Whom Do You Think Are Literatures Most Unlikable Fictional Characters

[Teresa Edgerton]

Assuming she was a violent lunatic... more than one man of his era imprisoned a wife once he had her money. Her cries could have been of misery and even her attempt to burn Jane could have been jealousy.

I see we will have to agree to disagree on that point. Savaging her brother with her teeth when he came to see if she was being well-treated seems like more than jealousy and misery. And so far as I am aware, the husbands who imprisoned their wives during that era sent them to madhouses. It was frighteningly easy to get a wife committed and much safer for him all around.

Of course for plot purposes, she needed to be in the attic.

And for me the coercion was the trickery involved. He had the money to whisk her abroad but chose not to.

I guess we define coercion differently, too. And whisking her abroad sounds worse to me.

t is entirely personal but the way he treated Jane suggested a man who could not be trusted.

I completely agree with you there. And as I said, selfish and despicable.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

i just know at the end of the book I was screaming for her to run away and not to be so stupid. It was first person and there was an awful lot we just had Mr Rochester's word for and on more than one occasion we found that could not be trusted.

It is also worth noting I was about eight so didn't really get the whole romance thing

It's like with Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights - I tried to read it too early, I was nine. At the time there was a big orange cartoon cat called Heathcliff and I have never shaken the image.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Ah, Heathcliff. Now that you mention him, I would definitely nominate him as one of the most unlikeable characters in fiction -- even though some people see him as a romantic hero (based more on the movies, though, I think). He starts out downtrodden and sympathetic, and ends up being extraordinarily vicious and cruel.

But maybe some of these characters go beyond merely unlikeable (like Holden Caulfield) to absolutely hateful (like Joffrey Baratheon).

 

[AnyaKimlin]

But maybe some of these characters go beyond merely unlikeable (like Holden Caulfield) to absolutely hateful (like Joffrey Baratheon).

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille from Perfume is that.

The book is amazing in many ways but I could not finish it because it had me feeling so icky.

For me unlikeable is usually a character I find bland. George Gently has been my recent big disappointment. The stories are engaging but there is nothing to either dislike or like about the MC. There is no connection with the TV stories which usually I do not mind and can adapt to most mystery stories but I did not expect bland.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

One of the people I have most hated in movies is the character of Archibald Cunningham in Rob Roy. He is so incredibly evil, slimy, utterly without redeeming qualities, he just makes my skin crawl.

 

[Vince W]

One that springs to mind is Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill from the Sharpe series. What an odious, evil little man. I was so glad to see him finally done away with.

 

[paranoid marvin]

One that springs to mind is Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill from the Sharpe series. What an odious, evil little man. I was so glad to see him finally done away with.

And so brilliantly played by the late,great Pete Postlethwaite in the tv series.

 

[barrett1987]

I still to this day cannot finish the thomas convenant chronicles. They are just so whiny. A shout out to Nynaeve from wheel of time as a personal pet hate. So knowitall despite being what, 2? years older than the others and not really knowing anything more than them than herb lore? Hate her!

 

[The Ace]

You've stolen most of my thunder, already mentioning Caulfield (spoilt brat), Covenant (all-round a**ehole and rapist), and Hakeswill (an evil toady).

However, if you ever have the misfortune to read Ian McEwan's, 'Atonement,' the character of Briony will give them a run for their money - that poisonous little b*tch doesn't have a single redeeming virtue.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I also have a bit of a dislike for Shardlake (although I love the stories). Not entirly sure why , but he's nowhere near as likeable as the other famous medieval detective Cadfael.

 

[j d worthington]

Um, on the subject of Holden Caulfield:


Two Lumps


As for Heathcliff... while I wouldn't call him a romantic hero, I do think he's a fascinating, though not particularly likeable, character. More than one commentator (Lovecraft included) has noted a certain degree of intimation that he is a changeling as well... which puts a rather different spin on the character....

 

[Vertigo]

The problem with the question is it's too open:

For the most whiny and unpleasant MCs I think Thomas Covenant (oft mentioned in this thread) and Fitz (Hobb's Farseer books). These are, I feel, unpleasant because they are poorly written, and in both cases stopped me from continuing to read the whole series.

For well written evil characters, one that sticks in my mind is Zhaspahr Clyntahn from Weber's Safehold books. Though maybe Weber went a little over the top with his evilness.

 

[Toby Frost]

Are we thinking about characters who are meant to be villainous, ones that we don't like despite them being heroes, or ones that are badly written (which might be the same thing. Now I've confused myself)?

Anyway, I'd nominate:

O'Brien from 1984
Captain Beatty from Farenheit 451
Pryrates from Memory, Sorrow and Thorn
Globus from Fatherland (although a real man, so perhaps not eligible)
Steerpike from the Gormenghast trilogy.

Paul Atreides strikes me as very unlikeable given that he is supposed to be the hero of Dune, but I'm not sure how intentional this is. It might be because the people around him are much more interesting.

Unintentionally, I'd have to add Richard Rahl from the Sword of Truth and Professor Dubois from Starship Troopers, for being unintentionally obnoxious. I was going to add Joffrey and Baron Harkonnen, but they're a little bit OTT for me. Still nasty, though.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Um, on the subject of Holden Caulfield:


Two Lumps


As for Heathcliff... while I wouldn't call him a romantic hero, I do think he's a fascinating, though not particularly likeable, character. More than one commentator (Lovecraft included) has noted a certain degree of intimation that he is a changeling as well... which puts a rather different spin on the character....

When I studied Wuthering Heights at school we explored the changeling concept (being in Ireland, it probably made sense) and there is definitely an intimation of it, or at the very least him being fae in many ways.

I can see why others dislike him, but can't find it in myself to do so.

I grew to dislike Glotka, from a sff perspective, and in the similar guise as Heathcliff in the sense there was initial sympathy for a monster. I think, of the two, Heathcliff held more of my sympathy for longer.

 

[Vertigo]

Ooo, ooo, yes, Steerpike, I'd forgotten all about him!

And your initial comment, Toby, was my same problem with the question, but never mind.

I thought about O'Brien from 1984 only *blush* I couldn't remember his name!!!

Edit: Springs (you got in whilst I was typing!) I agree with Glotka; not my all time most hated but I never did understand why so many seemed to like him. I found Abercrombie went on far too much about his disabilities; I would feel like screaming every time he told us - again - how hard it was for him to climb stairs.

 

[BAYLOR]

Major Tetley In The Oxbow Incident Beyond despicable , he was the leader of the lynch mob that hanged three innocent men.

 

[psikeyhackr]

Gollum - YouTube

 

[BAYLOR]

Ralph Nickelby . The utterly despicable money hungry, life ruining uncle of Nicholas Nickelby.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Ooo, ooo, yes, Steerpike, I'd forgotten all about him!

And your initial comment, Toby, was my same problem with the question, but never mind.

I thought about O'Brien from 1984 only *blush* I couldn't remember his name!!!

Edit: Springs (you got in whilst I was typing!) I agree with Glotka; not my all time most hated but I never did understand why so many seemed to like him. I found Abercrombie went on far too much about his disabilities; I would feel like screaming every time he told us - again - how hard it was for him to climb stairs.

Strange, I always thought of O'Brien as a sympathetic character. Someone who had once been just like Winston, but had now been broken beyond repair. I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

 

[BAYLOR]

Strange, I always thought of O'Brien as a sympathetic character. Someone who had once been just like Winston, but had now been broken beyond repair. I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

O'Brien was a manipulative ,despicable monster. I didn't like him from the beginning.