Villain
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether an historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain is the bad guy or heavy, the characters who fight against the hero. A female villain is sometimes called a villainess.
A villain's disposition towards evil distinguishes him from an antagonist. For example, Javert in Les Miserables is an antagonist: He opposes the hero, but does so by such means and under such pretexts as not to become entirely odious to the reader; he may, in fact, even repent, be redeemed, or become a "good guy" in the end. (A villain is virtually always an antagonist, but an antagonist is not always a villain.) The villain is also distinct from the anti-hero, a character who violates the law or the prevailing social standards, but who nevertheless has the audience's sympathy (and may be or become good-hearted), 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. Villains are also often criticized as being melodramatic. [1] [May 2007]
