Strong Characters Do Not Always Know Themselves

Most writers concern themselves with establishing the consistency of their characters’ motivations and preferences, but mature writers know that human nature is much more complex than a consistent set of motivations. Why? Because real people do not always know themselves as well as they think they do.

How often have you done something, believing your motive to be one thing, and discovered later that your real motive was something quite different? Truthfully, we do not know ourselves very well, especially at moments of crisis. We posture, pretend, equivocate, and deceive even ourselves.

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Example One: Mark Studdock from That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis

Observe Mark Studdock in the following dialogue from That Hideous Strength (C. S. Lewis). Mark is in the “inner circle” of an organization whose intentions are deadly. He is torn between his desire to not be an “outsider” again (even of such an evil organization) and to leave while he still has a conscience.

“I can offer you no security,” said Dimble. “Don’t you understand? There is no security for anyone now. The battle has started. I’m offering you a place on the right side. I don’t know which will win.” 

“As a matter of fact,” said Mark, “I had been thinking of leaving. But I must think it over. You put things in rather an odd way.” 

“There is no time,” said Dimble. 

“Supposing I look you up again tomorrow?” 

“Do you know that you’ll be able?” 

“Or in an hour? Come, that’s only sensible. Will you be here in an hour’s time?” 

“What can an hour do for you? You are only waiting in the hope that your mind will be less clear.” 

“But you will be here?” 

“If you insist. But no good can come of it.” 

“I want to think. I want to think,” said Mark, and left the room without waiting for a reply.
 
Mark had said he wanted to think: in reality he wanted alcohol and tobacco.

In this short dialogue, Mark thinks he is being reasonable in “thinking it through” thoroughly but in reality, he is unwilling to commit. But admit his hesitation to himself? Never! So Mark deceives himself about his motivations. The final sentence of the excerpt is brilliant. Mark says he wants to think, but actually, he wants not to think, and to turn to his favorite “comfort” habits. That is human nature: the desperation to ignore the two uncomfortable choices before him and to soothe the body before soothing the conscience.

Example Two: Theo from The Kestrel by Lloyd Alexander

The second excerpt is from The Kestrel (Lloyd Alexander). Justin and Theo have just discovered that the Regians have slain one of their best friends. Observe what Theo thinks of himself as this description unfolds.

Justin had come beside him. His face was white, the scar working and twitching. He was talking, as far as Theo could understand, about animals. 

It was, Theo found, an odd topic. He finally grasped that Justin meant Regians. They should, Justin was saying, be punished for all this. Theo agreed. He offered to do it. 
Justin said Theo had no stomach for what was necessary. He also suggested that Theo was a coward, and had shown this at Nierkeeping. Theo, a little hurt, assured him it was not the case. He offered to prove it. He explained his thought to Justin. He wanted the Monkey and some others to go with him. They would find who had done it. To Theo, it seemed that he and Justin were discussing the question calmly, in an intense but reasonable conversation. 

They were, in fact, screaming at each other.

This description is masterful in two ways. First, the writing shows an odd detachment in its clipped sentences and in Theo’s confusion about Justin’s mention of “animals.” This hints that Theo is not in full possession of his own mind. Second, Theo’s confusion is followed by his misunderstanding of his own actions and motivations. He thinks he is being reasonable and calm; in fact, he is losing his grip on reality and he is screaming. Theo has reached a crisis point, and he no longer evaluates himself accurately.

Again, this is human nature at its rawest: the bare self-deception of one for whom reality has become too overwhelming.

Your Task

Take the time to observe the inconsistencies of human nature. While smart writers do not confuse readers with too many nuances, they also do not forget the complexity of real life. Capture human nature—and you capture the reader.

In what other ways is real human nature complex?