Originally posted by: MrDarcyfan
@YoohiChala:
One of my all time literary Hero's is Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights. He was not good, not perfect in any way. But his love for Cathy was all consuming. We feel it in every word, every action. So much so you cannot but help feel for that love. You despise him, but you respect his love. No one ever made excuses for Heathcliff. But he DID have a dark past. He was abused. But he took revenge too. He was not a hapless victim.
Sometimes the bad is presented in such a way that we see beyond those actions. Especially if the actions are driven by love or passion. It is entirely the skill of the storyteller if you will celebrate a grey or even a black character. People love villains, even while they hate their actions. But villains usually dont get redemption. Only a hero does.
So if Shivaay is in fact a Hero, he will have to be redeemed. Yes, he has no solid sob story like GK's other ML's. So he has a lot more to answer for and no real "cop out". But since I have lost a great deal of faith in GK's creative process and her presentation of such tracks, I don't know if we will get to see a proper redemption. It would be great if we do, but I am not expecting it.
Yes, I do like Heathcliff too but he's not my favourite. My favourite literary anti-hero is probably Michael Corleone from The Godfather. He was a despicable character and was morally corrupt to the point of murdering people to carry on his family's Mafia legacy. And he felt no remorse for the same. Initially he was a decorated war-hero and didn't want anything to do with his family's criminal activities, but as soon as his father was shot and nearly killed he started involving himself in the family's criminal activities. This demonstrated the extent of loyalty he has for his family, that he would defy his own sense of morality and take charge of his family business at the heavy cost of his own soul.
Frankly I connect to this more than romantic love. Michael's actions were also driven by love and passion, but for his family. He was driven by desperation to save his family legacy. Why is it that romantic love is always celebrated but familial love is not? Romantic love can happen anytime, anyday. In seconds, minutes or months. But those who are fortunate to have an actual family have it since the moment they took their first breath. We take our first steps in the world with our mother/father, we cherish the sweet and sour moments that we have shared with our siblings, we reminisce the days when our grandparents narrated bedtime stories to us and tucked us into bed. We express so many emotions daily with our family. From love to joy to anger, pain, frustration and ignorance. And we do this for years/decades, before we could even begin to grasp the concept of romantic love and what it is. It is such a simple thing so perhaps it is easily overlooked, but for those who are lucky to share such a bond with their family, it really is unbreakable. Love and loyalty for family (those who have it) builds and solidifies over DECADES. I didn't want to compare, but romantic love & passion pales in comparison to this.
Are these emotions not enough to drive people over the edge to commit crimes and engage in questionable and strictly unethical behaviour? I understand that most people have a family and probably love their families, at a varying level (depending on circumstances and other external factors). But only those who have a loving family and in return give their utmost loyalty to their family (for some it's knowingly while for others it's not) can have a degree of protectiveness so great that they could do literally anything to preserve their family, maybe even forsaking their own moral compass in the process. Honour and family legacy ties into this as well, as in the case of Michael Corleone. He could not take his own brother taking the side of anyone against his family. Such people are obsessive, yes. But their reasons are not unfounded. Perhaps it's just me but I can connect at a deeper level with such characters because I can see myself going to great lengths for my own family as well...not that I am condoning their actions in any way. And I have yet to experience romantic love so I guess I have never really connected at a deep level with any literary character's passionate love (nor any films or TV show characters).
Sorry for the long reply, but I had to elaborate to explain my point properly. If all this makes even 10% of sense then I've achieved my goal. 😆
Edited by YoonHiChala - 8 years ago
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