Book villains - part one

It won’t be me if I start this list with no female name on it. So without further ado here she is, the devil in a skirt, the most seductive and yet the most vicious god creature – Kate from “East of Eden”. Let’s put aside the infernal features Steinbeck is particularly searching. Kate is the perfect villain because she feels no remorse, no love and in a matter of fact no real hatred. She is amputated from everything that can be called human weakness – she does not feel regret does not fully realize what bonds are – blood relations or other – she knows not their real meaning, she is not even keen on her own children. But she does have an Achilles’ heel, however, and that is the fact that she is self-centered, egocentric person with maniac obsessions. It is not a surprise that one of the most popular teen books/tv series “Vampire diaries” is equipped with a similar villain Katherina – the evil Bulgarian vampire, who is in many ways literally like Steinbeck’s character.

Book villain № 2 is my absolute favorite – Voland from “The Master and Margarita”. Indeed the devil himself! Or at least the antagonist of Yeshua (in other words – Jesus). He travels between dimensions with style – accompanied by his own retinue. He is fascinatingly cold-blooded and knows how to strike. He doesn’t believe in ethic categories like good or evil, his world is quite more complicated than the average human understanding. His actions, or as it is more correct to say - his orders are precisely calculated with an outcome reversed to our expectations. He judges on his own accord and he is with no shadow of a doubt more objective than Pilates. Voland is amazing with his ability to use the language as a weapon. His words are charged with great power that can shape and modify worlds and faiths. And this is even more significant when is pointed out that Voland’s mission in Moscow is to pursue for their sins the literary society. Add to the equation and the Master’s unique way of creating illusions by writing and you’ll figure way Bulgakov is simply a genius! Voland is the kind of character I want to create one day…

Book villain number three is a gothic classic. Beckford’s Vathek is a hero with great longing for knowledge and power. His curiosity is like his hunger - insatiable. He is willing to go beyond any boundaries, even in the Devil’s realm to get what he painfully wants - more and more to know. He kind of reminds me of Rowling’s Voldemort. Both characters are ready to sacrifice their humanity in the pursuit of their goals. They want to gain the unique knowledge, to be as powerful as gods. But here the similarities end. Unlike Voldemort, Vathek is spoiled by his origin and by his character. He has the strength to go to the very end. And to meet his unpleasant destiny. I still cannot decide whether to feel sorry for him or to like his courage…

More to come!