Tragedy is used to vehicle the reader’s moral justifications, sympathy and ambiguities. This is caused by the character’s experiences, as they largely aggravate human discomfort and “question traditions and expectations when they seem too immutable.” (Azar Nafisi). The greatest of human discomforts is the conflict of moral pluralism, which evokes ethical ambiguities and sympathy for those who have transgressed. In the novel, Notes on a Scandal, the character Bathsheba Hart takes on an explicit and exploitive affair with one of her students, a boy at the tender age of thirteen. Q3 (122).
Lauren Franssen English 1302 Haas-5th hour The Unsuspecting Villain In Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Catherine is self-righteous and manipulative. Her selfish nature ultimately results in the self-destruction of the ones who love her most, as well as her own tragic fate. Essentially, Catherine and her disloyalty to those around her, including herself, defines betrayal and suffering as two major themes in the novel, thus rendering her the villain of the story and accentuating the meaning of the literary work as a whole. Though her selfishness is not of malicious intent, Catherine is fully aware that her actions take a toll on the ones who she claims to devote herself to. She deliberately follows through with her marriage to Edgar Linton, despite her open proclamations of love for Heathcliff, with whom she grows up and loves irrevocably, only to unceremoniously abandon because of his insufficient societal rank.
In (IV.2.195) we discover that Emilia responds to Iago's commands repulsively. By betraying her husband's will, she mentally chooses sides between good and evil, justice and tragedy. 'Othello' presents this struggle, secretively interweaving the deceiving plot that makes 'Othello' stand out from the rest of the 'Shakespearean tragedies'. Leading up to
Iago manipulates all the crucial components of his plot with ease, while Claudius on the other hand is discontent and unhappy with the events taking place. Both characters cause much mental disorder within their protagonist, all very unhealthy changes. Another common aspect of Iago's and Claudius's treacherous character is their use of women to further their
The cause of the conflict, his sin of lechery with Abigail destroys his very belief in his own integrity, ‘he is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time but against his own vision of decent conduct’. The potential for growth is inherent in any theatre of conflict. But that growth can only happen where there is courage and humility and an unswerving commitment to truth. When Elizabeth Proctor is arrested and taken to jail and charged with witchcraft her husband is finally forced to go to Salem to openly declare his adultery in order to discredit Abigail. At this point, there is an almost palpable sense of relief for Proctor, ‘we are as we always were, but naked now, and G-d’s icy wind does blow’, as if something impeding his potential for growth has had last been
In their day and age these characters would be judged by many factors including social and cultural backgrounds, crimes committed and personal traits. Both of these writers seem to conjure their audience into a state where it compels them to relate to certain characters. Lady Macbeth certainly loses or suppresses her feelings of cowardice. Throughout her appalling invocation to the spirits of evil to “unsex her”, proving her ambition to attain her goal. In Jacobean times women were seen as inferior and even in the Victoria era, thus she required external forces to crush her conscience to allow her to fulfil her ambition.
However this sense of wickedness contributed an exciting role to society and the values of the characters as well. An excellent example of the characters’ values shows when Lord Darlington informs the Duchess of Berwick that people say many things behind his back all through his life, and this also shows how the Duchess concerns herself with the faults of everyone else, and judges those persons accordingly. Lord Darlington throughout this except of Lady Windermere’s Fan stood as a view of a “wicked” person, because of his personality. The Duchess of Berwick and the lord himself look upon the lord as a “complete failure” and “dreadful” allowing readers to see his insincere actions towards society and basically symbolizing someone of nothingness. The Duchess of Berwick, along with Lady Windermere, also critic other by their judgment of drinking of tea; depending on whoever supplied the tea, the ladies attend that party.
With this comparison comes the first accentuated fault. Although Lear and Gloucester are both deceived by lies, it is easier for the reader to comprehend why Gloucester is deceived. Lear's pompous attitude leaves him susceptible and perhaps deserving of such deception. He commands his daughters to profess their love for him. In the case of Regan and
There may seem to be many motivations for villains throughout the times but as we study these scoundrels we find that generally they are motivated by pure jealousy, or a need of superiority. They utilize manipulation, both physically and mentally in order to achieve their goals and show a lack of remorse. Stephan King’s “Misery”, provides us with a very graphical depiction in Annie Wilkes a sadistic, mentally unstable retired nurse, who has a desire for power and control. Annie goes to tortuous extremes on her captive Paul Sheldon to realize this. Iago from Shakespeare’s play Othello is also a power hungry villain who enjoys having people under his control, he is driven by extreme jealousy and the motivation, revenge.
One important theme of the play “The Crucible”, written by Arthur Miller, is revenge, as is shown in the jealousy and hatred that turn people in the Puritanical township of Salem against each other, resulting in the deaths of many innocent lives. For such an idea to be made effective to the audience, the playwright chiefly relies on the characterizations of Abigail Williams, the Putnams as well as Reverend Paris, who manipulate the prevalent superstition as well as people’s ignorance to successfully carry out her malicious revenge. Abigail Williams, a strong-minded young woman, is committed to her personal vendetta as she has a strong physical desire for John Procter. She is a vindictive and ruthless character, and will not hesitate to put anyone to death if they stand in her way of revenge. This vindictive hatred from Abigail soon prompts a witch hunt involving many innocent people: “Twelve have already hanged for the same crime.” While many panics, John Procter knows this from the start ; “this is a whore’s vengeance”.