Posted by teaser on March 31, 1998 at 19:16:26:
In Reply to: Re: Comments on Vance Villains posted by Terry on March 26, 1998 at 14:45:51:
>
>Does anyone care to categorize Vance villains for us?
> Terry
>
A formidable task, and not one I'll endeavour to complete. Still, it is one of the most interesting topics I've seen in my email in some time, and, with your indulgence, I'll compile a few random notes. As some wag once commented about James Bond pictures, the best of the bunch inevitably have the most intriguing villains.
Power is an obvious similarity, however you define it. Most Major Vance villains - the Demon Princes, Aila Woudiver, Casimir - have power, and want more. Most auxiliary Vance villains - Torqual and Visbhume - are looking for power. The incidental villains - petty crooks and the like - are rather exempt from this, and are chiefly local color.
There is a strong supernatural element, as well. Since this is such a strong theme in Vance' works, it may seem obvious to mention it here; however, it is interesting to me to contrats the humanity of the protaganists with the super-human elements of their foes. Gersen vs. Kokor Hekkus the Hormogaunt, Cugel vs. Ioucounu, Aillas vs. Carfhiliot - all interaction becomes more compelling because the 'heroes' must overcome 'superior' odds.
The bad guys certainly have their quirks and foibles - the weirder the villain, the weirder the fetish. Lens Larque, even unto his death, seemed to be defined by his practical joke. Visbhume was a foible wrapped in a quirk in the shape of an eccentricity. Woudiver, while more malicious, was
highly idiosyncratic. Don't get me started about Howard Alan Treesong.
Curiously, Vance often portrays standard thugs as working stiffs. His ideas on assassination and poisoning on Tschai and in the Demon Princes saga are prime examples. Somehow, he separates the mechanics of killing someone with the motives? This deserves more thought. I find the treatment of the
Fairies and the Ska in Lyonesse a similar case. The Fairies may cause harm, but it is understood as 'mischief.' The Ska are never considered less than humanely. Interesting.
There is also an interesting theme for disgust of bureaucracies that sometimes grows to epic proportions. I can't think of a tale in which the 'system' was a major villain, but it is something Vance uses to good effect as a nebulous 'bad guy.'
The Cugel/Ioucounu relationship has always intrigued me. It seems ironic that Cugel's rather rather languid revenge fantasies of the Laughing Magician stem from the fact that he broke in to Ioucounu's manse to relieve him of his more valuable (and portable) possessions.
As interesting as the Demon Princes are, the role call of villains in Lyonesse - Casimir, Tamurello, Carfhiliot, Torqual, the terrifying Visbhume, Father Umphred - is exceptional, and one of the most motley crews ever assembled in fiction. Astonishing.
Thanks for the prompting.
teaser