schadenfreude

My poor MC went through a lot. Among other things, his girlfriend dumped him and a couple of his so-called friends plotted vigorously to make his life miserable. It all backfired on them eventually.

He wound up happy. She regretted dumping him and his ex-friends were caught in their schemes and got in trouble and were made to look like fools.

On the page, I found I had the opportunity to really rub their noses in it, but I backed off since my MC is a decent guy who really wants everyone to be happy and doesn't want to hurt anyone if he can help it.

Me? I wanted them to suffer a little bit more, and to take some pleasure in their misfortune but it wasn't working in my mind. I wound up making their demise a small issue and let them fade away. In short, I wound up letting the reader know what happened to them, but didn't dwell on the details too much. My MC wound up having pity on them, though I certainly didn't and my readers probably won't either.

I'm curious how other writers handle their emotions when you really want to see the antagonist crash and burn in a big way, but take the higher road and let them suffer off the page. What are your thoughts when it comes to good old fashioned schadenfreude?

 

I don't know if letting your characters suffer off the page is taking the high road. If it's part of the story, you might want some of it in there. Characters aren't people. You're not really hurting anyone. You're telling a story, and try not to lose sight of that.

 

Consider what best serves the story itself - not what prospective readers might like.

I'm thinking about Grimm fairy tales. Does it matter if Cinderella's stepsisters get their eyes pecked out by birds? It kind of just seems excessive - like suffering for the point of suffering. Cindy probably wouldn't want that because, as we understand her, she's a kind, sweet, forgiving person. On the other hand, these are stories where the world is presented as rather grimdark, but where being a good person is always ultimately rewarded and if you're evil you'll get what's comin' to ya. So the stepsisters being 'punished' is essentially regarded as just - even divine intervention.

So, is your story a Grimm fairy tale? Does wanton suffering fit with the tone or theme? Then sure, let'em suffer. If it seems outrageous or out of place - which, it seems to me that your first instinct may've been that is is - then maybe don't.

Personally, I'm a big fan of tragedy. Sometimes I prefer it when the bad guys don't get their just desserts. And when I don't, hey, I'm steering this ship - if I really want'em to crash and burn, I make it work.

 

Yea, I think this is more or less what I was getting at, Izzybot, in that I just wanted to hear from other authors how they think when they are writing out a situation of this sort. Not necessarily what to do in the case of my own work.

I was just at a point where I could have really socked it to them, but I didn't feel like it would advance the story to do so, so ultimately I made the decision I made to reflect what I thought was best for my story.

I was just curious about other writers thoughts, more or less.

 

I vote "torture the motherfuckers."

Yeah, absolutely. If it's enjoyable to torture the villains a bit, then torture the villains a bit. Enjoy the story. That's what stories are for, isn't it?

It doesn't advance the plot, sure, but it ties up a loose end. A piece of the plot is getting resolved. The reader should enjoy that. It's the payoff.

 

To feel schadenfreude is a part of being human, that's why I love the underdog who gets to defeat the antags in the end. It's not a particularly pretty feeling, but oh, so human. Actually, if the MC bows out too gracefully at the end, that can sometimes be annoying to me. In a book I try to figure out if it's my personal wish-fullfillment coming out with the shadenfreude though, or if the character's personality truly fits with letting the antagonist suffer. For me, this all depends on what other things are going on in the story. If the main character get their victory in lots and lots of other ways, maybe punishing the antags in a very visible way... Well, that could be too much icing on the cake. If there is such a thing as too much icing on a cake. Hm.

 

I think everyone feels a touch of glee on occasion when someone gets what's coming to them. I'm a pretty decent person but do I laugh when I see the jackass who was tailgaiting me when I was doing 15 over the limit pulled over on the side of the road getting a ticket? Hell yeah. I didn't force him to drive that way and I didn't give him the ticket, so his "punishment" isn't on my shoulders.
Would God see it as a sin? Probably. But if your character isn't a saint, I'd let him have a moment of gloating, or even a moment of envisioning karma at its finest before he moves on with his happy life.

Or even use it as an opportunity to establish growth (aren't all characters supposed to grow in some way) and let him feel his giddy sense of "ha ha!" but then think about how unhappy he was when his own life was a mess and feel a moment of pity for them. If you weave in a bit of imagining them getting what they deserve early on, the moment of pity shows even more growth.

 

Suffer off the page? Why? Writing (of any kind) isn't telepathy. As others have said, if the readers need to know about your MC's suffering, put it in. If they don't need to know, don't put it in.

As your feeling guilty, don't. Your character is a tool at the end of the day. Do you not use a spade because you feel guilty about getting it dirty?

As for schadenfreude, I don't think that's an issue. There's many books and TV shows that revolve around it. CBS got twelve series out of Two and Half Men, a TV series which basically revolved around schadenfreude.

 

In the days since I started this thread I've decided to go ahead and make the antagonists suffer the consequences of their actions. I was hesitant at first because I was caught up in living the thoughts and emotions of my MC, and I am just not a vindictive guy, even to those who have wronged me. In short I was projecting my own feelings into my MC. I wanted them to get their just reward, but didn't really want to make a big show of it.

Now someone is going to be spending some time in the Graybar Hotel.