@Elle wrote:
I have to disagree with the article. He is not a hero, an anti-hero, or a Byronic hero. He has done so much wrong and harm, and the few redeeming qualities he has are not enough. He may be arrogant, disrespectful, intelligent, suffering from a past mistake, and often moody, but he is also a murderer, manipulative, cruel, vengeful, bitter, destructive, and often does not learn from his mistakes.
^And you could have been describing Heathcliff, one of the most iconic Bryonic heroes, right there. Except that you’d probably have to expand the list of bad traits for Heathcliff to emotionally abusive husband, abusive caretaker, mean to children, and ambiguously suicidal 🙂
I apologizes for going into English-major-mode, but I can’t resist 😀 A character being Bryonic hero doesn’t require that they are good, justifiable, or heroic in any traditional sense. You’re not supposed to be able to excuse all of their actions. The term itself is specifically somewhat of a play on the term “hero”- it was coined to describe the growing literary phenomenon in the Romantic era of these awful male characters who have so many of the standard villain traits and in many ways, drive the plot as an antagonist, but are haunting in that they are written to be so alluring, passionate and tortured at the same time. As characters, they dipped into that Romantic era fascination with passions, emotion-driven characters, the macabre and the gothic aesthetic.
I find it interesting that that the author compared Rumple to Heathcliff because the latter is vindictive, cruel, angry and especially after Cathy dies, essentially the character who causes all the problems, all while being mesmerizing, tortured and somehow alluring to the reader.
Of course, these characters draw a huge range of reactions from the readers. Like with Heathcliff, some readers adore him, some are fascinated by him, some despise him as an individual. Actually I think it’s so fascinating that despite the time and place these characters keep drawing the same reactions. Critics of the era argued over whether the book was a masterpiece, or morally depraved, because Heathcliff (and Cathy, in this case) were such awful, yet magnetic individuals.
For what it’s worth, some literary scholars describe Dracula, Frollo from “Hunchback of Notre Dame” and the Phantom of the Opera as Bryonic heros as well. All men who are safer on the pages of literature than in real life, but oh-so-fun to read about. And then of course, there are the milder Bryonic heroes like Rochester and Eugene Onegin. Easier to love, perhaps, but still very difficult, at times questionable men.
List of traits, pulled off Wikipedia, for everybody’s reference. Not an all-inclusive list, but indicates the types of things that are common to these figures. I went through and noted some traits I thought particularly applied to our dear Rumple/Gold.
Arrogant
Cunning and able to adapt
Cynical
Disrespectful of rank and privilege
Emotionally conflicted, bipolar, or moody (Emilie de Ravin’s comment that Belle is partially drawn to his tortured soul)
Having a distaste for social institutions and norms
Having a troubled past or suffering from an unnamed crime (and from my research into this topic, the crime can be either a crime the hero himself committed, or a crime committed against him)
Intelligent and perceptive
Jaded, world-weary
Mysterious, magnetic and charismatic
Rebellious
Seductive and sexually attractive
Self-critical and introspective (This one is key. Rumple is so very self-critical. “I’m not a man.” “I’m still a monster,” “I’ve been a coward my whole life.” His tendency to constantly project his own failings and self-hatred when accusing others, whether it be with Charming, “You hurt her. You drove her to take that potion,” or Moe “You had her love and you shut her out” or Milah “How could you leave Bae?”)
Self-destructive
Socially and sexually dominant (Socially dominant, for sure. And as for sexually dominant… there are Rumbelle fics I wish I could unsee)
Sophisticated and educated (Gold certainly is, at least. )
Struggling with integrity (Yup. So much that.)
Treated as an exile, outcast, or outlaw
(Both before and after the Dark Curse)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byronic_hero