The Boy who lived — Orphans in popular fiction
By: Aparna Dubey
Tags: Popular Culture, Curious, Fiction, Writers Life, Harry Potter

I’ve been reading a lot this week. About the boy who lived and the boy who became you-know-who (Harry Potter and the half-blood prince), the boy who asked for more (Oliver Twist in a graphic novel adaptation, Fagin the Jew), the boy who became Bond (James Bond Origin #1 by Jeff Parker). Despite the different genres and different times at which they were written, what links them all is a central character who is an orphan. Come to think of it, a lot of heroes and villains in fiction are orphans. Wikipedia lists 2 full pages of fictional characters spanning classics, superheroes, fairy tales and popular fiction that are orphans.

What makes them so appealing? Orphans offer an easy way out for writers, achieving many objectives with just one choice of character, an orphan. A relatable character who evokes the reader’s sympathy, a solid backstory that explains the character’s driving force in life, loss and vengeance as compelling plot themes and avoiding plot complexity by eliminating distractions (i.e family).

Parents or family represent all that is right in the world — love, safety, comfort, order. Losing them early is the jolt that makes the hero step out of his comfort zone for a life less ordinary and achieve his true calling. Around the time the hero makes this leap to leave the familiar, he usually gets a gift and a guide (eg. Harry Potter’s magic and Dumbledore, Cinderella’s glass slipper and fairy Godmother). We now have the makings of a good plot that has stood the test of time — a gifted orphan and a guide. It works well across a wide range of stories, from fairy tales to superheroes.

What makes some orphans heroes and others villains? Characters whose parents represent all the positives (love, safety, comfort) use this as a driving force to be good and do good. Characters whose parents are not associated with these positives distance themselves from these virtues and turn evil. Harry and Lord Voldemort are both orphans but they are like chalk and cheese. Harry fondly remembers his parents as being loving and virtuous. He often uses them as reference for how he should act in any situation. Lord Voldemort came from a broken family, his father abandoned his mother upon discovering that she had bewitched him. He is embarrassed about this past, disassociates himself with his parents, is unable to love or trust anyone and decides that he is destined to be special.

The absence of a mentor or friend in his life is a key difference too. While Harry has Dumbledore, his friends and a circle of well wishers, Voldemort is unable to trust or love and shuns any offers of help. This explains to a great extent how circumstances of birth, a loving family and a strong mentor determines whether the orphan turns out to be a hero or villain. But it does not explain all.

There are more similarities in the circumstances of birth of Oliver Twist and Voldemort than any other fictional characters, yet there cannot be two more different characters. Oliver Twist’s unspoiled goodness and Voldemort’s embodiment of pure evil have similar backstories. Oliver Twists’s mum is poor and ill, walks some distance to the workhouse, gives birth to him and dies. Voldemort’s mum, Merope staggers up to the orphanage, gives birth to the boy, names him and dies. Neither has a ring on her finger. Why are the characters polar opposites, despite identical circumstanes of birth? In these stories, both characterizations are explained by the innate qualities of good/evil that have little to do with their birth. Nature vs. nurture, the eternal debate.

What can be conclusively said of orphans in stories is that they are far too many to ignore, they evoke an emotional response in their audience, they offer writers many benefits in story telling and they can turn out to be the hero or villain based on the writer’s fancy.