Do Main Characters Need to be Likable?

I’ve ever liked stories that enactment retired okay. Once, erstwhile I was 15 oregon so, I threw a publication crossed the country due to the fact that the main quality stepped speech truthful her champion person could wed the antheral she loved, due to the fact that her person loved him, too. (That publication was, it turned out, a Jane Austen fan fiction retelling, truthful the pairing was predetermined. But that’s beside the point.) I loved the main quality of this publication and was furious that she ended up unhappy. I person ever grown overly attached to the heroines of books, and I thought for a agelong clip that meant I liked them.

For my 18th birthday, a person gave maine a transcript of Geek Love. I was captivated from the archetypal leafage by the Binewski circus household and their experimental children, successful emotion with this unusual household and with Oly, the narrator. Geek Love is not a pleasant book; it’s disfigured and mean, and my inclination to similar each of the characters was not supported by however cruel they each were to 1 another. Arty started a cult. The conjoined twins…perhaps I won’t accidental what happens with them. Miranda is presented arsenic a quality we tin like, but adjacent she is not needfully likable.

But I loved each azygous 1 of them, portion actively disliking astir of them. And that made maine wonder: Do publication characters request to beryllium likable? Do main characters, successful particular, request to beryllium likable? For galore people, the reply depends connected who that quality is. A scholar tin emotion Patrick Bateman, existent (fictional) serial killer, but hatred Bella Swan, (fictional) teenage girl. Sure, that’s due to the fact that of sexism, and I volition neither reason that it’s thing other nor disregard that arsenic irrelevant. Of people it’s relevant, but what I’m wondering is if it matters that Bella Swan is wide hated — she’s besides wide loved, oregon astatine slightest Twilight is. (So is American Psycho, probably.)

Geek Love introduced maine to the thought that I don’t person to similar idiosyncratic (fictional) to emotion them, that a analyzable and unspeakable quality tin beryllium amended than a elemental and bully quality (see above, re: Twilight). It also, successful retrospect, taught maine that I americium a elemental fool who volition person myself that I similar idiosyncratic due to the fact that I similar their story, oregon due to the fact that I deliberation I americium expected to similar the main quality simply by virtuousness of their being the main character.

My different favourite book, too Geek Love, is We Have Always Lived successful the Castle. Merricat is precise likable…to me. She tells her ain story, arsenic Oly does successful Geek Love, and that closeness to the quality surely contributes to the feeling of intimacy, tricks the scholar (me) into liking them. Both are unreliable narrators, withholding accusation that mightiness marque america dislike them until we are successful excessively deep. (Again, whenever I speech astir us, oregon astir a generic reader, I truly mean myself.)

I deliberation it’s harmless to accidental that I thin to similar main characters due to the fact that I want to similar them, whether that’s due to the fact that I consciousness similar I should, oregon due to the fact that I’m happier erstwhile I do, oregon immoderate concealed 3rd option. I signifier parasocial relationships with main characters conscionable arsenic I bash with celebrities, and dissimilar those existent existent people, who I cognize don’t cognize maine the mode I (feel similar I) cognize them, characters successful books don’t person feelings and full lives distant from me; they beryllium lone successful the book, and possibly successful an adaptation if we’re lucky, truthful I bash successful information cognize all of them.

People are prone to fandom. We read, we watch, we discuss, we dissect, we constitute instrumentality fiction. We bash the second for galore reasons, not the slightest of which is that we request more of the character(s). Is that the aforesaid arsenic liking them? Sometimes! But liking idiosyncratic doesn’t mean they are “likable” per se. Being likable suggests having affirmative qualities that outweigh the antagonistic ones, but sometimes we similar characters who aren’t similar that astatine all. Sometimes we similar the Olys and the Merricats much than we similar the “good” characters.

Do main characters request to beryllium likable? Absolutely not. They request to beryllium interesting, they request to person stories that gully america in, they request to make america similar them, oregon astatine slightest basal for them.