Why We Like Warfield.

Since I have been given the opportunity, I’d like to take the chance to talk about something a bit out of the way. As I was reading the Hidden Hand by E.D.E.N. Southworth, I, like I assume other people did, began to love Ira Warfield as a character. Though Old Hurricane continually proves to the reader, and to other characters in the book is that he is a complete jerk, I, rather than beginning to hate him, started liking him more and more. This stood out to me, and the more I thought about it the more confused I became. Shouldn’t we automatically dislike dislikable characters and shouldn’t we love good characters automatically? In my post today I want to discuss why we love a dislikable character.

When I step back and look at Ira Warfield’s case, I find that what I most like about his character is his sheer audacity. He is an old man who is “retired from public life,” he doesn’t care what anyone thinks about him and he speaks his mind. While this carelessness is entertaining, it is not the point. The part of him that is “large, harsh… [and] domineering” is not likeable on it’s own, but without his “violent temper and domineering habits,” he is not likeable at all. What I am trying to say is, it is precisely what would make Warfield a detestable human being that makes him a likeable character. Why is this? Personally, I think the answer is rooted in rebellious human nature. Don’t we all wish we could do or say the things we think without consequence? Old Hurricane has freed himself from societal bonds; he does not have to worry about what the world thinks. We like Old Hurricane because he is what we wish we all were—completely honest.