I have a problem with the idea of the tragic hero. From the perspective of writing, the tragic hero provides incredible opportunity for deep drama, moving moments, and a compelling story. The opportunity is so great, that I sometimes wonder if writers rely on it as a sort of crutch.
I’m an optimist, and I like happy endings. That doesn’t mean I like for things to be sappy, but I do like the entire concept of sometime getting an opportunity to relish the end results of their turmoil. I can admit, in real life this does not always happen. But the practice of the tragic hero in stories is too commonplace.
I think it is harder to write a story with the level of drama and turmoil one gets with a tragic hero and not have a tragic hero. This is where I tip my hat to J.K. Rowling. (*Alert, spoiler if you’ve not read the last book or seen the last movie and have somehow avoided discussion of it) Opinions can vary regarding the originality of the universe, the movies, but the woman can craft a story. Before the last book came out, a lot of people believed that the only way the story could be brought to an end was to kill Harry Potter. I, myself, believed that she probably would not do that, but at least one of the three main characters would die. But she managed to create a compelling story that did not kill any of them, which gave it a very satisfying conclusion for me.
I’m not going to point out lots of books that emphasize the use of the tragic hero, because ultimately that’s not where the problem lies. I worry that the mentality of the tragic hero has been overly embraced in our culture. It’s a simple and successful storytelling crutch because readers/viewers too readily identify with the protagonist.
A few years ago I went hiking with a guy who had not packed enough water, yet refused offers of water from others who had extra, preferring instead to soldier on without it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a strong advocate of self sacrifice. I think one gains a tremendous amount from the experience self sacrifice. It can make us quite strong, but to deny gifts of grace denies you a taste of love and compassion that is unique and cannot be gained through self sacrifice. Do not turn something down for the sake of turning something down. Do not create, in your own head, a narrative of the tragic hero. Remember, at the end of the story, the hero usually dies.
The worst part about such a narrative is that the protagonist will often make choices that could have spared them the fate they suffered, and still succeeded. At that point, they stop being a tragic hero and just become a really bad decision maker. Those are the stories you read about in the papers and see on the news. We see them as bad decision makers, but they saw themselves as tragic heroes. I use past-tense, because they’re usually dead by the time we hear about the story.
Do not romanticize the tragic hero. Celebrate those who sacrificed themselves for the greater good by enjoying the goodness they enabled us to enjoy. Anyone who aspires to martyrdom sells short what they can hope to accomplish by living.
*I’m adding this bit a few weeks after drafting this originally. After feedback from Julie and thinking about it for a few weeks, it’s probably worth qualifying that I am in no way immune to the issues I describe above. Julie caught me doing the tragic hero bit just the other day at lunch. The things we hate most about others are often the things we dislike most about ourselves, no?"*
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