The Coward

Alternate Titles: Seducer, Scoundrel

This is a character who puts his own needs and desires on a pedestal. If he falls in love, nothing is important except that he get the woman he wants. If he is afraid, anything can and will be sacrificed to save him from whatever he fears. These are the types that stood up at Nuremburg and said, "Well, I didn't want to kill the Jews, but I had to do it because otherwise I would have lost my job." The needs, feelings, and lives of others are totally irrelevant. He often claims that his actions are morally neutral on the grounds that "those people were going to die anyways," or "sooner or later he was bound to realize that his wife didn't love him."
In war films, this is often a character who either betrays his own people, or switches sides whenever it is convenient. He is without loyalty, willing to sell whatever he has in order to survive and thrive. His attitude about everything apart from himself and his own affairs tends to be jaded and cynical. He is often detached from the sphere in which he lives, even if he is at its centre. He is likely to be an exhile in some sense -- an expatriot, a mystery man, a governor in a far flung province. He does not belong where he is, but he has no desire to return home. He is groundless, in this way: without origin, and without destiny. This is probably the reason why he becomes so involved in any affair that he has; his mistress becomes the only thing that is actually real for him.

Archetypal Events: Lurk, Sell out, Abandon

Common Coward Plots:

The Affair to End the World: The Coward falls in love, usually with an Adulteress but any woman on square can serve as the object of his obsession. The woman is married or otherwise unavailable, but he must have her. The affair become the totality of his existence: let the seas boil, and the stars be thrown down, and death stalk the earth, provided he can have his love. Eventually he loses her, and this destroys him.

The Man Who Sold the World: Something of import must be guarded, protected, sealed, or saved. The Coward alone is in a position to do this -- but some triviality stands in his way. The people of Jerusalem might revolt, he might lose a promotion, his wife will disapprove, he will have to suffer a little. His lack of moral courage leads to the slaughter of innocents, the loss of military secrets, or the damnation of souls.

Past Sins: The Coward has a dark past. He has done wrong -- seduced someone's wife, betrayed his country, killed a man -- and has been hiding from this fact in exhile for years. Now the judgement day is coming. The Avenger finds him and exacts payment for his sins. Or, as a variant, the Coward may end up murdering in order to cover up his sins, usually resulting in a fall to Pharisee.

House of Cards: Although he is often homeless in a deep sense, the Coward may have a palace, summer home, estate, or any other kind of domain, provided it is without solid foundation. It might be built on ill-gotten gains, on the proceeds of his betrayals, on the wealth of a wife to whom he is faithless. It gives the appearance of affluence and security, but in fact it is precariously balanced and liable to collapse.
Supply of Cover: This can be literal cover, as in a place to hide when under fire, or figurative cover: a cover story, a false identity, anonymity, excuses, places to run to. When it runs out, the Coward is forced to confront the consequences of his actions.
Weapon: A
Clothing: A
Prize: C
Unmarked Grave: The Coward is amongst the characters most likely to commit suicide. The world about which he does not care, ultimately does not care about him. He dies, and all of his putative friends, maybe even his mistress, desert him. He is swallowed up by the earth, and it is as though he never was.
Minor Symbols: T

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