ANTAGONIST: An opponent or adversary opposing action of
another
PROTAGONIST: Principal character, supporter of a cause, from
Greek = First Actor
Recently, whilst working on my WIP, I examined principal
character interaction to solve some issues. Something interesting revealed
itself. Let me explain (keeping names aside so as not to reveal plot
spoilers!). There is an antagonist, one of my hero’s nemeses. He opposes the
hero’s actions and becomes an untrustworthy adversary. However, he is opposing
the hero because of something he believes in, a ‘cause’ (see ‘Protagonist’
above). Likewise I have a protagonist who, at the beginning of my story, opposes
most things and people he comes across, including long-standing friends (see
‘Antagonist’ above).
