Examples of psychological connection between Protagonist-Nemesis

Instead of just providing opposition, a Nemesis becomes even that much more compelling if they share some psychological connection with the Protagonist. One way of exploring this in the story-crafting process is to identify that which the Protagonist fears most, then determine if the Nemesis does in some way function as a projection of that fear. If so, you have what can be a profound psychological connection.

Some examples:

The Wizard of Oz: The Wicked Witch is quite literally a projection of Dorothy’s fear of Miss Gulch, even going so far when in Kansas, Toto’s fate threatened by the spinster, to proclaim, “Oh, you wicked old witch!” When Dorothy travels to Oz, there she is: Miss Gulch transformed into a witch.

The Apartment: Baxter fears a life of corporate anonymity, a worker bee amidst a sea of other mindless employees. What he aspires to is get promoted which would be a sign of success. The physicalization of this conscious goal is the head of the company Sheldrake. Baxter’s Want to be Sheldrake, but his Need is to get in touch with is inner mensch and reject the demeaning life of corporate values.

The Silence of the Lambs: Clarice’s father was murdered by faceless burglars when she was 11 years old. In this regard, she was victimized by them and those killers became a kind of boogeyman. Buffalo Bill is the physicalization of those killers, a boogeyman in his own right, and she needs to gain redemption for her father’s death by dispatching the serial murderer.

Up: Carl’s greatest fear is not fulfilling the promise he made time and again to Ellie to take her to Paradise Falls. In this way, Carl develops an obsession with that goal. Likewise Muntz, who started out as Carl’s childhood hero, is also obsessed in finding Kevin and proving that his discovery, widely mocked, is actually authentic. In confronting Muntz, Carl experiences the dark side of obsession which helps Carl free himself from his own compulsions, save Russell and Kevin, and discover a surrogate family in the process.

The Shawshank Redemption: Norton is Andy’s Nemesis and represents enslavement, Andy terminally assigned to oversee the warden’s extortion racket. The night Andy decides to escape, he finally has to overcome his own enslavement to the guilt he has felt for his wife’s death, even though he did not, in fact, kill her. In the case of Red, his Nemesis is quite literally a psychological condition: Institutionalization. Being in prison for three decades has infected his soul to the point where he cannot function as a free man. In the end he has a choice: Follow the path Brooks took when he committed suicide (“Get busy dyin’”) or fulfill a promise he made to “an old friend” (“Get busy livin’”). He opts for the latter and joins Andy in Mexico.

There are plenty of other movie examples. In fact, if you look at movies with Nemesis characters through this particular lens — their psychological connection to the Protagonist — you’ll more than likely see the dynamic in place.

Takeaway: Dig into your Protagonist’s psyche and ask, “What do you fear the most?” If you can identify that, you may very well have discover the basis of a strong psychological connection between them and the Nemesis figure.

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