> > Cheat a crippled young widow out of the legacy
> > she's got coming from her late husband, who
> > trusted you to look out for her after he was
> gone,
> > and who, to that end, named you as the executor
> of
> > his will.
>
> Mr Elliot is an under-developed character, but
> this action actually has some critics saying that
> he is the worst villain in JA.
> >
The description hits pretty close to John Dashwood, too. Remember how indignant Lizzy Bennet is at the thought of Darcy disregarding his father’s will? Which John, or John-and-Fanny, does. Lucy Steele, Mrs. Ferrars, Robert Ferrars … Plenty of villain material just from that one story.
Provided that you don’t deny that pretty ordinary people have villainy within them, which I think JA wanted to convey. Melissa’s confessions get to the heart of that point. Jim D’s rebuttal, while ignoring the fact that Melissa had said she only “on some level” had done these things, makes the pertinent point that the difference in “levels” does indeed make a difference, namely the difference between us could-be and may-be villains and the actual ones.
(If Jesus is right, as JA doubtless thought he was, those of us who sin in our hearts and are too scared/self-serving/proud/whatever to act out our tendencies, won’t come out much if any better in the end. More important than the level of our evil tendencies and/or actions is whether or not we accept responsibility for and repudiate them, aka repent.)
Truly unrelentingly evil people perhaps exist: some undoubtedly have come close. But most evil on earth is done by much more ordinary villains.
> > she's got coming from her late husband, who
> > trusted you to look out for her after he was
> gone,
> > and who, to that end, named you as the executor
> of
> > his will.
>
> Mr Elliot is an under-developed character, but
> this action actually has some critics saying that
> he is the worst villain in JA.
> >
The description hits pretty close to John Dashwood, too. Remember how indignant Lizzy Bennet is at the thought of Darcy disregarding his father’s will? Which John, or John-and-Fanny, does. Lucy Steele, Mrs. Ferrars, Robert Ferrars … Plenty of villain material just from that one story.
Provided that you don’t deny that pretty ordinary people have villainy within them, which I think JA wanted to convey. Melissa’s confessions get to the heart of that point. Jim D’s rebuttal, while ignoring the fact that Melissa had said she only “on some level” had done these things, makes the pertinent point that the difference in “levels” does indeed make a difference, namely the difference between us could-be and may-be villains and the actual ones.
(If Jesus is right, as JA doubtless thought he was, those of us who sin in our hearts and are too scared/self-serving/proud/whatever to act out our tendencies, won’t come out much if any better in the end. More important than the level of our evil tendencies and/or actions is whether or not we accept responsibility for and repudiate them, aka repent.)
Truly unrelentingly evil people perhaps exist: some undoubtedly have come close. But most evil on earth is done by much more ordinary villains.