February 26, 2018
Types of Fiction Characters: How to Use Them in Your Novel
To speak of character categorization might be a self-evident matter for some authors, and yet it might appear nonsensical to others. Surely, a writer of the latter group might say, you can’t just divide every character of every novel into just a few categories? The truth is neither “yes” nor “no” – or, if you’d rather see the glass half-full, it’s both. It’s true, that a skillful author can make the most stereotypical character appear as unique and original. At the same time, many character functions are similar. More counter-intuitively, perhaps, character functions need to be similar for reasons we will see further below. Today I’ll tell you a few things about the various types of fiction characters.
I’ll show you why it’s important to recognize, understand, and use these character categories. This article is based on various established sources (for further reading I’d recommend Vladimir Propp’s Morphology of the Folktale), on my academic expertise, as well as on my own writing experience.
Types of Fiction Characters: a Short List
There is more than one way to a destination, and I make no claim about this categorization being the best – let alone the only one. As I mentioned above, if you’re really interested in the various categories of fiction characters, you should look into some books on narratology.
This is intended as a short, easy-to-read list that can serve as a starting point for authors looking to better understand and control their novels. Also remember that each genre has different dynamics (and indeed different nomenclature), but the following list on types of fiction characters should get you going.
- Protagonist
- Antagonist
- Assistant
- Opponent
- Dreamer
- Chorus
There is one important thing to remember when talking about character categories in narrative. Although a story might indeed have an exclusive way of assigning these types – that is, one character is a protagonist, another is an antagonist etc. – it is often the case that these represent groups.
By “protagonist” we might refer to three or four people, and the “assistant” might be a whole town or even some other, abstract entity. Furthermore, one actual narrative character (e.g. “John Smith”) might serve a dual function – indeed, many narratives create tension by doing that. We’ll look more into this below.
Types of Fiction Characters: A more Extended Description
Before I expand on the character categories mentioned above, I really need to remind you a few things about narratives. I said some time ago in my article about picking the right narrative ending, that a narrative is a collection of journeys; movements from point A to point B (sometimes not taking the shortest route).
In addition, for the narrative to be engaging and sense-making, it must entail a problem, a goal/solution, and an evolution. That is, the ultimate point of the narrative (when all the narrative journeys are added together) must entail a situation from which a character (or characters) need to depart, a situation where this character/characters needs to arrive, and the intermediate route leading there.
With these broad definitions in mind, let’s go back to the types of characters and see how they fit in this picture.
Protagonist
The protagonist offers a reference point for the reader in terms of following the narrative evolution. The protagonist is the character (or characters) through whom the reader engages with the plot. Although there can be parallels with other characters’ motivations, it is the protagonist who faces the story problem, seeks the story goal/solution, and witnesses the relevant evolution.
Antagonist
The antagonist, as the name implies, functions as the force keeping the protagonist from achieving the given goal. The antagonist actively keeps the protagonist from achieving his/her/their goal. In other words, the antagonist’s opposition is not a result of error, tragic irony, or other such literary device – see information on the character type of the opponent, below.
Assistant
An assistant supports the protagonist by offering help in achieving the story goal. This can happen directly, for example by fulfilling tasks or discovering secrets; or indirectly, by offering inspiring words or an idea facilitating the solution. However, the assistant is merely that – an assistant – and never solves the problem instead of the protagonist.
Opponent
The opponent inhibits the protagonist from achieving the story goal. However, the crucial difference between the antagonist and the opponent is that the latter can be an unwilling or accidental obstacle to the protagonist’s struggle. Indeed, many narratives can create tension and introduce tragic irony by having a friend of the protagonist serve the role of the (accidental) opponent, by trying to comfort the protagonist, though in a way that actually inhibits the latter from achieving the story goal.
Dreamer
As you have perhaps noticed so far, these types of fiction characters appear in dialectical pairs. Protagonist-antagonist, assistant-opponent. If you wonder whether the other two characters, the dreamer and the chorus also share such an opposition, the answer is: you bet! The character of the dreamer is an interesting one. To some extent, it’s not unlike the character of the fool or court jester in traditional Shakespearean drama: offering some comic relief, perhaps some hilarity and nonsensical emotion, but with some underlying truth every now and then. There is a crucial difference however, which becomes easier to understand after we also take a look at the character of the chorus.
Chorus
In traditional ancient Athenian theater, the chorus served the narrative function of the “insider”. A bit like a narrator-inside-the-narration, the role of the chorus in ancient Greek plays was to offer some narrative exposition and background information. To some extent it also served the role of the intended audience, by nudging the actual spectators into the intended reaction or interpretation. For our purposes, the chorus does precisely that: it offers a more factual, a more rational perspective on the situation. Therefore, whereas the character of the dreamer offers an emotional perspective on things, the chorus suggests the opposite, which is rationality. There is no universal right or wrong, obviously enough. In some narratives one perspective might lead the protagonist closer to the goal; the other, farther from it.
Why Do You Need Stereotyped Fiction Characters?
Perhaps a better question would be “why do you need to know about stereotyped fiction characters?” You see, as with virtually everything else in writing fiction, it’s not a matter of blindingly following some “rules” but of being aware how things work. You need to understand the rules in order to break them creatively.
Narrative Journeys and Character Types
The key to understanding character categories is once again narrative journeys. Let’s remember my article on narrative endings. I had mentioned there the following metaphor:
Imagine you’ve left home on your way to your friend’s. You could pass from the grocery store or you could pass from the liquor store; maybe you could pass by the scenic park or by the port. You have full control of these choices, you can pick your route. But, once you’ve made your choice, certain repercussions are generated.
If, therefore, a narrative journey is the route taking you from point A to point B, the character type suggests which route “will” be followed. I place quotation marks around “will” because you can also think of it as “should”, “would’ve”, “might”, and so on. A character type acting in a scene suggests to an extent which way will be followed.
Of course it’s up to you, the author, to follow this path or break the rule. The various types of fiction characters nudge a journey through a certain route. Whereas the dreamer might increase the likelihood for a resolution based on emotions, the chorus will suggest the opposite. Placing the opponent in the same scene with the assistant increases the likelihood for tension.
An Example on Types of Fiction Characters
Sometimes the easier method to understand is with an example case. Let’s take Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a story likely familiar to almost everyone. The protagonist might nominally be Jonathan Harker, since the novel begins from his perspective.
But in actual fact the entire Crew of Light serve the role. Jonathan Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, and the three suitors of Lucy Westenra: Arthur Holmwood, John Seward, and Quincey Morris. Their goal is to destroy Count Dracula, who serves the role of the antagonist.
Lucy Westenra, with her emotional and fanciful ideas related to “the New Woman”, is a natural dreamer. Conversely, Mina Harker serves the role of the chorus. Interestingly enough, she’s also the force behind the textual production of the manuscript, as she literally puts it together.
Renfield, being under the influence of Dracula, serves a marginal role as an opponent. Of course this is only one possibility. Interesting interpretative possibilities arise if one saw Count Dracula as the protagonist instead. In that case, the Crew of Light would be the antagonist.
In Which Way Knowing about Character Types Helps Your Writing?
It’s simple (yet infinitely complex, I know). Knowing about the various types of fiction characters, allows you to create balance and expectations in your narrative. Or instead, if that is your goal, to throw the narrative world into chaos!
For instance, as I mentioned further above, a typical literary device is to exploit the opponent as someone close to the protagonist. You can introduce tragic irony by having the protagonist’s friend accidentally cause harm.
However, this is only a very simple example. In most complex narratives, the author can achieve the most powerful effect by having a character play a dual role. For instance, the protagonist and the antagonist can be one and the same actual character.
Imagine someone who half the time works toward some goal (say, to find peace of mind over a past trauma), only to undermine his own efforts due to fear or suspicion.
It’s about Character Dynamics
Needless to say, such a setup also renders the surrounding characters all the more important.
Is the opponent really an opponent, or an assistant in disguise? Is the antagonist (i.e. the actual character’s own undermining efforts) really the one who is wrong? Or could it be that it’s all irrelevant anyway? Should the protagonist (and, vicariously, the audience) listen to the chorus? Or perhaps it is the dreamer who knows best of them all?
The options are endless!
Note: The theory described in this post is the core behind my Narrative Nods app.
4 Comments
Comments are closed for posts older than 90 days
I really like this article, but I am having trouble understanding the dreamer and chorus roles. I have never read Dracula. Are there any other examples from popular fiction you could cited to help me better understand this concept?
The most obvious example of a chorus kind of character would be Spock in Star Trek – or, more recently, Data. They are reason personified, indeed entirely lacking an emotional understanding of a situation. They want to help, but their problem-solving is exclusively based on rationality, which may or may not always be suitable. Of course, in most narratives it’s never as obvious or clear-cut, which can be a narrative device in itself (having the reader wondering whether the chorus is, unexpectedly, offering an emotional response after all).
Dreamer kind of sidekicks are easier to find. Every “fool” in Shakespearean drama is a dreamer. For more popular (and recent) fiction, think of Donkey in Shrek or Gabrielle in Xena.
It’s of course pretty interesting when you have dreamers and choruses clash. Although the example is not perfect because they are actually protagonists, think of Mulder and Scully in X-Files. Mulder is all about having an emotional, instinctive response to problem-solving, whereas Scully’s thought process only understands rationality and fact-based approaches. And, just as X-Files showed, sometimes you need one for the narrative to progress, sometimes you need the other. There’s no universal right and wrong.
Wow! Thank you for your time, and in particular thanks for answering so quickly! Just discovered the blog today, but I’m highly enjoying it. Thanks!
You’re welcome, glad to have helped 🙂