Falling for the Antagonist

Am I the only writer that does this? Invariably, I will fall in love with my antagonist and have the WORST time sending them on their way, back to the Otherworld, or wherever they need to go. It's not that I like evil people or think they’re charming, I don't. It's just from a creative point of view, the complexities that make up an antagonist are the most fun to write. You have to get people on their side somehow--and therein lies the challenge.

Many years ago, I graduated from a high school of the performing arts before I went onto university. I loved acting as much as I loved dance, and always chose to audition for the evil characters. It’s not that I liked being “mean” to my fellow actors. I didn’t. It was the challenge of getting the audience to side with the flawed and/or evil character. That was the fun part. 

And, so it goes with writing antagonists. I take great joy in making them as complex as they come. I fall in love with them. I cross my fingers my readers will love them as much as I do. Without them, there would be no conflict, no story. And when it comes to the point where they must be overcome by my protagonists, it takes me weeks to write my final good-byes, and I’ll be depressed for just as long.

One of these days, my antagonist will win. I’m not sure how readers will feel about that, but we’ll see how it goes.

So, here's a list for you to ponder--My Top 10 Best Antagonist Characters in Literary Fiction. 

I cheered them on, regardless of the fact that I knew they’d lose in the end, as they should. And no, I don’t cheer people on that do bad things. I'm a writer. A well-written character makes me happier than lollipops.

1. Satan from Paradise Lost, by John Milton
Yep, he would be the biggie. A self-indulgent, fallen angel, embarking on a vendetta against his creator. Can’t get any better than that.
2. Peter Pan from Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie
“He would thin the Lost Boys out when they got too old or when there were too many of them.” Peter is a very complex character. I’m not so sure that Captain Hook was the true villain in Peter Pan. Go back and read between the lines.
3. Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling.
And not just because Alan Rickman played him in the movie. No really.
4. Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier.
The character only seems to “come alive” when she talks about Rebecca, a character that is dead. That, coupled with the possibility that Rebecca may be acting through Mrs. Danvers, a possession of sorts, makes for an interesting villain, all around.
5. Lady Macbeth from William Shakespeare’s, Macbeth.
Ambitious and a definite opportunist. Qualities that would be…um, praised in today’s business world.
6. Clyde Griffiths from An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser.
A true work of art. Dreiser shows Clyde’s decline into committing murder and oddly enough, a sad victim of circumstance. The beauty of this character is the way Dreiser writes of Clyde’s rationalization of the act.And you feel badly for him.
7. Jack Torrance from The Shining, by Stephen King
Jack's rant when Wendy disturbs him during his writing? Writers everywhere cheered--we totally felt his pain. The meltdown afterwards? Well...a bit over the top, but Jack was being possessed by ghosts, after all.
8. Marquise de Merteuil from Les Liaisons Dangereuses, by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Ahhh, what a tangled web we weave.
9. Mr. Hyde from Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
There was so much strife during the writing of this book by Stevenson. Allegories are always fun, especially when the author is writing on the verge of drug-induced madness.
10. Count Dracula from Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Cold and calculating. Once he was done feeding off humans, Dracula had no use for them anymore. Definitely no sparkles or romance here, folks.

There are many others and I’m sure you have some of your own. What’s your favorite?