by Corliss Jacobs
It’s Spooky Season, moms! Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I have taken it upon myself to celebrate this wonderful time of year by choosing a topic of frightening proportions. Old grudges, bad blood, vengeful ghosts — yes, I am talking about the revenge trope! I have been encouraged my whole life by my parents to not seek out revenge against another, and rightly so. It’s a poisonous hatred that becomes all-consuming if we are not careful. Knowing this, why do we find stories of bloody grievances and deadly comeuppance so satisfying? Why do we speak against revenge in reality, when in fiction we cheer for the hero as they slay the villain who wronged them?
As I have stated in a previous article, one of the many benefits of fiction is that it is separate from reality. A character and their deeds not being real makes it a lot easier to root wholeheartedly for a character, no matter the flaws. But I think an even bigger reason we love reading, watching, or hearing about revenge is catharsis. The hero chasing down and killing the person responsible for all their problems is something we wish we could do but can’t. In this way, the heroes are living out our fantasies for us. The best example of this? Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride. I cannot tell you how much I smiled when he finally killed the Six-Fingered Man, avenging the death of his father. Inigo himself is such a well-written, wonderful character, so knowing that about him adds to the desire to see him prevail. It feels so good to watch him do what we can’t, showing him finally having the peace he longed for for so long. I know I wish I could have a dramatic confrontation with those that have wronged me, but in reality, I wouldn’t want to. So I am content with reading and watching Inigo Montoya, as he tells his dastardly foe to prepare to die.
The next reason we love revenge is that it can be like a train wreck — we just can’t look away! While it is satisfying to see a protagonist succeed in their revenge, it can also be fascinating to watch how the desire for it warps a person into someone they never imagined they’d become. Hamlet is a perfect example for this flavor of vengeance. Judging from how everyone around Hamlet loves and cherishes him, he was a happy, good-hearted, merry young prince before his father died. When his father’s ghost demands he kill his uncle, Hamlet takes on the mission with a full heart, which begins to slowly change him. He pretends to be insane as a cover so he can carry out his plans without suspicion. But as guilt, grief, and anger consume him, his mind begins to unravel in earnest. His murder of Polonius, his spurning of Ophelia, and the isolation he keeps from his closest friends are a testament to the death of his morals, all in the name of revenge. It’s not a good thing, of course, but when it’s a fictional character that we watch from the coziness of the theater, it becomes highly interesting. Even though we know what is going to happen, we become invested anyway, and there is a strange sense of justice in the tragic end the Prince of Denmark receives. The audience wanted a happy ending for Hamlet, but ultimately dark deeds lead to darker ends, and that symmetry can be not only cathartic but comforting in a world that can be anything but balanced.
The final reason revenge stories are so popular is because… well, it’s just plain fun! Quests like this are engaging and give us a reason to care about where the character is going. It’s fun to watch them progress as they prepare to fight the Big Bad. That’s we come for when we pick up a new tale — to watch fake people we care about fight, laugh, cry, and ultimately grow as they finally accomplish what they worked so hard for. It motivates us to go for our own goals, no matter how daunting they may seem. If Inigo could achieve his dream after a lifetime of work, then so can I, and so can each and every one of you! As long as that goal isn’t hunting down and killing a man in single combat. That sort of thing is only noble in books.
There are lots of reasons we like reading about revenge, even if we don’t participate in it ourselves. Revenge is, of course, never the answer. But in fiction, especially around Halloween? It’s a question, and the answer is yes!
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