There are so many great fictional antagonists that the brilliant writers of the world have introduced to us. One that always spring to mind for me is the character of Victoria who is the primary antagonist of the third novel in Stephenie Meyer’s ‘The Twilight Saga – Eclipse’.
Meyer’s novels follow the romance of the human Bella Swan and her vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen. Throughout their story, Edward and Bella face many challenges, which they manage to face. Victoria can be seen as one of the most threatening antagonists that these two lovers face due to her fierce vendetta against Edward for his part in the death of her mate, James.
I believe that Victoria is an interesting character. While you should hate her for being the antagonist and for what she wants to do to Bella and Edward, you can sympathise with her because she is grieving. She lost the love of her life and she is trying to cope with this in the best way she can. I believe that she thinks that by getting her revenge on Edward for James’ death, she will be able to move on.
Victoria is menacing because she has a clear motivation, a clear end goal – she wants to kill Bella. She is following the old saying of “an eye for an eye”. She wants Edward to lose his mate and feel the same pain that she does- This is what makes for a good antagonist. A good antagonist should have a strong motive that the readers can understand. I think Victoria’s pain and suffering from the loss of her lover resonates with Meyer’s readers because they can empathise with her if they have ever lost someone that they love.
While Victoria doesn’t appear as much in the novel, the readers are aware that it is possible for her to return as her pursuit of Bella in New Moon (Meyer’s second novel in The Twilight Saga) is a plot point that is left incomplete. It would only be natural for readers to expect for her to reappear, particularly due to how much of a threat she seems to be and how persistent she is in trying to get to Bella and get her revenge.
I would say that Victoria earns a place amongst other fictional antagonists as one of the best because she is an intimidating character right from her initial introduction in Meyer’s first novel Twilight during the memorable Cullen family baseball scene. Furthermore, the fact that she has a clear motive and comes considerably close to achieving her aim allows her to instil fear in both the protagonists that she is up against and the readers.
While I don’t like Victoria for the threat she poses Edward and Bella’s relationship (which we know we are all rooting for), it is easy for me to decide that she is definitely makes my list of best fictional antagonists due to the pure emotion and pain behind her vendetta against these two lovers.
