, a thief! Quelle

horreur. So what did

Athos do? He sentenced

her to death by hanging to

pay for her crimes, of

course. Then he ran off

and spent the next decade

whining about how

women are completely

untrustworthy.

So here’s the thing about

Lady de Winter: like all

great villains, even though

her actions are morally

reprehensible, you can

totally understand where

she’s coming from. Can

anyone really blame her

for running off and

marrying a count after her

first husband tried to kill

to her? I think that’s

generally filed under

―relationship ender.‖ And

I would have wanted to

kill d’Artagnan after the

way he behaved, too! I

wouldn’t have done it, of

course, but I’m not the

villain in an adventure

novel. Villains are gonna

be villainous!

Not only that, but one

can’t help but admire

Milady’s cleverness, even

while thinking, ―Ooooh,

she is sooo eeeeeevil.‖ For

example, when Lady de

Winter escapes from the

prison her brother-in-law

throws her into by

convincing her guard

she’s a persecuted

Puritan. Pure genius! For

someone who was

apparently born with

nothing but her brains

and her good looks, she

made it pretty far in the

world by the time the

Musketeers showed up.

She’s not just a passive

character, either: her

actions during the course

of the novel drive much of

the plot. For proof, just

look at the film

adaptations of The Three

16

Musketeers: even

though Hollywood

tends to

marginalize

female

characters,

they all

feature

Milady

prominently

because

there’s no

way you can

tell The Three

Musketeers

without

including Lady de

Winter—you

wouldn’t have the

second half of the book!

Lady de Winter takes the

weaknesses of every male

character she meets and

uses them against him.

With Athos, it’s his heroic

nature; with d’Artagnan

it’s the fact that he falls in

love with every woman he

meets. With the prison

guard, it’s his religion,

and with her brother-in-

law, it’s his arrogance.

Her ability to manipulate

men, almost turning them

in their own worst

enemies for her own

personal gain, must be

pretty terrifying. She may

not be powerful in the way

Cardinal Richelieu is, but

she is the smartest, most

Machiavellian, and most

resourceful character in

The Three Musketeers. At

some point Richelieu and

the Musketeers reach a

détente because of the

war with England;

Milady, on the other

hand, is forever

17th- and 18th-century

females for inspiration!

The Three Musketeers is

hardly a work of feminist

literature (although it

does pass the Bechdel

Test), but it still has

believable women

characters with their own

motivations who drive

major events of the story.

Lady de Winter is only

one of those characters,

but she’s definitely the

most memorable and a

woman that everyone

loves to hate. ♥

Carlisle, who was involved

in numerous political

intrigues in the court of

Charles I and pawned a

pearl necklace to support

both sides during the

English Civil War. She

was summarily locked in

the Tower of London, but

eventually managed to

escape, much like our

intrepid Lady de Winter.

Dumas knew that women

could be powerful enough

to serve as formidable

villains based on history,

and that was a nineteenth

century writer looking to

condemned because, in

the long run, Richelieu’s

scheming seems silly in

comparison to hers.

Of course, that’s all

fiction—right? Wrong-o.

Dumas based Lady de

Winter on historical

accounts of actual women.

In the memoirs of 18th

century French naval

officer Hubert de Brienne,

he described a woman

named Lady Clarick de

Winter, who actually did

scheme to steal Queen

Anne’s diamonds from the

Duke of Buckingham.

Another French writer,

the Duc de La

Rochefoucauld, related

the story of an

Englishwoman named

Lucy Hay, the Countess of

Make sure to check out Tasha’s Blog!

17

C harles Dickens

wrote many

memorable and

heinous villains in his

time. One of the defining

characteristics of his

stories is that most of

them have more than one

villain. Sometimes, there

are many, of varying

levels of evil intent and

impact on the plot. Our

Mutual Friend fits well

into this generalization, as

Silas Wegg, Mr. and Mrs.

Lammle, Rogue

Riderhood and Bradley

Headstone all impact the

storyline in different

ways. However, of this

collection of people with

villainous intent, Bradley

Headstone makes the

most impact on the reader

because he is a fascinating

psychological study,

descending ever deeper

into a madness brought

on by obsession.

He is introduced as a

decent, morally upright,

rule following, law-

abiding schoolteacher. He

appears to be quiet,

constrained and utterly

respectable. He is not

wealthy but earns enough

to make a comfortable life

for himself and is set up at

the beginning as a fitting

suitor for someone of a

similar social standing.

This is simply the surface

of the matter. Under his

cool exterior, Headstone

hides a boiling pot of

18

emotional turmoil and

conflict. He is proud to a

fault and repressive of his

emotions but capable of

violent temper. This

hidden nature is aroused

by the introduction to his

life of the beautiful and

virtuous Lizzie Hexam.

Lizzie’s brother Charlie is

one of Headstone’s

students and Charlie

hopes to help educate his

sister through Headstone.

His admired and trusted

mentor is thrilled at the

opportunity to tutor

Lizzie, whom he has

already fallen for. But two

things put a damper on

Headstone’s passion. He

discovers a rival for her

affections in Eugene

Wrayburn, a man of

higher social standing

who has already procured

a tutor for Lizzie… and

Lizzie doesn’t care for

Headstone and rebuffs his

attentions. These things

serve as a burner to ignite

the fire of his inner

demons and to propel this

troubled love triangle

towards certain conflict.

As a villain, Headstone

isn’t particularly wicked.

This isn’t a story of high

stakes, political intrigue,

power, greed, money or

scheming. Rather, Our

Mutual Friend revolves

around obsession. The

triangle of Eugene, Lizzie,

and Headstone has her as

the object of longing and

her two suitors as rivals

and opponents, both for

Lizzie’s affections and

against one another.

waters Eugene survived.

Obsession with anything

is never healthy, but

obsession with another

person is especially

dangerous. Headstone

falls down the rabbit hole

of murder and passion

into insanity as he

changes from respectable

schoolteacher to deranged

stalker and would-be-

killer. He is effective as an

antagonist because his

brand of villainy is

something that we can

easily find in society at

any time. People who

harbor dark obsessions

too often turn into case

studies on Dateline and

60 Minutes because their

actions become murder or

kidnapping. The desire to

possess is what first drives

Bradley Headstone down

his dark path. When he is

spurned, by what he

perceives as Lizzie’s

interest in Eugene, his

passionate desire turns

violent and his obsession

envelops Eugene too.

Headstone perceives

Eugene as the one who

has taken his object of

desire, as the source of his

problems, as a wall that

must be taken down to get

to the peace and

happiness on the other

side. Headstone conceives

wrongly that by taking

down Eugene he can

obtain Lizzie. In fact, what

lies on the other side of

the wall is the emptiness,

fear and self-loathing that

the path violent obsession

inevitably leads to. ♥

deepens upon seeing her

again. He ponders taking

her by force since she will

not acquiesce to his

overtures, despite her

being in love with him,

but he is stopped from

doing anything rash by

the appearance of

Headstone, who followed

him there. Seeing Eugene

and Lizzie together is the

final straw for Headstone

and he attacks Eugene,

beating him and throwing

him in the river to drown.

This murder attempt

almost succeeds, but the

true hero of the story,

Lizzie, saves Eugene in

time.

Eugene’s brush with

death changes him and he

is ―reborn.‖ He recognizes

the error of his ways,

marries Lizzie, and comes

to forgive Headstone,

refusing to name him as

the attempted murderer,

knowing that Headstone

will punish himself

enough. Indeed, fear of

discovery, unresolved

violent passion,

unrelenting obsession and

insane jealousy eat away

at Headstone. His fears all

come true when another

villain, Rogue Riderhood,

reveals that he knows all

about the murder attempt

and tells Headstone of

Eugene’s survival and

newfound happiness with

Lizzie. Riderhood tries to

blackmail Headstone with

this information, but with

nothing left to lose,

Headstone takes the man

down with him, drowning

them both in the icy

The enmity between the

men begins with their

discovery that they are

chasing the same woman.

This escalates when they

also discover they truly

despise one another as

men. Eugene’s arrogant,

high born nature, haughty

attitude and ambiguous

intentions and lust for

Lizzie make him a sort of

anti-hero for most of the

story, and give Headstone

good reason to dislike

him; Headstone’s cold,

calculating demeanor and

violent jealousy give

Eugene reason to dislike

him, and what ensues is a

game of cat and mouse.

Obsession is the central

component in this game.

Both men are obsessed

with Lizzie, something

that frightens her into

running away and hiding

from them. While the men

are in the dark as to her

whereabouts, their

obsession with her turns

into an obsession with

each other. Headstone

takes to following Eugene

everywhere in hopes that

he’ll locate Lizzie. His

sanity and grasp of reality

deteriorate during this

period as his focus blurs

and twists in his jealousy.

He sees Lizzie as an

unattainable object of

desire and Eugene as the

reason for his problems.

In his obsessive misery,

Eugene enjoys tormenting

Headstone and actively

misleads him. Through

less than morally upright

means, Eugene locates

Lizzie. His desire for her

19

now. What is it? Is it just a frozen drop of rain or the

sign of a new beginning? When snow begins to fall and cover the ground we know that winter is here. Those living in warmer climates see snow-covered towns during the winter and look at it in awe. Many who live in snowy climates might even see it as a nuance. However, for the most part, it has been a symbol of purity and even innocence.

That makes us wonder why author Suzanne Collins penned the name President Snow on the heartless ruler in the Hunger Games Trilogy. President Snow is anything but pure or innocent. In fact, he’s ruthless, cruel, and just plain evil.

In the Hunger Games Trilogy readers go on a journey with Katniss, Peeta, Gale and a band of rebels as they face down President Snow and his minions. When Katniss stands up against the terrifying ruler of Panem, President Snow finds that his world has been turned on its head. What is this world that he and

the others live in? Well, annually for the past 74 + years the 12 Districts (what is left of America) provide two ―Tributes‖ to fight to the death in The Hunger Games as a form of punishment to remind the 12 Districts, that like the infamous District 13, if you rebel they will blow you off the map. This is a reminder of who is truly in power. What makes this even worse is the ―Tributes‖ range in age from 12 to 18… they’re children. What makes a man or a society accepting of the fact that children are put into an arena to fight to the death? What truly happened to this world? What happened to this particular man?

We often wonder what our society would do if something catastrophic happened. Would we band together and hold each other up? What if those we depended on, the President, our Military, the police, was no more? Could we keep our humanity and rebuild? That is the question the Hunger Games Trilogy tries to answer. In Collins’ world, it isn’t all sunshine and butterflies.

President Snow takes advantage of a struggling society for his own gain. Much like your average dictator, he rules with an iron fist. However, like a thief or snake, he stays in the shadows… scheming, pretending to be a truly merciful ruler… until he strikes. Like many successful dictators, he is able to control an entire population with a few words, a threat and even the shining, gleaming lights of the Capital. He knows exactly how to manipulate people as well as control them. He doesn’t even blink when he is told how his citizens are starving or when an innocent child dies in one of his ―Games.‖

This lack of emotion is a telltale sign of a sociopath… to put it bluntly. He lacks any kind of empathy and compassion where most people would be crushed under the emotions of the devastation caused through their role in sending children to murder one another. Snow revels in the fact that he strikes fear in Katniss. It’s as if he thrives off that fear and without it, he’d shrivel up and wither away.

Collin’s description of Snow, at first glance, is unassuming. She almost teases us with him. In fact, we don’t know much about Snow other than what Katniss tells us. He’s just a man with white hair, a white suit and a red rose pinned to his chest. Then we learn he isn’t as pure as his suit. Katniss tells us that his breath smells like blood, a metallic scent that makes her sick.

This is the perfect example of a villain. He is polished and poised on the outside, but inside is rotten. He is the symbol, in every fashion, of his beloved Capital. On the outside there is glitz and glamour, but underneath the layers of money and fashionable taste is a dead society of truly lost individuals.

Since President Snow is such a sly character and so able to control the masses, and Collins’ books take place in what is left of America, it leaves one to wonder, could that really happen here? Could we or would we allow someone to control us the way Snow does Panem? Would we sacrifice just a few of our

20

young so that others have the chance to live?

We could take many aspects of the world of Panem and correlate them to our world today. First, we allow President Snow type characters to control our minds. We’ve seen it through the ages in ancient civilizations such as the Mayans, who sacrificed their people to appease their gods, Vlad III, who impaled those who opposed him on stakes, and Hilter, who controlled an entire country by hating a single race into near extinction. Secondly, we let ourselves be hypnotized by the sparkles of Hollywood and celebrities, much like the people of the Capital. Lastly, and on a lighter note, we know how to band together. Even if there are times Americans lose sight of what is important, giving in to a President Snow character or just lead astray by something shiny, we have always come to our senses and realized that together we can overcome any obstacle. ♥

Begins with “The Shadow”

Christian Speculative

Fiction / Fantasy!

The Darkness Trilogy

Out Now! Buy it on

Kindle & Paperback

Add on Goodreads

Read more about author A.G. Porter

on her Goodreads profile and her blog

(where she also hosts lots of fun

giveaways!).

21

S he appears so quiet and calm at first glance—the wife of a

Parisian wine vendor, focused on her knitting, self-contained and self-sufficient. But looks can be deceiving. Inside the quiet woman is a seething cauldron of suppressed rage, hatred, and vengefulness, just waiting

for the right moment to boil over and scald everything in its path.

If Madame Defarge looks meaningfully at you as she knits, believe me, you will live to regret it.

In fact, Thérèse Defarge personifies all the terror and vengeance of the French Revolution, in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. Like many other historical novelists,

when dealing with the sweep and force of a major event from the past, Dickens created a handful of individuals to represent that event for us, and thus to place it on a more human, more comprehensible scale. The revolution arose out of many complex factors and causes, but in Dickens’s retelling, all the bitterness, injustice, and unrest are distilled in one woman who, after many

patient years of waiting and plotting, at long last exchanges her knitting needles for a dagger.

The tragic events that spur Madame Defarge’s rage are buried deep in the past, not to be unearthed until late in the story. She was born into a peasant family who were mercilessly tormented by the St. Evrémondes, an aristocratic family who,

This article contains spoilers.

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for all intents and purposes, owned them. Thérèse’s sister, brother-in-law, brother, father, and unborn niece or nephew all died at the hands of these corrupt and cruel aristocrats. Thérèse herself only escaped their brutality because her brother was able to smuggle her away and hide her before they could get hold of her.

The destruction of her family was, naturally enough, the defining event of Madame Defarge’s life. Bent on avenging her family and punishing all aristocrats —especially Charles Darnay, the descendant of the St. Evrémondes—she has become a woman without mercy. Having lured her intended victim from England back to France, she toys with him like a particularly masterful cat with a particularly naïve and helpless mouse. Dickens writes of her:

it does to us. As she methodically plans to wipe out her victim and his entire family, Madame Defarge tells her compatriots: ―Tell Wind and Fire where to stop … but don’t tell me.‖ She has become more a force of nature than a human being, and a force of nature has no heart. It has no ability to hear, to feel, to experience any sort of genuine connection with anyone.

The real tragedy of Madame Defarge—a tragedy that she never recognizes, and probably wouldn’t care about if she did—is that she has become what she hates. Just like the men who tortured and killed her family members, she persecutes the innocent. Their family connections are enough to blacken them in her eyes; she cares about nothing else. It’s chilling to see how she has become the perfect reflection of the evil men who stole her family from her.

While A Tale of Two Cities as a whole tells a beautiful story of love and redemption, Madame Defarge haunts it like a dark, foreboding shadow—a picture of what life looks like without those things in it. That bleak picture should give us pause before we allow hatred—no matter how justified—to infect our own lives. ♥

It’s noteworthy that we only see Madame Defarge responding to the events of her past with anger and hate—as a ―tigress.‖ At some point, she must have felt terrible sorrow and grief, but never for one instant do we, the

readers, see those emotions in her. They have all been transformed into a burning desire for revenge.

I think there’s a reason that Dickens never lets this character show a softer emotion. I think he’s trying to show us something about the nature of hate, and what

―Imbued from her childhood with a brooding sense of wrong, and an inveterate hatred of a class, opportunity had developed her into a tigress … It was nothing to her, that an innocent man was to die for the

sins of his forefathers; she saw, not him, but them. It was nothing to her, that his wife was to be made a widow and his daughter an orphan; that was insufficient punishment, because they were her natural enemies and her prey, and as such had no right to live.‖

Visit Gina’s Dickensblog and BreakPoint.

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N o villain is more

remembered than

Hannibal Lecter, the

charming serial killer in

Thomas Harris’ novels.

Dr. Lecter is a contrast of

manners and sadism… a

cultured art-appreciating

murderous cannibal (such

is his disdain for the rest

of humanity) who exploits

others’ vulnerabilities for

his own amusement. Dr.

Lecter began as a minor

character but audiences

couldn’t get enough of

this terrifying genius.

There are four books

in the series:

Hannibal Rising,

Red Dragon, The

Silence of the Lambs

and Hannibal. The

most disliked book by

fans is Hannibal Rising,

which establishes the

reason for his actions as

―revenge‖ for a

childhood incident.

When his little

sister is killed

during

WWII, he

tracks

down

those

responsible and kills

them. Some readers

believe this lessens his

impact as a villain, since it

makes him a victim, thus

igniting that age-old

debate, ―are sociopaths

born or created?‖

Red Dragon has him in

prison after being found

out as the Chesapeake

Ripper. He is consulted by

an FBI agent and former

victim, Will Graham, on a

current serial killer, but

manages to come out on

top when he sends the

murderer after Graham.

The Silence of the Lambs

introduces him to Clarice

Starling, an FBI agent in

training who is neither

intimidated by him nor

afraid to play his games.

He leads her to a killer,

and she unwittingly aids

in his escape.

Hannibal pits him against

an old adversary/victim

who wants revenge and

uses Clarice as bait. The

novel ends with Clarice

living out the rest of her

life with Dr. Lecter.

Anthony Hopkins first

brought the character to

life in the award-winning

Silence of the Lambs. It

launched a film franchise

that covers the rest of the

books (with degrees of

accuracy, although the

controversial ending to

Hannibal is changed).

More recent is NBC’s

Hannibal, a unique take

that starts before Lecter’s

capture. Certain aspects

are changed (characters,

motives, conclusions) but

its brilliance lies in the

gradual build-up of its

leading character and his

influence over the life of

Will Graham. This is Dr.

Lecter before he is caught

– manipulating everyone

to where he wants them,

using subtle cruelties,

taking quiet pleasure in

crime scenes, and often

24

manufacturing a ―human

response‖ that melts into

a total lack of empathy as

soon as someone’s back is

turned. Everything is

calculated, down to his

responses. The series

follows his relationship

with Will Graham and

Abigail Hobbs. Graham is

a brainy but sensitive man

who feels remorse and

trauma when stepping

into the minds of killers.

(The FBI uses him as a

consultant in criminal

cases.) Lecter, under the

guise of his therapist,

emotionally manipulates

Will to the point where he

doubts his own sanity. He

also builds a mentor

relationship with Abigail

Hobbs, the daughter of a

murderer. She’s enough

like Lecter to figure him

out before anyone else but

different enough not to

become what he wants

her to be, a remorseless

murderer. What becomes

of her and how Will reacts

leads to one of the most

Early scenes find Abigail

or Will aloft (on the moral

high ground) but as his

influence over them grows

we find Lecter elevated to

a place of superiority and

influence, coinciding with

their demise.

Hannibal Lecter’s evil is

terrifying because he has

―no motive.‖ He has no

reason to be cruel or

manipulative except that

he enjoys it and feels no

remorse or empathy for

his actions. His brilliance

is used to destroy others.

This purposelessness in

evil both fascinates and

disturbs us, and sets Dr.

Lecter apart from other

literary villains who are

motivated through lust,

greed, ambition, or even

moral superiority. Lecter

is proof that evil doesn’t

need motives; it can

simply exist. And that, for

any reader or viewer, is

the most terrifying

realization of all. ♥

chilling confrontations in

the history of television.

Mads Mikkelson plays

Lecter not as ―a villain but

an incarnation of the

devil.‖ It’s a brilliant

interpretation a figure

that enjoys torment, lets

others fall into pits of

their own making with a

little bit of help, has no

empathy, and uses people

in cruel ways. This

symbolism is carried on in

the subtle influences of

the scripts and staging.

One can see similarities in

Will’s struggle against

Lecter to the plight of a

believer falling into sin;

Abigail’s victimization by

Lecter is reminiscent of a

life without Christ. Even

the structure of Lecter’s

office and his interaction

with other characters

smacks of symbolism…

characters that start out

―aloft‖ on his balcony

―descend‖ into his office

and realm of influence,

often by taking his hand.

Coming Oct 15

Christian Speculative

Fiction / Fantasy! Find out

more here.

Ever wondered what personality type your

favorite character has? Check out Charity’s MBTI in Fiction

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25

Speculative Fiction & Fantasy

Speculative Fiction takes place in ―our world‖

or one similar to it, but with fantastical elements

… magic, vampires, werewolves, that sort

of thing.

Some of the upcoming articles include: The Horatio

Lyle Series, The Invisible Man, The Firebird Trilogy,

Early Edition, Lisey’s Story, Going Postal, Inception,

Star Trek, The Parasol Protectorate, The Raven,

Orphan Black, The Dresden Files, Star Trek, Once

Upon a Time, and Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.

There are still open spots! Want to write

something? Claim your topic today: femnista@charitysplace.com! Coming on Halloween