This week is about application of what we are learning. I’m going to take the eight character types we discussed the last few weeks and apply it to one book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I picked this story to show that, though these roles seem to be geared toward action stories, the character types are found in normal everyday stories. If you need a refresher on these character types, they are: protagonist and antagonist, guide and contagonist, sidekick and henchman, and love interest and temptress.
Please note that this is my analysis, and you’re perfectly welcome to come to your own conclusions about the character types in this book.
Protagonist: Main Character
Elizabeth Bennett is the protagonist of the story. Everything revolves around her, and she has a lot to learn about the world. Only after she grows and experiences more does she have what it takes to put herself out there and love Darcy.
Antagonist: Villain
Lady Catherine de Bourgh is the antagonist. She does not want Elizabeth near Darcy, her nephew, and she tries everything in her power to keep them apart.
Guide: Mentor
Mr. Bennett and Mrs. Gardiner both serve as guides for Elizabeth. They help her sort through her emotions and learn what she needs to do to make things right in the end.
Contagonist: Head Henchman To Villain
Caroline Bingley is the contagonist because she wants Elizabeth to stay away from Darcy. Her goal alines with Lady Catherine, but Caroline doesn’t work for her. Caroline wants Elizabeth and Darcy apart for her own selfish reasons—she wants to marry Darcy herself.
Sidekick: Loyal Companion
Jane Bennett and Charlotte Collins (Lucas) are a couple sidekicks in this story. They are both loyal friends to Elizabeth who try to encourage her. They don’t always agree with her, but they remain loyal to her throughout the story.
Henchman: Heckler
Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennett are both henchmen. Neither work for Lady Catherine, but both like to point out Elizabeth’s faults when it comes to her choices on marriage. They comment on how she is unlikely to get more or better offers of marriages (but she somehow does anyway), and this feeds into Elizabeth’s self doubt.
Love Interest: True Love
Fitzwilliam Darcy is, of course, Elizabeth’s love interest. Though they clash at the beginning of the story, Darcy becomes a reason for Elizabeth to do better. Once she learns of his true nature, she feels unworthy of his love and strives to be a better person.
Temptress: Allure Of Evil
George Wickham is, despite the feminine denotation of the title, the temptress. He is alluring on the outside and wicked on the inside. He tries to tempt Elizabeth to love him, and he succeeds in luring Lydia, her little sister, into his immoral ways.
Final Thoughts
This is a good exercise to do yourself on a book of your choice. You may say, “Nah, I’ve got it.” Try it anyway. I thought I knew too, but just putting together this example had me analyzing each character more than I thought. You don’t realize how hard it is to categorize characters in a story until you do it. Once you can easily pick out each character type in a story, it’ll make writing your own book go smoother because you’ll understand fully the character roles in the story.
Thanks for reading!
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