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Developing two contradictory traits in a single character

I'm having a little trouble with the protagonist of one of my stories, a sad little girl who shies away from other people. I use a lot of symbolism linking her to nighttime and moonlight, and much of her tastes run towards darkness-themed things. But it's a major plot point that she loves "Pony Princess" dolls, pastel plastic quadrupeds with flowers in their manes*--the fluff for the franchise puts a lot of emphasis on tolerance and understanding, so she thinks that if she were a Pony Princess, the other ponies would love her as she is.

The problem is, I introduce her love for the dolls much earlier than I introduce her reason for loving them, so I'm a little worried that this may come off as contradictory. Is it okay to just have this character as she is, gushing over dolls in one scene and talking excitedly about bats in another? Should I hang a lampshade on it, having another character comment that she has no idea why the kid loves ponies so much? Or do I need to establish earlier just why this character loves ponies?

More generally, how do you develop a character who seems to contradict herself? How would you write, or how have you written, a character with traits that seem opposed to each other?

*Any resemblance to an existing franchise is entirely intentional. This is going on a fanfic site as part of a backstory for how that universe came to exist.
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
Short answer, Yes.

Humans are full of contradictions. It's what makes us human. And IMHO you're on the right track with having her own justification for it. Whether that justification makes 100% sense or not doesn't matter as long as it makes enough sense. And acknowledging a contradiction will help to dispel the readers concerns.

You're characters don't have to make 100% logical sense. But they must be consistent.

For example. Imagine someone who loves oranges but hates orange juice. A bit contradictory, but it'll work as long as they remain that way until there's a reason for a change. If you have them drinking orange juice in the next scene after revealing that bit of info, then it becomes a problem.
 
"gushing over dolls in one scene and talking excitedly about bats in another" Forget different scenes. My experience with a daughter suggests these topics could be parts of the same sentence that would also include a list of which friends like bats, which like ponies, which like neither and did you see what the mice were doing?
 

Chilari

Staff
Moderator
I don't see that as contradictory. What people like doing can be varied and seemingly juxtaposed, but liking two things that are juxtaposed isn't the same as being contradictory. People are nuanced and varied; your concept character sounds perfectly believable to me.
 

Telcontar

Staff
Moderator
Like Chilari, I don't really see this as a contradiction. However, even if it were a contradiction there's no problem. Human beings have opposing traits and values all the time - there's no law of the universe making us be consistent.

There's a great quote from Walt Whitman that goes: "Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes."
 

Tercel

Acolyte
Some of my favourite parts in books are later parts explaining why something happened at the beginning. I think so long as it gets explained well, it would be fine. It will get the readers going "oh, so that's why!"
 

ALB2012

Maester
I'd agree people are contradictory. Sometimes love or liking of a thing can't really be explained, or at least not rationally. That probably makes a character more realistic, especially a child.
 

Helen

Inkling
I'm having a little trouble with the protagonist of one of my stories, a sad little girl who shies away from other people. I use a lot of symbolism linking her to nighttime and moonlight, and much of her tastes run towards darkness-themed things. But it's a major plot point that she loves "Pony Princess" dolls, pastel plastic quadrupeds with flowers in their manes*--the fluff for the franchise puts a lot of emphasis on tolerance and understanding, so she thinks that if she were a Pony Princess, the other ponies would love her as she is.

The problem is, I introduce her love for the dolls much earlier than I introduce her reason for loving them, so I'm a little worried that this may come off as contradictory. Is it okay to just have this character as she is, gushing over dolls in one scene and talking excitedly about bats in another? Should I hang a lampshade on it, having another character comment that she has no idea why the kid loves ponies so much? Or do I need to establish earlier just why this character loves ponies?

More generally, how do you develop a character who seems to contradict herself? How would you write, or how have you written, a character with traits that seem opposed to each other?

*Any resemblance to an existing franchise is entirely intentional. This is going on a fanfic site as part of a backstory for how that universe came to exist.

I think it's useful - each side of character representing something and eventually a choice between them has to be made.

A little bit like Anakin Skywalker loving Padmé but having all this anger within him.
 
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