Character emerges from unresolved inner contradiction
Evidence
Yours is not a face that suggests an easy temper. Holbein shows us contained tension, willed constraint, subdued passion about to break out. Perplexed, you ask yourself, what should I do? How can I serve flesh and spirit? The point about our human nature is that we must go to work on it. — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 1156
Categorization
- XREF: Fits the reader’s interest in using vulnerability and self-conflict rather than heroic traits to make a person vivid on the page. — connects to: Fictional characters can develop an autonomous emotional reality during creation — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 177; Fiction multiplies ambiguity by exploring particulars that suggest general truths; Contradictory personality traits make complex historical figures compelling to read — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 529 (+11 more)
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 1156
Related
- Character is only revealed through resistance against external constraints (similarity 0.86)
- Doubt operates as the central heroic value in the novel (similarity 0.85)
- Contradictory personality traits make complex historical figures compelling to read (similarity 0.84)
- Fictional characters can develop an autonomous emotional reality during creation (similarity 0.84)
- Fiction multiplies ambiguity by exploring particulars that suggest general truths (similarity 0.83)
Broader Connections
- True thinking requires an internal dialogue among conflicting viewpoints.
#expands(0.75) — Jordan B. Peterson, 12 Rules for Life An Antidote to Chaos, 727 - Historical conjunctures are overdetermined accumulations of heterogeneous contradictions
#corroborates(0.55)