As promised... YA Villain Study: Gaston from Beauty and the Beast

Let's face it, everyone loves a good bad guy. After all, what's a hero without a villain? Imagine Superman without Lex Luthor. Harry Potter without Lord Voldemort (or Draco Malfoy or Snape, for that matter). Wesley without Prince Humperdinck. Dorothy without the Wicked Witch. Stefan Salvatore without Damon. Clarice Starling without Hannibal Lecter. Old Yeller without rabies. (Did I go too far? Alright, lemme hear it: "awwwwwwwwww.")

Truly great villains enhance heroes. Test them. Force them to make difficult choices. Make both the hero and the reader question who they are and what they know. A one-dimensional villain does none of that. (The Wicked Witch is very close to this, but she's green, so we forgive her. But you can totally see why Gregory Maguire had the urge to write Wicked.)

*Side note - You don't have to have some epic story with a clear-cut, monstrous villain or antagonist for this post to relate to you. After all, every character should have a little bit of a villain in them, right? So readers and writers of contemporary realistic fiction, never fear! I'm one of you!

Anywho, today we're focusing on Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, examining him as if he were a villain in a modern Young Adult novel. Why?

1.) I'm obsessed with Beauty and the Beast. Common knowledge.

2.) Everyone knows Disney movies. Easy example.
3.) Gaston is both a good and bad villain, so he works well for my purposes.
4.) Did I mention I'm obsessed with Beauty and the Beast?

What do we know about Gaston?
He's the town hottie, and he knows it. Quite a brute though, but the townspeople have this love/fear relationship with him. In the song "Gaston," they start off by saying that he's "perfect, a pure paragon" and "everyone's favorite guy" ... but then we learn more. He basically intimidates them because he's a bully. (Remember that kid you hated in school? That's him. Gaston stole your lunch money. Then he took steroids, popped his collar, and became that mean dumb jock in high school who snagged everyone's girlfriend.) People hang on to him and suck up to him because he has power.

So when the ever-shallow Gaston sees Belle, he thinks: "Hark! Arm candy!" But his oh-so-romantic proposal (the idea of giving foot rubs and seven boys running around really makes a girl's knees wobble) doesn't work because Belle wants something a little more evolved in a husband. She politely declines. Apparently she never got the town memo that "no one says no to Gaston!"

Enter Gaston the Uber-Villain. (Say that in a Terminator accent, please.) Now Belle has to pay, because she humiliated him. Who does he go after? First her eccentric father, then her exceptionally hairy, fanged boyfriend. Eek!

Why Gaston's a Good Villain

He provides a wonderful foil to the Beast, who is the unconventional hero in this story. The fairy tale teaches that beauty is only skin deep, and not to judge on appearances alone. Therefore, if the gorgeous, manly specimen is truly "beastly" within, then the hideous beast can be a kind, learned gentleman who spouts Whitman at will and understands that sometimes all a woman needs is dark chocolate and a bubble bath. Ahem. Basically, their contrasts enhance each other.

Why Gaston's a Crappy Villain
Did someone say one-dimensional? We get it, he's a shallow meanie. Duh. There are SO MANY things we don't know about him. First off, how did he become so darn proud and entitled? What made him so obsessed with his looks? Was he a scrawny kid who got teased but then hit puberty first? What kind of family does he come from -- large/small? poor/rich? I want to know! (Stomps foot.) Does he have any goals or dreams for himself? (Perhaps Mr. Universe aspirations?) Has he ever had a real friend?

What would really really make Gaston an awesome villain is if he actually had some humanity, some depth. What if Gaston were the kind of guy that Belle could fall in love with? Maybe he loves reading too, so they have a real connection, but then Belle realizes that he's not a very nice person. Then Gaston's obsession with her is more legitimate, and he has a reason to feel betrayed when she chooses the Beast. Never underestimate the power of sympathy when dealing with a complex villain. That's why we all love Lex Luthor -- he used to be Superman's best friend. And Snape being in love with Harry's mother? Classic.

Or, if a character's going to be all evil, at least give him some real personality! See Hannibal Lecter and Prince Humperdinck. Throw Bellatrix Lestrange in that group too. She's all sorts of awesome.

In Conclusion...

I love Gaston, I do. But he had all this villain potential just frittered down the drain. (Do you hear me, Disney? FRITTERED!) The Beast, in my opinion, is way more appealing of a hero than Prince Charming because he's constantly fighting the darkness within. Gaston, as the bad guy, lacks the opposing complexity that he deserves.

*Addendum: I still totally enjoyed when he fell off the side of the castle and died, though.

You Tell Me

So who are some of your favorite villains from YA, classic lit, TV, movies, etc?

Post by the Numbers

Ah-nold Schwarzenegger references: 2

Books mentioned that became movies/TV shows/plays: 6

Snarky asides: 5

Random uses of bold font: 7

Kickass images made on the Paint program: 1

Linkage
Post about YA villain writing on Teens Writing for Teens
Article on The Motives of Villains and Heroes
FNC YA Character Study: Aladdin
FNC YA Character Study: Ariel
FNC YA Character Study: Belle
FNC Jacket Copy for YA Beauty and the Beast
FNC Disney Princes Smackdown: Charming vs. Philip