10 Antiheroes in Literature That We Love to Hate
“She wanted to die, but she also wanted to live in Paris.”
Emma Bovary; Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert and Sarah; Little Children, Tom Perrotta
Characters don’t always have to be associated with great crimes or violent acts to be deemed worthy of antihero status. In fact, with many fictional (and, let’s face it, real life) women, even simple character flaws, like a certain restlessness or existential malaise or extramarital affair, will plant them firmly in the camp of the antihero. Such is the case with Flaubert’s Emma Bovary, and her modern updated version, Tom Perrotta’s suburban Sarah. Both women are unhappy with their provincial lives and boring husbands, and both fall into wildly inappropriate dalliances which end badly. Both act in selfish ways in pursuit of personal pleasure without thinking about how they will hurt others, thinking instead only of how they themselves hurt. But while Emma Bovary’s life (and that of her child and husband) end tragically, Sarah’s story has a bit more hope. She is stronger. She did some morally questionable things. She is not a hero, but she is not a villain. She’s just herself, which is why it’s possible to like her, and to look past the flaws. Not every character needs to be literally the devil to not be a hero. Some just need to be human.
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