The deuteragonist, in Ancient Greek literature, is known as the second main character, the second most important after the protagonist. Depending on the story, it can be for or against the protagonist.
If the character is in favor of the protagonist, it can be his partner or loving partner. The fundamental thing in a deuteragonist is that he has enough importance in the story, without always needing to be with the protagonist.
You can also perform the job of being a rival, as the main antagonist of the protagonist, but they are not usually the villains of the story. In the case of being the antagonist, it is important that you have the same amount of time during the play, movie or book, to show your point of view and explain your motivations.
The deuteragonist is as important as the protagonist and in the play he has the same attention, without being the main character in the story.
History of the term deuteragonist
The term deuteragonista comes from the Greek word that means "second character" and began to be used in the mid-nineteenth century to refer to characters in modern literature.
In Greek drama, stories were simply performed by one actor - the protagonist - and an accompanying chorus.
It was the playwright Aeschylus who first introduced the deuteragonist, increasing the number of actors from one to two. He also restricted the participation of the choir and made the dialogues the most important part of the work.
It was this intervention by Aeschylus that started a new era in Greek dramas, elevating the dialogue and interaction between the characters to the most important part of the theatrical work, providing thousands of more possibilities for the development of a story. This inspired Sophocles and Euripides to create various iconic works of this style.
The Greeks identified their characters in the works with these names: protagonist, deuteragonist and tritagonist, and sometimes they were played by different actors or sometimes the same actors performed different roles.
In order not to be confused and clearly identify them, they had a certain position determined when entering the scene. For example, the protagonist always enters through the central door of the stage, while the deuteragonist must always be located on the right side of the protagonist.
On the left flank the actor who represents the third part in the development of the drama moves.
In ancient Greek plays, it was not poets who assigned actors the roles of protagonist, deuteragonist, or tritagonist. He only gave them the appropriate part of the play and they performed according to this classification.
In the works of antiquity, tragedy was one of the recurring themes, related to the delineation of suffering or passion that was maintained until the end of history.
Sometimes the characters had external suffering, which led them to be injured or in danger; at other times the suffering was internal, a battle of the soul, a painful burden on the spirit.
But the sense of passion is always maintained and with this it is sought to achieve the empathy of the audience.
The person who is living this destiny of suffering is the so-called protagonist. That is why the deuteragonist becomes fundamental, since it allows him to strengthen the expression of the protagonist's emotions, offering him friendship, empathy and sometimes observing the waves of pain of the main character.
Some examples of deuteragonists in Greek tragedy are Prometheus, Hermes, Oceanus, and Io.
characteristics
The deuteragonist does not need the same intense and complete emotional expression of the protagonist and neither is it the external or internal force that causes the suffering or passion of the main character.
That catalyst can be the tritagonist, a third part of the work that instigates the damage suffered by the protagonist, always having a great interest in their reactions.
However, the deuteragonist is a much less intense character who, although without having high feelings, is not characterized by the vehemence or emotional depth of the protagonist.
In the deuteragonists we find less passionate characters, possessors of more "cold blood", a calmer temperament and fewer longings and aspirations.
This is why for Sophocles they were an important counterpart of the hero, since they allowed him to draw all his inner strength. This position of the deuteragonists usually turns them into characters with peculiar beauty and elevation in their importance.
It is not common to find several deuteragonists in a work. It is usually just one and always in the company of the protagonist. Some authors say that if you want to recognize - in modern works - who the deuteragonist is, you have to think of the protagonist's closest friend, who supports him, empowers him and allows him to express the full range of emotions that reflect his conflict.
In a love story, within the official couple we find the protagonist and the deuteragonist. A secondary leader, friend, partner, squire in an epic story; all are deuteragonist characters. It is a relationship character, who maintains a bond with the protagonist and allows him to express his emotions and thoughts.
However, these figures, as they come from ancient Greek tragedy, are rather a structure that can sometimes correspond to more modern works and others are often more difficult to find.
The limits and construction of the protagonist, deuteragonist and tritagonist are not as clear or specific as the works of Ancient Greece because in modern works the arches of the characters tend to be much broader and fluctuating.
Deuteragonists in the literature
In the literature, the most exact definition we find of a deuteragonist is a "partner" of the protagonist. For example, in Mark Twain's book The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn, the protagonist is of course Huck, and his constant companion Jim is the deuteragonist.
The important figure of Tom Sawyer that appears in this book is nothing more than the tritagonist, the driving force behind the development of some important events in history.
Another celebrated deuteragonist in literature is Dr. John Watson, Sherlock Holmes' companion in his adventures and investigations, from the series of works by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
While Dr. Watson is an intelligent, professional and responsible man; his vision is more skewed than Sherlock's, allowing the detective to display a full range of possibilities and deductions from a situation, ultimately empowering it.
References
- Protagonists, antagonists and deuteragonists, oh my! Recovered from englishemporium.wordpress.com.
- History of the literature of ancient Greece, volume 1. Karl Otfried Muller. Recovered from books.google.cl.
- Write On! The Deuteragonist & the Tritagonist. Recovered from dailykos.com.