A little while ago you may recall I posted Ilona's compendium of
leading men &
leading women. Now she brings us...
the villains.
...Be forewarned, these knaves are most base of character.
Mr. Hyde.
Mr. Hyde is often a man of aristocratic breeding, considered by his neighbors to be a gentleman of good character, but his facade hides a streak of vicious cruelty. He seeks to possess the heroine, in all senses of the word: he wants her body, her lands, if she has any, and whatever wealth she can offer and he has no regard for her wishes. He desires complete control of her being by any means necessary. There is no level to which he will not stoop, for he had decided that the ownership of the heroine isn’t merely a want, but his right.
A lady facing Mr. Hyde must take care, for he is prone to violence and lady’s gender will not be a barrier to his physical assault. Reasoning with this type is a pointless endeavor, for Mr. Hyde will not stop until he is taken down by brute force.
A Spoiled Rake
A Spoiled Rake has everything: excellent breeding, money, looks, and acceptance of the fairer sex. He has never been rejected, and when the heroine brushes him off, he reacts like any spoiled child would do: he throws a tantrum. The Spoiled Rake is a dangerous opponent; he is cruel, vindictive, and isn’t above the most vicious of subterfuge. He rarely resorts to physical assault, preferring instead to assassinate the heroine’s social standing, isolating her from friends and possible protectors, until she has no choice but to accept his advances.
Unlike Mr. Hyde, who feel entitle to complete ownership and who would never release the heroine, the Spoiled Rake may or may not intend to keep her for himself. His fantasies stop with an intimate tryst, after which he may choose to ruin the heroine, subjecting her to public humiliation so the entire world would know that he had won.
The Evil Stepmother
The Evil Stepmother isn’t always female, although most of the time she is. A relative of the heroine, she is in position of authority and influence over her. The Evil Stepmother is consumed by jealousy and hatred; she despises the heroine and takes every chance to cut her down and destroy her chance at happiness, while professing to have the heroine’s best interests at heart.
The Evil Stepmother is often subtle and manipulative, preferring to pull the strings behind the scenes. She will falsify documents, befriend and corrupt heroine’s friends, use poison, and when all else fails, hire thugs to accomplish her goal. When exposed, the Evil Stepmother often fails to to come to terms with the failure of her schemes and will invariable resort to direct violence, even to the detriment of her own safety. She would literally rather die than let the heroine find happiness.
The Faceless Creditors
The Faceless Creditors are not exactly villains in the typical sense. They simply lack any compassion and view their fellow human beings as means to achieve professional gain. They’re motivated by self-interest and are steadfast in achieving their goals. If they’re owed a debt, they must collect it, no matter how inhumane their actions are. The hero or heroine simply happen to be their next victim. It is rarely personal, it’s strictly business.
While the Faceless Creditors have no emotional investment in destroying the heroine’s quest for happiness, their pressure may drive her to desperate actions.
The Evil Boss
A subtype of the Faceless Creditor, the Evil Boss views people in his employ as pawns to achieve his own personal goals. He may be a military commander, a powerful relative, or a feudal lord. Whatever his status, he is in the position to use the hero or the heroine to his advantage, which he proceeds to do without any regard for their emotional well-being and personal safety.
The Evil Ex-Girlfriend
The Evil Ex-Girlfriend hates the heroine with the passion of a thousand suns. Oddly, this passion isn’t personal. The Evil Ex-Girlfriend doesn’t take time to assess the heroine’s personal qualities and form an opinion regarding her character. In different circumstances, she might be perfectly civil to the heroine and even strike up a friendship. However, the Evil Ex-Girlfriend is consumed by the need to return the hero to her loving embrace, and she will remove any obstacles to her quest with extreme prejudice. Unable to cope with rejection, she views the hero as easily mislead and views any woman entertaining romantic notions toward the hero as an evil manipulator and the barrier to her own happiness. If only she could remove the heroine, the hero would surely come to his senses and beg for her forgiveness.
The Evil Ex-Girlfriend is capable of anything. She is unpredictable, dangerous, and committed to her cause.
The Woman Scorned
A subtype of the Evil Ex-Girlfriend, the Woman Scorned (or the Man Scorned, respectively) is a tragic figure, spurned by her lover. Of all the villains, she is usually the one with a genuine grievance.
Perhaps the fault indeed lay with the hero or the heroine, but in any case, the injury caused to the Woman Scorned causes her to lash out with disproportionate violence.
The Woman Scorned seeks vengeance, believing that retribution is her just right. She is truly committed to her cause and destroying the person who’d inflicted the grievous injury on her becomes her mission in life.
The White Knight
A subtype of the Evil Ex-Girlfriend, the White Knight is romantically infatuated with the heroine. He is aware of her fondness for his rival and he views that rival as a man of despicable character, clearly wrong for the heroine. For the White Knight breaking up this dangerous liaison becomes not just the matter of the getting the heroine for himself, but the quest for saving her from a fate worse than death. The White Knights thinks that he knows what’s best for the heroine better than she does and feels a strong urge to safeguard her from the evils of the world.
While noble, the White Knight’s intentions often lead him down the slippery slope of progressively villainous actions, fueled by his frustration with heroine’s inability to recognize what he views as the proper course of action.
