I’m so excited to be a part of Nefarious Tales, an event created by Mishma at Chasing Faerytales. To read the posts from the other blogs participating in this awesome event, check out Mishma’s kick off post. 🙂
As much as I love a good villain, I love a good well-written antihero more. There’s just something about them that… I’ll tell you later. For now, here are 6 reasons why I love antiheroes (and why you should love appreciate them too).
They’re Complex
Antiheroes are some of the most complex characters that exist in books (if they are well written). At least from a psychological standpoint. This complexity that’s written into their characters usually leads to more interesting character arcs. Well, more interesting than the ones other types of characters always seem to have in books. You know, the stereotypical good guy gets the happy ever after while the bad guy gets a sad ending… They also tend to evoke a different set of emotions like understanding and pity.
They’re Misjudged
I feel like antiheroes are often misjudged. Not only by the characters in the novels they belong to, but also by readers. Many antiheroes have some sort of psychological scarring or dark past that motivates them to act out, even though deep down, they are like teddy bears. In a way, this causes them to be viewed differently by different people. Either way, they are most often, in some way, an outcast. And I firmly believe all misfits deserve a little love. <3
Perfect? Think Again!
Another reason why I love antiheroes is because they are not perfect. They have flaws. Ones that are more visible and emphasized than those of the “good” main character (if the main character has any at all). Being flawed, succumbing to the darker emotions like selfishness and greed make them more realistic to me. Not everyone is going to be a knight in shining armor or the evil witch. Not everything is black and white, good and evil. Antiheroes walk the gray line in between, the one I feel, we humans walk on the most.
I Got You!
Because they are a more accurate representation of reality, antiheroes are also more relatable. Humans aren’t perfect. Shocker, I know. And yet, despite that fact, many of the good guys can appear that way. It gets difficult to relate to a perfect character, one that can’t seem to do anything wrong. Which brings us back to how antiheroes are flawed beings…
Is This a Theme Park?
Antihereos have the ability to take you on a roller coaster ride throughout the book. Because they aren’t the stereotypical good or bad character, they have more wiggle room for what they are capable of. You never really know what you’re going to get with an antihero. Is he going to redeem himself? Is she going to keep going on this dark path? They are less predictable and that makes them more fun to read about.
Inspiring
Villians shouldn’t inspire people. That’s not good. At all. (Duh!) But antiheroes, now that’s someone we can take some inspiration from. True antiheroes are the ones who do bad things in the beginning but find a way to either redeem or explain themselves and their actions by the end of the book. The story of an antihero is always usually hopeful. Their stories tell us that even if we get a little lost and take a dark turn somewhere along the way in life, there is still a way back to the tunnel of light. If this bad guy could end up as a good guy, what’s to say you can’t be like that too?
That’s about it for me! But before you go, don’t forget to enter the giveaway Mishma is running above and check out today’s other posts!
Nicole @ Quality Fangirls – Villain Aesthetics
Denise @ The Bibliolater – Why do we need villains
Do you love antiheroes?
Why or why not?
I agree with everything you said above!!!! I love myself a well crafted antihero, and I love how intricate their character portrait is!!!
My personal favourite out of all these reasons would be that they’re relatable. I think antiheroes reflect the dormant dark side of human beings, and I love how they showcase how imperfect the human mind is! It’s quite fascinating when you think about it.
Thank you for joining the event and for the amazing post, Emz! <333
I totally agree with you! Villains are often just so much more interesting, because they’re so complex. It can be loads of fun if the villain has a tragic back story, or a bad childhood or something like that. I often find that a good villain makes the story. Without them, or if they’re poorly written and not complex enough, the story just flops. When they’re evil it’s so interesting! 😀
Denise | The Bibliolater
This post is spot on! I love antiheroes because they’re so much more complex and realistic than your average villain. Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous post! ♥
Yes, yes, and yes again. THIS is why I love antiheroes. You summed it all up perfectly in that they aren’t perfect, they have flaws (sometimes major ones), but that makes them just that much more realistic. I cannot stand the one dimensional ‘perfect’ characters that never do anything wrong or are totally conventional. Give me a physically scarred main character with a foggy past that we’ll never fully understand any day!
I adore antiheroes too! I’m more a fan of villain protagonists, but those are rare so I have a longer list of antiheroes I love — I mean, appreciate. Character flaws are super important and I love having main characters who deconstruct typical hero tropes.
I LOVE anti heroes! They don’t get enough credit. I love those complex characters. 🙂
[…] In general, unlikable characters are more flawed and more complicated. And like I mentioned in my antihero appreciation post , flawed characters are more not only more interesting to read, they also tend to be more […]