I have always been fascinated by the dividing line between heroes and villains. One of my favourite villains is Loki in the Marvel Universe. A complex character who is emotionally damaged and acts out of that place of hurt. Because of that there is always hope of healing and redemption, and indeed we see Loki doing good as well as bad. One-dimensional villains who are the bad guy or girl purely to serve a story are of no interest. Give me the shades of grey – the possibility that a person may choose good over evil – and I will be hooked.
The topic of heroes was offered up by an online magazine recently, and I wrote the following in response:
The fine line between heroes and villains
It is a short piece of life writing based on events in my garden this spring. Underlying it is the question of whether motivation makes us a hero or a villain, and whether that judgement depends on point of view.