When I think of “unlikeable” characters, I think of characters who are morally corrupt, characters who are unable to admit their faults, and characters who do not take ownership of their actions. However, I’ve noticed that in the literature world, oftentimes, characters that are labeled as “unlikeable” are not morally corrupt characters. Instead, they’re characters who are flawed, multi-layered, maybe a little selfish, and sort of prickly until you get to know them. So I then started thinking about my favorite books with “unlikeable” characters. In doing so, I noticed that most of the time, those “unlikeable” characters were women.
While I understand that there are just certain characters that readers are not going to vibe with for a multitude of reasons, I believe that there is a strong difference between a character that you don’t like, and a character that is “unlikeable”. Unlikeable traits do vary from person to person, so I think it’s hard to fully classify a character as “unlikeable” when likeability is a mostly subjective opinion. There’s a difference between a well-rounded character with unlikeable traits and a character that has no redeeming qualities, therefore rendering them unlikeable.
Unfortunately, I think oftentimes female characters that have traits not usually associated with conventional femininity are given the “unlikeable” stamp of approval. Traits such as being outspoken, self-assured, independent, not settling for less than you believe you deserve, and standing up for yourself are often seen as “unfeminine”, so women who exemplify these traits are often seen as being difficult or causing trouble when in fact they’re just…human.
Personally, I have always been drawn to these “unlikeable” female characters. Two of my favorite women in literature growing up (and still to this day) are Amy March from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, and Emma Woodhouse from Jane Austen’s Emma. Both Amy and Emma, in my opinion, get A LOT of unfair hatred. There’s no doubt that both of them make some questionable choices throughout the course of their novels, because they absolutely do. But neither one makes any choices that are unredeemable. Both girls are often accused of being a bit spoiled and selfish, and yes, they are. Why? Because they were pretty coddled and sheltered throughout their lives. That does not excuse any choices that they make that are unsavory, but it doesn’t mean that they’re unlikeable because of those choices. Amy and Emma go through a great self-realization arc throughout the course of the novels and both actively try to become better people, and yet, they’re judged solely on their past decisions even though they’ve clearly made strides to do and be better. I love how flawed both of these characters are because it makes them more real and relatable, and I think that both are unfairly judged. Truthfully, I just think it became the “cool” thing to hate on both Amy and Emma, and I will defend them for the rest of time.
In the case of characters like Eliza Quan from Michelle Quach’s Not Here to Be Liked and Chiamaka Adebayo from Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s Ace of Spades, I think the main reason they’re seen as “unlikeable” is because both of them are aware of their power and their worth, and do not let others tell them what they should and shouldn’t do. I do also think that racism has a part in the perceptions of these characters. I spoke quite a bit about Eliza and why I do not think she’s unlikeable in my review of Not Here to Be Liked, but I personally found all of her “unlikeable” traits to be traits I admire in people. Eliza also does not fit into the Asian girl stereotype of being dolce and yielding in nature, which leads to people finding her unlikeable. In Chiamaka’s case, that girl knows her power and she uses it. But because she’s a Black woman, she has to be very careful so that she doesn’t get negatively stereotyped as an “angry Black woman”. Of course, as I am not a Black woman, I cannot speak to what kind of experiences they have, but women of color always have to work harder to be given the same amount of respect that a white woman is given and I think Chiamaka is a really great example of that. She’s not “unlikeable”; she just has to work twice as hard to be given the respect she deserves.
With Evelyn Hugo from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, I think that sexism and misogyny are the main reasons why they’re seen as “unlikeable”. In the case of Evelyn Hugo, she uses her sexuality and femininity to her advantage. She knows that she’s an attractive woman, and she uses that to get ahead in life. She’s strong, determined, and can manipulate people when needed. She’s surrounded by men who are exactly the same (and do so much worse than she does) and yet she is the one that is seen as “difficult” or “tiring”. Truthfully, I don’t see any reasoning for that other than sexism and misogyny. She makes some questionable choices, but I would say that she’s more calculating than unlikeable. On the flip side, Katniss does not exhibit any traits that are typically associated with femininity, and that makes her “unlikeable”, especially in the eyes of The Capitol. Katniss has not had an easy life, she’s dealt with more at 16 than most people will ever experience in their entire lives and it’s made her wary, cautious, and untrusting. I don’t blame her! I would be the same way! But from book 1 to book 3, we’re constantly told how unlikeable she is (Haymitch literally compares her to a dead slug), and yet we have her best friend, Gale, essentially the male version of her, who we’re told is a great guy and charming and likable. Despite the fact that he and Katniss are described multiple times as having very similar, if not the same, personalities, Katniss constantly gets her “lack of femininity” thrown in her face, and it’s usually followed up by telling her how “unlikeable” she is which just screams sexist to me.
All this is not to say that there are no male characters that unfairly fall into the “unlikeable” category, but it seems to happen much more often to female characters who have traits that are typically associated with masculinity as opposed to femininity. Why are women held to a much higher standard than men are? Both in literature and in life?
Are you a fan of “unlikeable” female characters? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the characters I’ve mentioned (there were so many more that I could’ve discussed!) or ones not mentioned here.
