The Catholic Book Club discussion

5. Is Ralph Torridon a villain or a tragic figure?

Both.

I'll explain. It's possible that the villain of a literary work be at the same time a tragic figure. Without going in too much detail, I think Medea can be considered both things in Greek literature. In the legend of The Argonauts, she betrays her father, because she has fallen in love with Jason; and in the tragedy by Euripides, when Jason falls in love with another woman, she kills the woman and her father in a horrible way, and then kills her own children to avenge herself on Jason. I think she is clearly both a villain and a tragic figure.

Manuel wrote: "Both.

I'll explain. It's possible that the villain of a literary work be at the same time a tragic figure. Without going in too much detail, I think Medea can be considered both things in Greek li..."

That certainly explains why Medea is a villain, but why is Ralph both villain and tragic figure? :-)

John wrote: "That certainly explains why Medea is a villain, but why is Ralph both villain and tragic figure? :-)"

A villain: because he has taken Thomas Cromwell as his god, and never questions his orders. That he is a villain is proved by Beatrice's reaction at the end of Part I of Book II.

A tragic figure: because of the end of the book, a most tragic ending.