Here Be Monsters

"I believe there are monsters born in the world to human parents. Some you can see, misshapen and horrible, with huge heads or tiny bodies. . . . And just as there are physical monsters, can there not be mental or psychic monsters born? The face and body may be perfect, but if a twisted gene or a malformed egg can produce physical monsters, may not the same process produce a malformed soul?" ~ John Steinbeck in describing the character of Catherine in EAST OF EDEN

When writing fictional villains, we're told we should make them three-dimensional, that no one is ever all bad, or all good for that matter. A well-rounded character, no matter the role they play in your story, should be motivated, possess both strengths and vulnerabilities, and have some kind of redeemable quality, however small. Maybe your villain was abused as a child, or watched his family lose everything, or was the victim of some other kind of misfortune. OK, there's the motivation for why he or she does rotten things. But maybe that person has a fondness for cats or birds or plants, or some other positive interest or even a cause that makes them seem more human, more real. More interesting to the reader.

But in Steinbeck's EAST OF EDEN, the beautiful Catherine was a monster, plain and simple. There were no particular reasons for the things she did–she was simply evil. Did Steinbeck err in creating this two-dimensional character? In not outlining any real motivating causes for her appalling behavior, did he strip away the character's inherent humanness, or was he suggesting that some human behavior, and the lack of remorse that goes along with it, simply defies explanation, is unforgivable, and renders that person wholly irredeemable.

I can't help but think of that book, and the quote above, as I watch bits of the Casey Anthony trial on the news. The defense is trying to come up with motivating factors to explain if not excuse some of her behavior. I'm not on the jury and it's not my job to judge her, but I will say that this young woman's own words and behavior, caught on camera and video tape, are painting a disturbing portrait that eerily resembles Steinbeck's Catherine: cold-hearted, self-absorbed, and utterly unaware of the wrongness of her actions. Is she a monster? She certainly doesn't look like one, does she? But even if her daughter's death was an accident as the defense is suggesting, Casey's behavior after the fact defies explanation, and even now she seems far more sorry about the trouble she's in, than about her daughter's death.

I apologize. Maybe I shouldn't have blogged about this. But a writer's job is to explore all facets of human behavior and delve into the human psyche. We look to the real world, to friends, family, acquaintances, strangers on the street, for examples of the human condition. And just when we think we've got a handle on it, something–or someone–comes along and blows our perceptions out of the water.

So I guess I'll leave you with one question: do you believe in monsters?

Tagged: East Of Eden, John Steinbeck, Monsters, villains