My wife gave a talk about Villains (as defined by Tami Cowden) at a local writer’s meeting this Saturday. It occurred to
me to try and match them up with deadly sins. Even apart from the fact there are eight villain
archetypes and seven sins, things don’t line up exactly. No villain of any worth is based on
sloth. Unsurprisingly, pride seems to be one of the worst evils.
I think it’s probably useful to try and categorize the bad guys, if only to help keep their
characters varied and interesting in one’s stories. For some of these characters, the sin represents
the villain’s motive, in other cases it’s something they exploit in others.
| Deadly Sin | Archetype |
|---|---|
| Wrath/Greed | Tyrant/Bitch: He just wants to take over the world. |
| Envy | Bastard: Daddy should have loved him more. |
| Pride/Lust/Greed | The Devil/Black Widow: This character is more about exploiting pride/lust/greed in others than having it. |
| ?? | The Traitor/Backstabber: This one seems to be more about what the character does than his/her motive. |
| Envy | The Outcast: He doesn’t fit in, and resents the world for it. |
| Pride | The Evil Genius: Know any genius coyote’s? |
| Gluttony/Lust | The Sadist: It’s about the pleasure. |
| Pride | The Terrorist/Fanatic: Nothing’s worse than a self righteous bad guy. |
| Pride | The Matriarch: Loves only her own. Controlling. |