“Every villain is a hero in his own mind.”
In the world of writing, ‘antagonists’ and ‘villains’ are often interchangeable. Most people have come to view the two terms as meaning essentially the same thing. However, the reality is that there are some differences between antagonists and villains in terms of what they bring to a story. In short, an antagonist fulfils a particular role within a story, whereas a villain is a description of a character type. Join us here at What We Reading as we take you through the differences between an antagonist and a villain, and how to make use of each in your next story!
What Is An Antagonist?
In the world of reading, an antagonist is an individual or force that prevents a protagonist from achieving their goals. Also referred to as an ‘antagonistic force’, antagonists don’t have to be humans, animals or any other creature.
They also don’t have to be evil. An antagonist’s whole purpose is to provide an obstacle to a main character, usually on the back of their own motivations and missions. Antagonists are often more layered and complex characters than the typical villain. As mentioned, they don’t have to be necessarily evil and often do not even enjoy committing the acts they do.
Antagonists can also find themselves switching sides and coming to the aid of the protagonist if they find their goals suddenly aligning. Redemption arcs are usually reserved for antagonists such as in the case of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter series. But, an antagonist can also be someone innocent or even an ally who finds themselves being a hindrance to the protagonist.
Some other examples of antagonists in books include The Storm in Sebastian Junger’s The Perfect Storm, Cujo in Stephen King’s Cujo or Tobias Fell in Thirteen Storeys by Jonathan Sims.
A writer will often include multiple antagonists across a book to give a protagonist as many challenges as possible. After all, if there’s no challenge, there’s no chance of getting an exciting story!
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What Is A Villain?
So, what are the differences between antagonists and villains?
A villain is a character in a story whose primary purpose is the downfall of the main character. They usually serve as the primary antagonist, providing the protagonist with their biggest challenges. They also show active enjoyment for the pain they inflict and the damage they cause.
Some of the most famous villains in books include President Snow in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, The Judge in Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian and Pennywise from Stephen King’s It.
Whether it be through their intelligence, physical strength or resources at their disposal, villains are often designed to be just as, if not more, powerful than a protagonist. Not only does a villain need to be strong enough to provide a considerable threat to the story, but also enough of a challenge for the main character to attempt to overcome. When a hero appears to be outmatched, it creates a sense of high stakes being in play for readers.
But, villains can also be compelling characters. Many writers now make a real effort to create villains that are more than just evil for the sake of being evil, with nuanced personalities, complex motivations and backstories being some of the most commonly used tools.
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Can A Book Have Multiple Villains?
Generally, most books only have one villain designed to be the protagonist’s main opponent. Introducing an array of villains across a book or series runs the risk of overwhelming the reader, and actually watering down the impact of these characters by not having enough pages invested in them.
Some franchises such as Harry Potter might introduce new villains from instalment to instalment, however, they never deviate away from who their big villains are.
Is An Antagonist A Villain?
In books, the villain is always an antagonist. Providing the main challenges for the protagonist, they are usually the biggest antagonist of the book. A villain will provide the biggest source of conflict for a protagonist, with goals and motivations that are often juxtaposed with those of the main character.
Alternatively, an antagonist isn’t always a villain. Antagonists will sometimes act out of nature or with intentions that inadvertently provide protagonists with obstacles. They do not necessarily cause conflict because they want to, and will often feel they are acting in their best interests or in the interest of the greater good.
Conclusions On The Antagonist vs Villain Difference
And that’s it! Here’s a quick summary of the differences between villains and antagonists:
- Villains are malevolent characters that act with sinister intentions. Antagonists are plot devices used by authors to provide characters with obstacles.
- Not every antagonist is a villain, but every villain is an antagonist.
- Most books only have one villain but can have multiple antagonists.
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Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
