The antagonist in literature : psychological development and complexity

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to move from a clear and concise definition of the character of the antagonist to an analysis of some of the ways in which the antagonist character in literature has changed throughout history, more specifically, in terms of the antagonist's psychological development and complexity. Through the close analysis of Beowulf, Shakespeare’s King Lear, and Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs, one will be able to view recurrent and essential elements of the antagonist that transcend genre, mode, and culture while also locating, within the same works, certain elements regarding the antagonist that take on drastically new forms. In Beowulf, the antagonists of Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon are discussed in terms of their monstrousness, determinism, and allegorical nature. In King Lear, Edmund’s character is analysed as an antagonist that is made by nurture rather than by nature, which leads to important discussions regarding intentionality, sympathy, and remorse. Regarding The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter and Buffalo Bill underline the issue of the ambiguous antagonist through their ability to blur the safe and traditional distinctions of good and evil. It is through the analysis of these works that this dissertation argues that, as time and culture change, so too do many of the aspects that surround the antagonist, such as what the antagonist is meant to represent, the goals of the antagonist, the protagonist-antagonist relationship, the reader/audience relationship with the antagonist, as well as the psychological complexity of the antagonist.