Christopher Vogler The Writers Journey
HUMANIZING THE SHADOW
Shadows need not be totally evil or wicked. In fact, it's better if they are human
ized by a touch of goodness, or by some admirable quality. T h e Disney animated
cartoons are memorable for their villains, such as Captain H o o k in Peter Pan, the
demon in Fantasia, the beautiful but wicked queen from Snow White, the glamorous
fairy Maleficent in The Sleeping Beauty, a n d C r u e l l e D'Eville in One Hundred and
One Dalmatians. T h e y are even more deliciously sinister because o f their dashing,
powerful, beautiful, or elegant qualities.
Shadows can also be humanized by making them vulnerable. T h e novelist
Graham Greene masterfully makes his villains real, frail people. H e often has the
hero on the verge of killing a villain, only to discover the poor fellow has a head cold
or is reading a letter from his little daughter. Suddenly the villain is not just a fly
annaabi.ee 
