Complicated Heroes

The simple way to make interesting heroes is to give them two opposing traits

Stock Heroes

A hero who has a single trait, which he shows in everything he does, is a stock character — a stock hero. When this hero is not the main character, (a “hero” and not a “hero” if you will) we in the audience will accept this without problem, because we will accept minor and supporting characters who show us only one face. These characters exist to fulfill one use in the tale; they are like tools and so long as they do their jobs we will find no problems with them. But when this hero is the main character, the technical “hero” or protagonist of the tale, our main question is “Will he succeed in his mission?” We are concerned with how he does, whether he will gain his goal or not.

In this case, the stock hero can only provide us with suspense as to the outcome in measuring his own talents and abilities against those external obstacles that stand between him and his goal. These external obstacles will always be there, regardless of how simple or complicated the hero is.

But if the hero has internal conflicts in addition to his external conflicts, our doubt and fear for his success have so much greater chances to intrigue us.

Inner Complications

An inner complication is simply something within the character’s makeup that goes against something else within his makeup.

A single complication is enough for genre or popular tales. “Literary” tales generally like many complications, the more the better.

Cross-grain and Contrary

A single complication can be either cross-grain or contrary. I call a complication cross-grain when the two traits or desires work against each other, but not directly against each other. Sometimes they conflict, sometimes they don’t. A contrary complication on the other hand involves a pair of traits or desires that are mutually exclusive and must always oppose each other — such as loving and hating another person. Or loving the taste and craving a substance that harms the character’s health.

The cross-grain complication is quirky and interesting, since it sometimes works one way, and sometimes another. Sometimes the two traits oppose each other, sometimes they don’t.

The contrary complication is more dramatic, or we could say melodramatic. It is stronger than the cross-grain complication and more suited to simpler, stronger tales. Tales of life-or-death conflicts are better served by contrary complications, small tales of love in humble circumstances (for example) are better served by contrary complications. Romantic tales (in the 19th century sense of the term Romantic that is) such as Wagnerian opera and epic sagas of national importance work better with contrary complications for their heroes. Humorous tales, anecdotes, and tales dealing with mundane life work better with cross-grain complications.

Balance

Our goal as good talesmen should be to balance the effect of the two conflicting desires or traits, so that our audience will suffer the pangs of real doubts as to the outcome of the struggle. So that the hero himself won’t be able to tell, sometimes, which impulse will be stronger, whether he will fight or run away (to give an example). The hero won’t be able to foretell this, nor will the talesman telling the tale, and thus the audience won’t be able to tell it either.

Now, that’s suspense!