The Tragic Hero
A tragic hero can come in many forms. Whether it be a young
female from an ancient Greek play, or an old wise man from
modern views, a tragic hero fits many molds of characters. But
on the contrary a character can fit many molds of a tragic hero
and not fully achieve such a level. Taking a look at two
characters, in this example Othello from Shakespeare's Othello
and Doctor Stockmann from Ibsen's Enemy of the People, one can
see how the different combinations of traits, beliefs and
actions lead to a character fulfilling the requirements to be a
tragic hero or falling short of such a goal.
What exactly is the tragic hero? For this paper the definition
given by the ancient philosopher Aristotle will be used to
analyze the two characters mentioned earlier. The definition is
not truly simple, for the nature of the tragic hero is a complex
being filled with confusion and variety of traits. There seems
to be three key aspects to look for in a tragic hero as
Aristotle would explain. These four things are goodness,
appropriateness, true to life, and consistency. It is clear what
is needed for goodness. The character must have a moral stand in
life to show he is worthy of being a hero. For appropriateness
and true to life, though, there is a vague definition that one
can assume means that the character must be based an acceptable
and logical form of man and woman. This would be so to help
bring the play and character better to life. For the final,
consistency, it is again clear that the character must follow in
a steady path that is built by his/her traits and beliefs. Above
all, the tragic hero must too provoke great empathy and sympathy
from the viewer and give a sense of loss and gain in self-worth,
analysis and being.
First there is Othello from William Shakespeare's Othello. He
is a unique character in Shakespeare's plays in that he does not
seem to fully take charge of the main role. While it is clear
that his life and being is the key aspect of the play, the
character itself is almost distant as if he too is viewing what
is happening to him instead of telling the audience. This is one
mark against him for being a tragic hero for he does not take
charge and really display himself to the audience and world. A
tragic hero must have a higher sense of worth, or hubris, and
more determination. There isn't a clear feeling of this from
Othello.
Othello also does not emphasis the important key traits that a
tragic hero should. While Othello is apparently by nature a good
character of moral standings, he does not truly express his
moral opinion or righteous life to others. He appears more
passive, a mere army man following orders and doing things for
an unknown cause. He takes no firm action in his deeds and
appears to be a puppet for manipulators, such as Iago, to take
hold of. Though he does stand firm in defense of his love for
Desdemonia, this is not an act of moral good but rather an act
of love and loyalty.
His third major downfall or proof of not being a tragic king is
his inconsistency. Throughout the play he is shown as a man of
undecided thought, one who does not know fully where he stands
in society and life nor does he dare make an attempt to find a
place. He does not try to pull himself above what he is in an
attempt to make himself what he could be. Instead he more or
less wallows in his own confusion and pain of seeming as an
outsider. Though this does spark pity, empathy and sympathy,
from the audience, which is key to a tragic hero, on the
contrary it shows that he is a man who has no true "territory"
or "ground" to uphold and defend. Therefore, Othello can not
lift himself to the status of tragic hero, and with a
combination of all his other lacking traits can not clearly be
called a tragic hero.
Second, there is Dr. Stockmann from Ibsen's Enemy of the
People. He too is a unique character, in ways like and not like
Othello. Clearest aspect of the doctor's character that could
give proof of him being a tragic hero would probably be his
goodness. He has a very clear and definite moral standing in the
play. His goals of proving his findings on the bathhouses stay
firm and true to his character. Even when offered a plan to gain
money from this ordeal he does not falter and keeps firm with
his moral standings. He displays both the tragic hero qualities
of being moral and good, and being consistent with his actions
and beliefs.
But on the contrary, his strong goodness and stance on morals
and justice doesn't fit fully into the tragic hero role. While
some, or a good amount, is necessary, too much defeats the true
goal of the character striving to be something worth pitying or
cheering for. Without fault or indecision in his character, the
doctor can not truly grow through the play, and though keeps a
consistency, he lacks a develop to fully realize his cause and
effect on those that surround him. It is because of this,
similar to Othello, that the doctor is somewhat withdrawn from
the world and therefore doesn't truly tell his story from the
viewpoint of a tragic hero.
The character also brings out pity from the audience reading
and viewing the play. This is very evident in the ostracism that
the town pretty much does to him for not agreeing with the
politics and other leadership choices of the town. Through the
play audience of the town rejecting him, the real audience is
able to accept him comfortably as a true and genuine person. In
this he provokes sympathy and empathy in many forms, and creates
a status of being a tragic hero.
Though there is cases for both side, that Othello and Dr.
Stockmann are both tragic heroes and yet not, there is clear
wavering to a more determined path. For all that he possesses
and lacks, Othello doesn't quite reach that of tragic hero,
though he is a tragic character indeed. On the other hand, while
Dr. Stockmann has his own requirements both satisfied and
dissatisfied, he does achieve a well enough version of character
that he can be perceived as a tragic hero. All in all, both are
tragic and heroes in their own right, whether Aristotle would
define them as so or not.