Why Jim Kirk Isn’t A Byronic Hero (or, i can’t believe i have to make this post)
- the main thing about the byronic hero is that he’s an anti-hero. most of the time he does things for his personal gain and doesn’t actually give a fuck about anyone outside of himself; he’s a radically negative character
- sure, he’s got a taste for adventure but no matter what he does or what ‘adventure’ he embarks on, nothing really satisfies him. that’s the point of his character – he lives his life never being able to find his true passion, that something that will make him feel whole again
- and he lives his life by being moody, selfish, never asking anyone for help because he thinks everyone else is inferior to him and doesn’t want to stoop to their level
- he’s got a Tragic Past™ that he never really gets over and he spends an enormous time angsting over all the shit that’s happened to him
- most of the time, the byronic hero is a womanizer; he sleeps around a lot and has very little respect for the women he does it with
- he does horrible things to suit his needs all the time
- and uh
- after all of this
- if you think jim kirk is a byronic hero then
- get out of my house
#i think that pre-academy jim has the potential to go a byronic route – a troubled and arrogant genius-level repeat offender #an outcast #self-destructive and charismatic with a disrespect of power #but that’s just it: pre-star fleet #jim had the could have went byronic and wallowed away in that tiny little iowa town until he grew into a bitter misanthrope womanizer #but he chose not to #he chose grow up and join starfleet #an institution that thrives on everything a byronic hero scoffs at: rules regulations cooperation and greater causes #and #that’s who jim is #a man driven not by his troubled past or selfish needs but by his heart dedication to a cause and sense of purpose #jim isn’t byronic because he doesn’t merely see how he can better the universe #he sees how his institutions and colleagues and humanity can #sorry to burst your ~sad beautiful boy~~ bubble but jim’s just a plain ol’ big damn hero #and he deserves it (tags via amoktimes)
Lit history time.
George Gordon, Lord Byron was famous even during his own lifetime for writing troubled, nearly villainous protagonists. Check out the poem/play Manfred. The eponymous character is a brooding, dark, guilt-ridden figure who gets into black magic because he’s too proud to seek redemption and forgiveness for his misdeeds (though you never do find out what his misdeeds are). The Corsair is another example.
Byronic heroes are BAD GUYS. They are Milton’s Lucifer and Shakespeare’s MacBeth, Breaking Bad’s Walter White and Star Wars’ Anakin Skywalker. They are true antiheroes; the only thing that separates them from the villainous antagonist is that the story is from their POV, and so you can feel sympathy and pity for them—and, if done well, you ache to watch the ruin of so much potential—as they tromp down the garden path to Hell.
(Also there tends to be a lot of brooding and/or whining.)
Byron himself was painted as a Byronic hero (partly by his own hand, though it’s hard to say whether he really saw himself this way or if he just loved the theatricality of it), and many people believe that the term is coined off Byron himself, rather than the characters he wrote in the same vein. Although he often deliberately modeled his characters somewhat on himself, so perhaps it’s the same thing either way.