Last time, I concluded with a mention about making powerful characters vulnerable. If showing a character's vulnerabilities engages readers (and it does), it's worth exploring how to bring a character with talent or wealth or fame or position down-to-earth. Undermining a hero has a tradition that stretches back well beyond the creation of kryptonite to subdue Superman. Think of mythology’s gods or the knights, princesses, and princesses of folktales or the kings and nobles of Shakespeare's plays.
The classic (and perhaps best) way to make a powerful character vulnerable is to give him or her a serious flaw. We want them to overcome that flaw and, even if they don't succeed in achieving their goals, heal. I think of Walter White in Breaking Bad, and astoundingly powerful character, but highly flawed. I worried about him both when he was a doormat at the beginning and when he was supremely dangerous.
Another approach is to make a powerful character vulnerable through love of and connection to people with less power. Girlfriends, boyfriends, children, and neighbors are among the usual suspects.
Before going further, I'll offer some questions that might be useful in exploring a character’s vulnerabilities:
- Is his or her health/safety compromised or life in danger?
- Is his or her position, job, role, status, or reputation at risk?
- Are some important relationships less than secure?
- Is access to life's essentials (food, water, shelter, air) in jeopardy?
- Can their authority/power be undermined?
- Are his/her dreams, aspirations, peace of mind at risk of being destroyed?
- Could the character lose his/her freedom or have rights compromised?
- Are major supports (advisors, mentors, defenders, advocates) in harm's way?
- Are there threats to the characters integrity, morals, values, dignity, autonomy, or sanity?
Though (I hope) this list is helpful, it's incomplete. Really thinking about how people might be brought down and exploring human needs (see Maslow) can lead to fresh concerns about a character. And, of course, these get more interesting if they come in bunches and/or are connected in some way. It's especially interesting when pursuing a goal opens up a new vulnerability.
Back to the idea of piercing the armor of a powerful character, one place to look is narrowing options – especially those the character is apt to choose first. (And ignorance that that option has gone away, say through a betrayal, can lead to nasty surprises.) Sometimes a shadow can fall the character because a more competent or powerful character arrives on the scene, even if the new character isn't malicious.
One thing I like to do is change the risk calculation. Increase the price for an action that could benefit the protagonist, either by increasing the number of negative consequences or making one matter more. Position for all it is valued, can make life harder. A deacon in my church hit a common bump in mid-life when his marriage fell apart. A tough situation for most people became unbearable for him. He resigned and left town.
A character who is used to having it all to himself or herself can be challenge by something that forces sharing (of a friendship, a home, a job, etc.). This is common in comedy (e.g., The Odd Couple), but it can be used in other genres as well.
Powerful people also may be presented with difficulties we can empathize with if they have family, friends, or allies who suffer a loss a reputation (earned or not) and bring scandal to them.
Sometimes powerful protagonists can be hurt deeply by experiences that others would brushoff. If a wound or a trauma is part of the character's back story, they might be derailed or overreact to something that evokes a time of pain and vulnerability. Similarly, the character might have built a narrative that's important to maintaining power, but could be seen in a different way. A few facts (known or unknown), a witness, even something coincidental could put a new perspective on their life story, reshaping opinions and undermining trust.
Many of the challenges above can strike deeper than the external effects and what others think. The protagonist may be forced to grapple with his or her identity, which can shake or shatter a person. While it's always good in fiction (especially commercial fiction) to have things happening through action and conversations, I suspect most readers and audiences find themselves especially concerned about characters who move from confidence to being haunted. That won't work for every story, but it's always worthwhile to imagine what that would look like.
I’m reminded of Ophelia lamenting Hamlet’s insanity.
O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!
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