The other face of wicked

Sunday was always a special day for me because my father took me to his favorite magazine stand on Avenida Rizal that carried all the new releases of Classics Junior Illustrated.  At 20 centavos each, I’d carry a thick pile to the car and start reading all the happily-ever-after fables.  I’d imagine a charmed life with a dashing prince sandwiched between inherent goodness and civility.  However, it didn’t dismiss contemptible, scheming, and conniving stepmothers, sorcerers, and scoundrels.  They were as wicked as a black, rotten tooth that not even a skilled but terrified dentist would dare extract.

“Think again,” said my brother.  “Without these sordid characters, the story would bum, deprived of excitement and drama.  What if the likes of Maleficent, the Old Hag, Cruella DeVille, Ursula, Scar, and Captain Hook held a soft, gentle streak?” he continued.  “You mean buried somewhere deep in the gut of their bellies?” I asked.  “Basta once a villain, always a villain.  Period.”

This is the other side of the story that we often overlook. 

Take Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty’s rival.  She was once a fairy, too, but she was locked up in the tower by the good fairies.  Why?  Maybe, she was a non-conformist with a tendency to be full of herself (vain, in short), fearless therefore battle freak, ready to wreak havoc.  When the king invited all the fairies to the baptism of Princess Aurora, he inadvertently skipped Maleficent because she was not in the list.  Maleficent lost face so she used her powers and spells to get even.  Maleficent likes to watch people shudder, to have the kingdom at her mercy.

The character of Maleficent is not too far off from reality.  Ruthless and devious, she is not comical or goofy.  She is manipulative and is driven by ambition and/or rage; she finds contentment only if she gets rid of all those who’s a threat to her.  Mind you, there are male counterparts for Maleficent.

For the Old Hag witch, Snow White’s stepmother, she also took a stand.  “It’s not easy being the stepmom,” she protested.  “You are automatically typecast as the bad one.  But, show me a mother who doesn’t get testy if her daughter ignores her or misbehaves and breaks the house rules?  Snow White was not exactly goody-two-shoes all the time.  Being inexperienced, she needed constant supervision. If not nipped in the bud, she would have remained lazy, boy crazy and obese because of her junk food diet.” 

 

The poison-laced apple she gave Snow White served as a metaphor for those characters you meet in everyday life.  Vulnerable and too trusting, you are offered something shiny and attractive, but in hindsight, it churned your stomach and made you mentally unstable.  The snake in the Garden of Eden exploited Eve to do just that, which spelled the doom of humankind.   

      

Cruella DeVille was propelled by necessity.  She wanted to dominate the rag trade and therefore must have full control of the supply.  “I was a poor girl from the slums and was constantly abused.  Early on, I swore to get out of my wretched past, so I entered a beauty contest and charmed an elderly gentleman to invest in my talents.  My investors in my fur trade saw their shares hit the roof.  I made money for them, thanks to my tenacity, unrelenting drive, and my business savvy.  Isn’t that a good thing?”  She never received kindness in her youth, so why should she give it now?

In the case of Scar, Simba’s uncle in the Lion King, he was stuck forever as the second, even third in the succession line.  “Wouldn’t you be frustrated at being bumped again?”  Scar believed that he could do a better job as king of the pride.  But if you surround yourself with sycophants who were only after saving their own skin, Scar was definitely out of touch.  He spent time feeding his depleted ego and was therefore cold-blooded and ruthless.  King Mufasa knew his brother too well.   

Captain Hook was also out to exact revenge.  An eye for an eye or for every wrench of agony, return a wrench.  His justification?  “I have to make sure that the crocodile that chopped my hand off will not attack my crew.  Peter Pan had to pay for this tragedy.  Justice must prevail.  Wouldn’t you demand the same?”

Alas, the fight between good and evil continues.

Villains we love to hate will earn their keep so long as they look out for their own selfish interests.  But, who knows?  They might still be inspired to see the light and think of the welfare of others (be nice to helpless damsels) and arrive at a perfect fairytale ending:  Everyone is forgiven and everybody wins.