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4.2.1
 
Traditional roles of evil
Any purposeful analysis of evil in current British children’s fantasy requires a 
preliminary definition. As one part of a dualistic concept, evil can only exist in its opposition 
to good. The connotations of these two terms always depend on the respective social 
parameters, i.e. moral and ethical standards, within which they are employed. In our case the 
relevant parameters are those of the prevailing value system in North-West Europe. 
Accordingly, the main focus is on the interpretation of and the passing of judgment on human 
characters, deeds and intentions in view of their compliance with social conventions and 
values. Religious implications are taken into consideration, yet do not preponderate.
Evil can be defined as “morally wrong or bad; wicked”, “causing harm or injury”.
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Whereas Collins equates moral wrong with evil, Kekes sees a problem with such an 
identification. In his opinion, a distinction should be made between “morally bad and evil 
actions”,
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as he claims they are not congruent. Rather, Kekes proposes a gradation of nuances 
of evil, which he classifies according to their intensity in internal, external, active and passive 
explanations in their various combinations. According to him, evil, “a permanent threat to 
57
Collins Dictionary, p. 536.
58
John Kekes. The Roots of Evil. Ithaca; London: Cornell University Press, 2005, p. 139.

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human well-being”
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is worse than mere badness, because it “involves serious harm”
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which 
befalls body and/ or soul. In summary, for Kekes it is viable to talk of evil if “malevolent 
motivation” leads to “serious, excessive harm” without “any morally acceptable excuse”.
61
For our purpose of defining evil in children’s fantasy, these definitions are a valuable 
contribution to an overall picture.
In On Evil, Morton too takes up the approach of gradation. Occasionally committed 
morally bad or wrong acts do not automatically make someone evil. Instead, with the freedom 
of choice between good and evil engrained in human nature, it is only natural that such faux 
pas do happen sometimes. Therefore, Morton argues that evil goes beyond everyday-wrongs, 
thus forms a category of its own in which evil labels deeds or people that cannot be classed 
within normal moral and understanding.
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Just like Kekes mentions a lack of excuse for evil 
deeds, Morton stresses the factor of deliberation. According to
him, evil is intimately 
connected with atrocity. Symptomatic for it are “death, pain, and humiliation imposed on 
others” as well as a total lack of respect towards their brethren.
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Favourable prerequisites for 
evil deeds are therefore ruthlessness, cold-bloodedness and selfishness in combination with a 
low inhibition threshold.
Traditionally, the roles of evil in fantasy literature for children are clear-cut. In its 
quality as the opposite of good, evil embodies and unites all the negative characteristics the 
noble hero lacks by definition. That way, the hero is artificially elevated and purified, whereas 
the villain is reduced to wickedness. With pure good as one extreme and pure evil as the 
mutually exclusive other, evil is exaggerated and condensed to a deterrent and a negative 
showcase model. This way, the qualities of the hero are underlined. In traditional fantasy 
literature for children, this strong polarisation is intended to simplify matters by avoiding 
ambiguities. In such a literary cosmos of only extreme good or evil, everything is geared to 
encourage the reader’s identification with the hero. Nevertheless, even an overabundance of 
positive qualities of a hero of traditional British children’s fantasy cannot obscure the fact that 
evil and its representatives exert a certain fascination on the readers. Depending on the 
59
Kekes, Evil, p. xi. 
60
Ibd., p. 1. 
61
Ibd., p. 4. Compare also Marcus G. Singer. “The Concept of Evil”. In: Philosophy 79 (2004): pp. 185-214. 
However, Kekes unfortunately undermines his own theorem of distinguishing between good and evil by adding 
the postulate that “there is no convincing reason for supposing that the good is basic and evil is derivative and 
there is no more reason to think that evil is interference with the good than that good is interference with evil.” 
Kekes, Evil, p. 4.
62
See Adam, Morton. On Evil. New York; London: Routledge, 2004, p. 4. 
63
Ibd., p. 13. 

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intensity with which the characters of hero and villain are presented, there can be a shift of 
emphasis
in favour of the villain. Against an impending pallor and smoothness of a flawless 
hero a villain with a prominent profile prevails in all probability. This – not unprecedented - 
“paradox” of sympathy or even identification with the villain instead of the hero can be 
explained by the larger degree of freedom.
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Since weaknesses are something the traditional fantasy hero lacks, his adversary steps 
in. A villain in pursuit of basic instincts, indulging in every vice forbidden to the hero by 
decency, secretly satisfies our vein of sensationalism and voyeurism. Many a virtuous hero is 
thus eclipsed by the reprehensible yet somehow appealing breaking of taboos. The lure of evil 
consists of wilful licentiousness, expressed by permissiveness, selfishness, disrespect, 
scrupulousness, violence, destructiveness, unlimited, absolute power as well as arrogance.
Whereas positive but harmless good does not pose a threat to personal or social 
welfare, evil does so by definition. In both reality and literature, evil may be met with 
occasional secret admiration for the villains, but it is always subject to general suspicion and 
critical vigilance. Independent of its respective interpretation, abstract evil requires a tangible 
shape in order to be discussed. A proven and very effective method for a concretisation is 
personification, as it creates and conveys presence. The latter again permits characterisation 
and identification, in its course revealing both strong and weak points. Eventually, the 
knowledge of the vulnerability of the personification is the key to its defeat. Since the author 
and his world view are directly influenced by society, the conception of the villain therefore 
represents the current social concept of evil. Thus, an analysis of evil figures in literature 
reveals historical changes of values and morals.
Traditionally, the role of evil and its personifications define themselves over their 
direct contrast to the hero. Yet claiming that the villain is the exact negative mould of the hero 
would be an over-generalisation.
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A fixture in the dramatis personae of a fantasy novel for 
children, the evil character puts the hero to a test in form of a confrontation. By vanquishing 
his adversary, the hero terminates the menace and restores harmony. It is through the negative 
example of the evildoer that the hero’s own positive qualities are emphasised. The traditional 
villain of British children’s fantasy is noted for his constant violation of good taste and 
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Probably the most famous example for this “paradox” is the role of Satan in Milton’s epic poem Paradise 
Lost
. Although the main focus is intended to lie on God, Satan seems to upstage him.
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Parallels between hero and villain do exist. For instance, both have their pride, their specific goals, their 
motives and their helpers.

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decency. In the history of fantasy literature for children we encounter several prime examples 
for such unmistakeably bad figures. They range from Carroll’s violent Queen of Hearts over 
Lewis’ White Witch to Tolkien’s Smaug. Common to all those personifications is their 
unilateral malice over which they define themselves. Lacking psychological motivation, 
moral and/ or internal conflicts as well as defined, individual traits, they remain superficial 
types rather than characters. It is only in the more modern and in the current fantasy novels 
for children that these traditional roles and representations of evil are replaced by complex 
character studies. Simultaneously, the same development can be observed with the hero, who 
develops from a mere figure towards a three-dimensional character.
It is customary for personifications of evil in British children’s literature to dispose of 
specific visual as well as behavioural markers, which are intended to ensure a prompt and 
indisputable identification of the villain. In the course of their long history, many of these 
markers were used so abundantly that they turned into clichés or were almost flogged to 
death. As a rule, external and internal features are intimately linked, dark clothing or 
repulsiveness mirroring inner conditions. This way, undesirable sympathy or even 
identification with the villain shall be prevented or at least be made more difficult.
Current publications which feature traditional roles of evil are for example Baldry’s