by Madelle Morgan
And what
better source for inspiration than extended family? Sit back at gatherings, observe, and use
their strengths and weaknesses, unique idiosyncrasies and passions to humanize
your villains. Change the names and appearances, of course!
My widowed
mother suffered a health crisis in January and could no longer safely live
alone, shop or cook. Two of my sisters and I lived with Mom in her apartment on
a rotating basis until we were able to move her into a seniors residence on March
2.
I’d soon discover that aspects of my sisters’ characters were in fact villainous
under those specific circumstances.
The Zealot
Sister One is
hyper-vigilant about every substance that goes on or in her body: no tuna,
mussels or most other seafood (mercury), only organic vegetables and greens (pesticides),
no drinking out of lead crystal glasses (lead poisoning), and on and on. The
rest of the family ignores her, being of the “everything in moderation” camp. I
eat seafood and non-organic veggies. I drink from Mom’s beautiful 1950s lead crystal
glasses on special occasions. I apparently live dangerously.
I had no
idea Sister One would strong-arm a dependent person into compliance with her views. Mom wanted
a new lipstick. Mom had to rely on Sister One to take her to the drugstore, who
nixed the lipstick. The toxic chemicals! You’d think Mom wanted to smear
cyanide on her lips! Sister One insisted Mom buy a natural lip balm instead. And
she made Mom PAY for the expensive lip balm she didn’t want.
When Sister
One moved her mother-in-law into a seniors’ home, she and her husband denied the
woman the opportunity to choose what items to take, because “it was easier”.
She wanted to do the same to our Mom. Both elderly women have all their marbles.
They’re just in the unfortunate position of being at the mercy of their family.
The Iron Fist in the Velvet Glove
Sister Two calmly
and rationally organizes Mom’s life under the guise of “this is what is best
for you”, ignoring her protests and never asking for input or feedback. I
witnessed Mom grow increasingly angry and frustrated under the gentle tyranny. “Always
Right” Sister Two never listens to anyone, including me. But when she doesn’t
listen to a powerless person and “makes it happen” anyway, it becomes bullying.
The Villain or the Victim?
Both sisters
blithely took away Mom’s ability to make her own choices. Over time, don’t you
think it’s enough to drive a person to murderous rage?
Such
emotional abuse can escalate to physical and financial elder abuse. As
co-executor of my grandmother’s estate a few years ago, I discovered that my bookkeeper aunt manipulated Grandma into paying for house renovations and utility bills in
return for room and board. My partially blind grandmother signed post-dated
checks to cover my aunt’s mortgage payments. God help my
aunt’s larcenous soul. It was like taking candy from a baby. Would it then be an easy next step to bilk clients?
God help all dependent, powerless people, young and old,
who are victims of abuse. Can you
blame the victims for retaliating? Who then is the villain—the abuser or the
victim in unbearable circumstances who lashes back?
Not all
villains are evil. They could be your friends or family members. Under the
right circumstances, the villain could be me. Or you. Sobering thought.
Madelle (who wears
lipstick)
Madelle
Morgan writes romance set in Canada.
Petra’s buddy
Carter in Madelle's romantic thriller Diamond Hunter
on Amazon is a good guy gone bad—a secondary villain. Read it for free in Kindle
Unlimited.
5 stars! This Romantic Dramedy is wonderfully written. Catrina is both beautiful
and flawed, strong in spite of the past horrors. While not as lighthearted as
Caught on Camera, it still manages to to read like your favorite movie you keep
in your DVD collection. —Goodreads review
Last Chance
to buy at $0.99! Seduced
by the Screenwriter is available on Amazon free in KU
and for $0.99 to buy until the end of
March. After that, it will go wide (Kobo, iBooks) and revert to the
permanent price of $3.99.
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