Villain

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Villains

A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether an historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villains are the bad guys, the characters who strive against the hero. Female villains are sometimes called villainesses.

It is the unmitigated evil nature which distinguishes the villain from an antagonist, like Javert in Les Miserables — a character who opposes the hero, but by such means or reasons as not to become entirely odious, and who may be even repent, be redeemed, or become a "good guy" in the end. The villain is also distinguished from an anti-hero — a character who violates the law or the prevailing social standards, but who nevertheless has the audience's sympathy, and is therefore the real hero of the story.

In spite of being the target of the audience's hatred, the villain is an almost inevitable plot device and often — perhaps more than the hero — the central theme of the plot.

Word origin

The etymology of the word is probably Middle English villein from Old French vilain, in turn from Late Latin villanus, meaning serf or peasant, someone who is bound to the soil of a villa, which is to say, worked on the equivalent of a plantation in late Antiquity, in Italy or Gaul. Consequently, it meant a person of less than knightly status, and so came to mean a person who was not chivalrous.

Physical stereotypes

The physical attributes of the villain vary according to the culture and epoch, and are often a fairly straightforward reflection of that culture's current prejudices — racial, political, religious, or otherwise. Just as a hero is often a paragon of the prevailing beauty ideal, a villain often has some physical deformity — perhaps to suggest an equally deformed mind (as in the case of Freddy Krueger), or a rough and violent background (as in the case of Peter Pan's Captain Hook or Treasure Island's Long John Silver).

Sometimes even mere violations of the prevailing dress code are enough to label the villain of the story. In fact, the villain is often impeccably dressed, but in a style that deviates somehow from the norm, perhaps only for being too impeccable — like the mafioso in a very expensive suit, or the knight in an overdecorated armor.

A typical cartoon villain of the 1970s in American culture is pictured at the top of this article. Note the formal black clothes, exquisitely neat facial hair, sharp facial features, and maniacal demeanour. This cliché was also very common in silent motion pictures, when villains had to look sinister for easy recognition. The Rocky and Bullwinkle characters Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale, and Snidely Whiplash, as well as the Hanna-Barbera character Dick Dastardly, are well known parodies of this cliché. Sound movies later added to their villain cliché the "evil laughter" and a snooty or smarmy voice.

In opera and musical theater, the villain/villainess is played usually by a baritone/contralto.

Psychological attributes

While the stereotypical physical attributes may help identify the villain, it is the psychological and moral attributes who make that role. Even harming the hero, or killing his/her beloved ones, will not make a character into a villain — unless it is clear that the act had "evil" motives.

A common psychological feature of the movie villain is a haughty overconfidence that leads to the unnecessary explanation of one's sinister plans — which is sometimes just a cheap plot device used by the author to explain to the audience details which he/she could not express by more natural narrative means.

Another preeminent feature of the villain's evil character is a tendency to abuse his own accomplices, blame them for his/her own failure, and punish them harshly, even for trivial faults.

The necessary villain

Are villains inherently more interesting than the heroes who oppose them? They are at least as indispensable to the stories they appear in, probably more so. Those who stand on the side of righteousness and goodness seldom have much choice but to respond, and little choice in how; for villains, all paths are wide open. Many believe that Satan, for Christians perhaps the ultimate villain, is the most interesting character in John Milton's Paradise Lost, for all that he is the embodiment of evil. Perhaps in the nefarious acts of many villains there is more than a hint of wish-fulfilment fantasy, which makes some people identify with them as characters more strongly than they do the heroes. Still, the writer's task in creating a villain is not an easy or a trivial one; a convincing villain must be given a characterization that makes his motive for doing wrong convincing. As put by film critic Roger Ebert: "Each film is only as good as its villain. Since the heroes and the gimmicks tend to repeat from film to film, only a great villain can transform a good try into a triumph."Review of The Wrath of Khan by Roger Ebert. From Wikiquote

Villains can be brilliant (for example, the highly intelligent Hannibal Lecter), insane (an example being the self-proclaimed Clown Prince of Crime the Joker), power-mad (such as the Decepticon leader Megatron, who seeks to rule the universe) or noble (Count Dooku). They may be driven by any number of forces, ranging from greed (Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life and many others, especially criminal) to revenge (Magneto and his vendetta with humanity) and even a noble goal twisted by nefarious forces or tragedy (Darth Vader sought power to save his wife, but indirectly killed her instead). Truly, villains are a mixed bag.

However, it should be noted not all villains are as awe-inspiring as the tall, black-clad Vader or as twisted as the cackling Joker. Man from Bambi was noted as one of the top 100 villains of movie history, an impressive feat considering he himself was not completely seen on-screen.

Special types of villain

Heel, the villain in a match of professional wrestling
Supervillain, a villain who displays special powers, skills or equipment powerful enough to be a typically serious challenge to a superhero.
Mad scientist, a scientist-villain or villain-scientist
Evil genius, a character of great intelligence who chooses to use their knowledge for antisocial ends.
Femme fatale, usually a villainous woman who uses the malign power of sexuality in order to ensnare the hapless hero.
Archenemy, the main and greatet foe of the hero who is the most difficult to defeat; archenemies come with a variety of origins, reasons for their actions, etc. although their plots are often threatening to destroy or control a large amount of land, such as the world, galaxy, or universe.

References

Narratology | Stock characters | Fictional villains | Plot devices