Favorite Villans Tag

Thank you to Lydia from C'est La Vie for tagging me. Like her I was unsure as to exactly what goes into choosing your favorite villains so I mainly went for the most memorable. These are villains who stick out in my mind even if I read the book years ago.

1) Javert of Les Mis

“As we have said, he had no vices. When he was pleased with himself, he permitted himself a pinch of snuff. Therein lay his connection with humanity.”

Javert was quite the persistent villain. He never forgives, never forgets, never gives up and would rather die that live in a world where grace exists. I love Philip Quest in this role. You can watch him in the 10th anniversary concert on youtube.

2) Madame Defarge of Tale of Two cities

“’Then tell Wind and Fire where to stop,’ returned madame; ‘but don't tell me.’”

This was one of my favorite books that I read for public school (they were not the best at choosing books). And Madame Defarge was certainly memorable with her terrifying personality and her constant sinister knitting

3) Smerdyakov of Brothers K

“Everything is permitted.”

Smerdyakov is one of the creepiest characters I have encountered in classical literature. Not only is he entirely without a conscience but he does things just for the sake of causing suffering.

Painting of Tito by Edward Clifford

4) Tito Melema of Romola

“He had sold himself to evil, but at present life seemed so nearly the same to him that he was not conscious of the bond. He meant all things to go on as they had done before, both within and without him:”

I felt George Eliot did a fantastic job of showing Tito descend into evil not by a sudden change, but by a progression of slow steps, each one carefully justified.

5) Count Fosco of The Woman in White

“I say what other people only think; and when all the rest of the world is in a conspiracy to accept the mask for the true face, mine is the rash hand that tears off the plump pasteboard, and shows the bare bones beneath."

Count Fosco is one of the most intelligent villains around. He comes up with a seemingly outrageous plan and it works. Works so well that even after months the good characters cannot find any proof of what he’s done.

6) Screwtape of the Screwtape Letters

“It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

CS Lewis is one of my favorite authors but I was never too attached to his villains in Chronicles of Narnia. However Screwtape was an amusing and fittingly diabolical villain.

7) The Queen of Attolia of The Queen of Attolia

“She dressed as always in an imitation of Hephestia, but it was far easier to imagine the impersonal cruelty of the Great Goddess than to see cruelty in the face in the Queen of Attolia.”

I won’t say too much because it is too easy to spoil this series, but, if you have not already, stop whatever you are doing and read The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner.

8) Signora Madeline Vesey Neroni of Barchester Towers

“ A sudden half-hour with the Neroni, was like falling into a pit"

Barchester Towers is a fun Victorian romance, which doesn't take itself too seriously. It's been quite a few years since I read it but Signora Neroni's devious exploits, all from the comfort of her couch, still stick out in my mind.

9) Wizard Derk of The Darklord of Derkholm

Alas, I couldn’t find quotes from this book on the internet and I have long since given away my copy but I quite enjoyed Derk’s attempts to be a darklord.