One of the toughest parts of a story is considering the morality, which we don’t really pay much attention to. Why? We tend to assume everyone believes in the same concept of ‘good vs evil’. In general, the definitions of what those two sides are can be universal, but things get shaky once you step into an individual’s mind. Some reasons are because:
- Two people can look at the same character and see them in different lights. A person who agrees with them will see them as a hero while those who disagree could see them as a villain. For example, the character of Homelander in ‘The Boys’ was seen as the main hero by a percentage of the audience. He was brutal and short-fused, but they thought he was fighting for the right side. Others saw him as an evil version of Superman with an inferiority complex and authoritarian tendencies.
- Once you start coloring a character as ‘morally gray’ and keep them in the middle, you will have some people who think they are the bad guy. Others will see them as the good guy. This is colored by a reader’s personal code of morality and what they themselves would do for their own causes. It might not be what the author would do, which is where disagreements can happen.
- Everyone has different life experiences, which evolve our sense of morality. This means, everyone can look at a situation and see it through a different moral lens. For example, a person who has been raised to forgive even the most horrible of actions will see a character doing so as strong. One who was raised to never forgive and seek vengeance would see them as weak.
There are plenty more of scenarios, but the main point I wanted to get across is that an author and reader might see things differently. An author can put out one moral code and have it be translated into 100 different ones, except for the one they intended. You never know if this will happen because you can’t always pinpoint every single reader you are going to get. Someone can always show up and think your heroes are immoral for one reason even if you thought they were acting pure. This definitely falls under not being able to please everyone, but it comes with an added headache.
People take morality very seriously and are very likely to be vocal about an author they feel is pushing immoral behavior. This can result in a public fight because the author or other readers decide to disagree. It’s hard not to say something too. This isn’t someone saying the book is badly written. They’re attacking the morality of the book and, by extension, the author, which feels personal. It can also drive readers away more than most types of criticism because nobody wants to read a book that is immoral. Not unless its billed as such.
Is there anything that can be done? Yes and no. An author can work to make the morality of characters clear. Whether it be good, evil, or in the middle, a character needs to be clear in where they stand and stay there for the most part. Establishing a solid morality can lessen the chance of misunderstandings. This goes for every character too and you can have a variety of codes. With more variety, a reader will have some characters they agree with and others they don’t. This reduces the chance of them calling the whole book immoral and prevents them from attacking the author. It’s not a foolproof plan, but it can reduce your future misunderstandings and generalizations.
So, what do other people think about times the morality of authors and readers clash?
Legends of Windemere 