50 Greatest Villains in Literature- Page 2

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 11:16am

Was Dorian Grey on the list? I didn't notice.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 11:21am

Well, maybe they were after villains who did something more villainous than making some rich kid in Georgetown puke.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 11:21am

Margaret White? Pennywise?

Damien?

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 11:23am

THE OMEN was never a novel.

Personally, I think Atwood's shape-shifting Zenia from THE ROBBER BRIDE is a great villainess.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 11:27am

Some of the choices seem a bit of a reach. Is Tom Ripley really a villain? I'd say that Jim Thompson's psycho sherriffs Nick Corey in POP. 1280 and the immortal Lou Ford in THE KILLER INSIDE ME are more dangerous.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 11:30am

oops...I never read it (duh, obviously) but could've sworn I remember a paperback...probably published after the film.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 11:31am

No Nurse Ratchet from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest? Man that woman was evil in the book!

[Roscoe]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 11:39am

There was certainly a novelization of THE OMEN, but there were novelizations of pretty much everything in the 70s.

[jasonf]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 12:07pm

I'm also surprised they picked the Joker. Is he really the most villainous of comic book villains? More than Lex Luthor or Brainiac or Doc Octopus?

If they're going plays, along the Ripley lines - how about Salieri or Mrs. Lovett? It could certainly be argued (and has been ad nauseum on these boards)that they are villains...

I haven't read the book so don't know how he is in it, but what about Chigurh from No Country for Old Men? If he's anything like he is in the movie, he deserves to rank up there...

[StockardFan]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 12:27pm

Joe, I was picturing Ann Coulter as well.

Anyway, if nothing else this list made me think about some books that I might want to read that I haven't yet read. I might have to stop at the library later.

[best12bars]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 12:51pm

I disagree with the Joker too. They're thinking about the film incarnations, and the spinoffs. Just like the Witch in the Wizard of Oz has more of an impact outside than she does in the book.

If we need to pick a comic book villain, I'd go with Lex Luthor first.

For Stephen King, I agree with the Overlook Hotel! Great choice.

What about the headless horseman in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow?

[jasonf]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 12:57pm

Ahh - I thought of the Headless Horseman too but he slipped my mind when writing an earlier post.

How about the Narrator in the Tell Tale Heart?

The Overlook Hotel is a good choice too...and Best, I agree that Lex Luthor is probably the best comic book choice (and you KNOW I'm going by the books and not the fop played by Gene Hackman!)

And no, didn't see Dorian Grey on there...

Updated On: 9/22/08 at 12:57 PM

[BkCollector]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 2:46pm

Perfect list in my opinion, although I would have put Mrs. Danvers higher on the list.

Thernardier doesn't really belong. if you think so, then you've missed Hugo's entire point of the book.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 2:46pm

There's a wonderful character in Clive Barker's WEAVEWORLD, a witch named Immacolata, I think.

Wonderful book! I haven't read that in years. I think The Overlook is an inspired choice. Pennywise was probably King's most terrifying villain for me, though.

John Sandford has had some rather delightfully wicked villains as well. The one from Eyes of Prey pops into mind.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 5:26pm

I dunno, the Joker gets pretty villainous. He killed Robin.

But then again, Green Goblin killed Spider-man's girlfriend.

I think Javert is more consequential a villain than Thenardier.

[BkCollector]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 5:31pm

Javert isn't a villain, either. Both tortured souls. Do you people even READ the source material of the musicals you claim to know so much about?

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 5:34pm

I'm pretty sure Thenardier is a villain. Just because he's pathetic, gets away Scot-free, and never ACTUALLY hurts anyone doesn't mean he's not villainous. He's a genuine threat. He really was planning on doing some damage when he brought Valjean over to the Gorbeau tenement.

[BkCollector]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 5:36pm

Yes, but Hugo's work isn't about Villainy, its about society and what it turns people into. If you think there is good and evil plainly introduced to you in a binary format in Les Miserables then you've obviously never read the book.

A book like Rebecca for instance, is a romance, good and evil are presented in a totally binary format, so that it can be contrasted with Maxim's ambiguous character.

Iago, perfect villain.

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 5:42pm

I always felt that the book deliberately contrasts between people like Valjean, who wasn't brought into the world to be a 'villain' and who was brought to redemption, and Javert, who cast himself in the role of the 'good guy', with Thenardier and the rest of Patron-Minette. They knew they were villains; they reveled in it. Montparnasse was confronted by Valjean, who really just wanted to give him a second chance like he'd gotten. Montparnasse said he wanted to be a criminal because work was too hard. He's not someone who was brought to his position by society. Even before Thenardier lost everything, he was still a scumbag, and I'm sure he was a scumbag when he became a wealthy slave trader in America afterward.

I wouldn't call Javert a villain, just an antagonist. But Thenardier fits the villain mold in my opinion.

But that's the great thing about Les Miserables. It's so open to interpretation that no two people read it the same way.

Iago is a great villain, except it always bothers me that we never really know his true motivation. Is it wrong of me to assume you meant the annoying parrot from Aladdin at first before I realized who you meant? Hahaha, I feel really dumb.

Updated On: 9/22/08 at 05:42 PM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/22/08 at 6:16pm

Javert is not a villain. He's just a republican.