The book I’m currently writing features a dominantly negative character arc. If you’ve never tried such a thing, a negative arc is essentially the opposite of the traditional character arc. Instead of beginning at a bad point and overcoming flaws to become a better version of themself, in a negative arc, the character begins at one point and then becomes progressively more wicked or disillusioned. They leave one lie behind and either embrace a discouraging truth or a greater lie.
Why would anyone write such a thing? In my case, I’m trying to say something about the inherent monstrosity that we all possess. And the way(s) that we can leave that part of us behind to become something better. Thus, my theme requires a negative character arc – one in which I demonstrate how easy it is, over time, to embrace the darkest parts of our hearts and allow those parts to overtake us.
Negative character arcs have been done before. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte and The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde are both negative character arcs in Gothic literature.
In one sense, the structure itself is terribly different, which is a new and different process for me. If you’re looking for help with that, I recommend K.M. Weiland’s series on structuring negative character arcs:
The Three Types of Negative Character Arcs
Writing Negative Arcs – Act II
Writing Negative Arcs – Act III
But in addition to that, someone essentially asked me, how can you write a book with a tragic ending and not depress readers?
I had to think about that. Unless your goal is to leave readers in a negative frame of mind – which is not my objective – it’s a crucial question. I think the answer is that in presenting the character’s descent, we, as writers, must also demonstrate how that descent could have been avoided. That may simply be implied, but readers should be able to see how we can all learn from the negative character and do differently.
Let’s use Wuthering Heights as an example and look at a few ways that the positive can be seen in Heathcliff’s downward spiral.
Warning: Plot Spoilers Ahead!!
Lack of Inevitability
Heathcliff was the adopted brother of Catherine and Hindley Earnshaw. When their father brought the orphan boy home one day, his actions brought to light the selfish and cruel nature of both of the Earnshaw children. Over time, readers see how unwelcome and inhospitable the family is towards Heathcliff.
(Hollywood would have you believe that this is a love story…and there is one in there, but it’s a very dark and destructive love story. One we’ll visit in more detail in a book review in the near future. All that to say, put aside your notions of this being a positive love story for now.)
From the very beginning, it’s clear that this poor child has simply passed from one bad state (orphanhood) to another (a family who, at least in part, doesn’t want him). In these circumstances, Bronte is setting up the initial reasons why Heathcliff chooses to become hateful and vindictive. That’s important. Readers need to see what the character uses as a rationale for his negative arc.
But…his descent can’t be a foregone conclusion. If Heathcliff hadn’t had any other choices, if he had to become evil, had to lose his mind and die loveless and alone, the story would have been depressing rather than instructive and insightful.
Instead, Bronte showed several instances in which Heathcliff could have chosen differently. For example, when Catherine realizes that she was wrong about Heathcliff and befriends him, it’s only Hindley who still dislikes him. Heathcliff could have accepted the truth – that the boy’s hatred for him was a byproduct of his selfish and hateful nature. Instead, he used it to fuel his constant sense of inferiority and competition, resulting in a lifelong desire to destroy both Hindley and Hindley’s future child, Hareton.
Heathcliff ultimately left to become a gentleman, in order to prove to Catherine that he was worthy of her. When he came home and discovered that she had married Edgar Linton, he could have counted his blessings, realized how far he had come from being a homeless orphan, and built the best life for himself that he could. Instead, he used his new status as a means of destroying both himself and others.
That’s the point. In a negative character arc, the character uses his circumstances as an opportunity to move towards a more negative state of mind or even become overtly monstrous. But, if you’ve shown readers that the character didn’t have to do so, there’s an implicit positive statement in there. In every bad choice, indicate what could have been the case.
Good Amidst the Bad
On top of that, it’s crucial to show that there are good things in the character’s life. Heathcliff had the love and affection of Mr. Earnshaw before he died, the subsequent love of Catherine as a child and even after she married Edgar, and an education and economic success that he had gained for himself. He had a roof over his head and even servants to support him.
He had good things in his life.
This says something about him. A lot in fact. But it says something to readers as well. In Wuthering Heights, Bronte presents a tale of a man who chose to become obsessed with this family. It wasn’t enough for Hindley to leave him alone. Heathcliff had to destroy him. It wasn’t enough for Catherine to think the world of him and be his closest friend. She had to leave Edgar and be with him for all of eternity. And Heathcliff had to ruin Edgar’s sister to take revenge on him for marrying Catherine.
Heathcliff overlooked every good thing and saw only the bad.
When we show readers that our character has positive influences in his life, maybe even people who love him, or who would help him, a positive mirror image forms in the readers mind. Even if they aren’t consciously aware of it, or can’t articulate it, they can see the opposite in conjunction with the negative character arc.
Shadow Character
Lastly, Bronte incorporates something more overt to illustrate the good amidst the bad: a shadow character.
In Wuthering Heights, there are two. Hareton (Hindley’s son whom Heathcliff brought up to be as rough and uncultured as he had been as a boy) and Cathy (Catherine and Edgar’s daughter whom Heathcliff took prisoner and forced to marry his dying son, Linton). Though Heathcliff attempted to destroy both of them as revenge against the Earnshaws and the Lintons, after Heathcliff’s death, we see a mirror image of Catherine and Heathcliff as children.
In a crucial final image, Bronte shows Cathy teaching Hareton to read. It’s clear that the two are rapidly becoming close friends and future lovers. Readers see Heathcliff’s demise, but they also come away with this picture.
Cathy and Hareton are casting off the former abuse that Heathcliff dealt them, and are beginning a new chapter. One without revenge or hatred. Something that Heathcliff refused to do. In them, we see what Heathcliff could have overcome and the kind of healthy life he could have had.
Conclusion
I’ve loved Wuthering Heights since I was in high school, so much so that I try to re-read it almost every October. (It’s an October book in my mind.) But it’s only recently that I’ve been able to identify this mirror story. In a way, the negative character arc is one in which the overt story is negative, but the hidden story is positive. At the very least, it can be. If that’s what the writer wants to say.
This kind of story won’t appeal to everyone. For some people, the heavy cautionary tale is too weighty, too somber. However, if the legacy of Wuthering Heights is any indicator, there’s a large market for a negative character arc. The key is to show readers the positive alongside the negative in such a way that they can see the beauty amidst the darkness.
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