Unreliable Narrators

I’ve been putting off writing this post for a little while. It’s more literary than my usual posts, I suppose. I remember once writing an essay about this topic!

But the thing is, in one of my fandom spaces especially, people seem to completely be missing the point that the main character of the series is an unreliable narrator and biased. A mix of Main Character Bias (Protagonist Syndrome) and Unreliable Narrators leads to, well, a mess of a fandom.

It is not fun.

So I thought, why not talk and break down a little of what makes an unreliable narrator unreliable? Why not bring up two characters who are quite firmly unreliable in their point of view, biased and in their own ways, prejudiced, but very much the Main Character still?

We’ll see how it goes.

What Is An Unreliable Narrator?

An unreliable narrator is a point of view character whose credibility may be compromised. A first person narration is almost always at least a little bit unreliable and biased, but it can be said if second and third person narratives are heavily skewed in one character’s point of view, that their biases may influence the story.

The unreliability of the narration may be very obvious – in the case of multiple points of views being shown, for example – or simply implied. It is a matter of reading between the lines and recognising it. Sometimes that is not so easy.

Your unreliable narrator may not even realise they are not telling the whole story. There are, of course, deliberate cases of unreliable narrations by the character, and then there are cases where the character’s wholly believe their point of view to be unbiased and true. The author/creator may show details in other parts of the story that highlight how the character may have missed certain aspects of the world and/or situation.

Popular Main Characters Who Are Unreliable Narrators

Elizabeth Bennet

I am pretty sure many people would agree that Lizzy has to unlearn much prejudices in regards to Fitzwilliam Darcy. It is the entire premise of the story. She is very much the Prejudice in Pride & Prejudice. However, one might miss out on the fact that she allows her own biases to cloud her point of view in regards to her family as well.

This unreliability is very much made obvious in the modern webseries adaptation of the novel. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries shows us multiple points of views that highlight the fact that Elizabeth Bennet is biased. Understandably so, as she is only human. But it makes me wonder how much of that subtext in the novel is missed by audiences.

The fact is, audiences also tend to be biased towards the main character’s point of view. They want their insight into the world to be right and justified, almost at all times.

Anakin Skywalker

That’s right. Darth Vader himself.

There is a small (I hope) subset of fandom that tends to hold him blameless for all his actions, despite the atrocities he commits on screen. His rants and claims that the Jedi do not trust him or are holding him back are held up as the truth. This is despite the fact that we see the Jedi do neither of those things, and instead see Anakin make decisions based on his own desires and emotions alone.

His story is a tragedy, and framed as such, but the fact is audiences want their Main Characters to be justified. Anakin Skywalker was never meant to be a reliable point of view and was always meant to be a hero that fell, and his actions and choices were a reflection of himself. No one else.

But Main Character Bias and Protagonist Syndrome go hand in hand, and audiences sometimes miss – or outright ignore – the Unreliable Narration as a result.

I have a lot of feelings about Anakin Skywalker and his stans and none of them are complimentary these days. Someday I will be writing a full essay on his unreliable narration and the way fandom eats it up, complete with proof.

In the meantime, I shall try and find a few more Pride & Prejudice variations that highlight and encourage Lizzy’s growth in regards to her prejudices about her family. I am always looking for suggestions.

Unreliable narrators, love them or hate them, they definitely add something to a story.

• Do you have a favourite example of unreliable narrations?
• Is there a character you think is unreliable but it is not portrayed as such in text?
• What are your thoughts on the characters I mentioned?
• Any suggestions for unreliable narrative media for me?

Maybe the unreliable narrator was me all along. Ha. Until next time!

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