Figuring Out Foil Characters
We’re all familiar with some of the traditional character types you find in most fiction: protagonists, antagonists, love interests and so forth. But there is another common type of character out there; one which can sometimes be harder to define, though we know them when we see them (intuitively at least). I am talking about foils.
The OED defines a foil in this way:
A person or thing that contrasts with and so emphasizes and enhances the qualities of another.
Source: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/foil
In fiction, therefore, a foil is a character (or sometimes an object or idea) who highlights the traits of another character (usually the protagonist) by contrasting with them. But apart from that, these characters can play just about any role in your story you like. They can even (and often do) fulfil other key roles in your story, such the main antagonist or love interest (actually, as an aside, I often think love interests make great foils; opposites do so often attract, especially in fiction).
There’s a lot of good reasons to include a foil in your story. They can be an excellent tool for emphasising qualities in your protagonist which you might wish to draw out without stating explicitly. They can also go horribly wrong if executed poorly or needlessly.
As is so often the case, I have one particularly important rule I like to stick to whenever I write a foil (though you can apply this rule to any of your characters). Ready? Here it is:
No character should exist solely for the benefit of another.
Yes, a foil character must, by definition, contrast with another, but if that’s their only function in your story, watch out! All people in real life have their own motives, goals and problems and so should your characters. A good story can get along just fine without a foil character, but a character who serves as a foil and nothing else will be nothing but a burden on your narrative. At best they will read like a two-dimensional sidekick.
I would therefore strongly advise against sitting down to ‘write a foil character’. Figure out who the main players are in your story first. Ask yourself what they all want, what’s preventing them from getting it and why they are necessary for your story. You may well find that your story will benefit from having a foil and it will probably become pretty obvious who should assume that role once you’ve finished most of your planning.
Take Star Wars for instance. Power and its ability to corrupt is a central theme in these movies. Every Jedi, trained in the Force, faces the temptation to be seduced and corrupted by their power. In the original trilogy, the protagonist, Luke Skywalker, faces this very issue in the form of his foil and antagonist, Darth Vader. Both of these characters come from humble backgrounds, both were trained by Jedi Masters and became powerful Jedi themselves. Yet only Darth Vader was seduced by the Dark Side; Luke resists the same temptation and his life takes a completely different path. Cosmetic contrasts such as differently coloured lightsabres also add to the effect.
Darth Vader works as a foil for Luke, because it feeds right in to one of the story’s key themes and draws out Luke’s inner struggles against the Dark Side. Indeed, Darth Vader serves very much as a personification of Luke’s inner struggles. He represents the course of life Luke can but must not choose.
Darth Vader: You’ve only begun to discover your power. Join me and I will complete your training! With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy.
Luke: I’ll never join you!
…
Darth Vader: It is your destiny. Join me, and together, we can rule the galaxy as father and son!
Star Wars (ep. 6): Return of the Jedi
Of course, not all foils are antagonists. They don’t even need to be central characters (I’ve even heard it argued that they really shouldn’t be, though I don’t personally agree with that). All a character really needs to be a foil is to draw out your protagonist’s key traits by contrasting with them. But for my money, a good foil should be a fully-fledged secondary character, antagonist, love-interest, etc. in their own right first and a foil second. Perhaps a better way to think of it is to say that a foil is not so much a character type as it is a literary technique; one which just happens to often be associated with one character in particular.
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Andrew Ferguson 
I never knew there was an “official” term for that sort of character/person, but you learn something new every day 🙂 I think the concept of foils works really well for situations where you have a “hero” and a “villain” ultimately wanting the same thing, or very different people having to work together for a common goal. I’m thinking Games of Thrones S07E06 “Beyond the Wall” here; a group of characters with very little in common (personality/character wise, at least) off on a quest they all want to succeed, and having to deal with all those differences and quirks in order to get the job done. It makes things so much more interesting and complex. Great post!
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Hi Rebecca, glad you enjoyed the post 🙂 Yep you’re absolutely right, and I think that’s probably why it’s so common to have antagonists act as foils. After all, it’s easy to make a character ‘bad’ but I find a believable, relatable, flawed ‘good guy’ is more difficult to create so a bad guy foil is often a good thing to have. The relationship between Joker and Batman in the 1989 Batman movie is another interesting study in antagonist foils.
Yep, that’s a pretty common motif too. To return to Batman again, just look at the contrast between him and Robin. They couldn’t BE more different and so they draw out each other’s key traits. Disaster movies also often have the whole ‘motley crew of good guys’ thing on going on. Oh and let’s not forget Lord of the Rings!
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Oh yes LotR is a good one!
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