BoM/TWS Message Forum

I would disagree about lacking empathy. She went to apologize to Roxanne when Mary tried to humiliate her, felt bad about using Will and co., and her pushing of Tammy-Lynn shows at least an ability to empathize. Rather, I think that she exists in the US version of a class system: she views some people as lower than her, some people as better. And that type of contextualization is dangerous. It also means that, when you have the ability to move out of your defined role (such as with the book), you dehumanize people and are more willing to cross lines. I agree you have to be careful when writing such stories to maintain audience engagement, although there are very famous characters - perhaps the most recent example is Walter White in Breaking Bad - where audiences would follow them regardless of what they did.

That all said, I strongly believe BoM is, in the main, a tale about corruption from power. And JM is far more susceptible to it than Will.