This is what I was attempting to say once I fully understood the topic and I fully agree. I also think in "fantasy" settings, imbuing the underdogs with special capabilities is really interesting in promoting the 'everyone is special' ideal and a crafty way of dealing with issues of poverty in fantasy worlds. Many readers probably feel a bit drawn to the "underbelly" of society (aren't we all?) and authors capitalize on this fascination and draw from mythology and fairy tales to make this work.
It's interesting that fantastical creatures choose to masquerade to be "under the radar" but readers now (at least this is my case when I read a fantasy/fairytale and an unfortunate character shows up) suspect something magical must be up. Like the beautiful nymph masquerading as an old lady in The Wife of Bath's tale. Mainly the ugly/bum approaching more fortunate characters is, in a sense, crossing an established line between "rich" and "poor". And when the person lower on the "scale" has something to offer a person in a better social position - well that just raises a whole bunch of questions about the correlation between wealth and morality, innocence and experience, etc.
Ugliness, to me and probably others, adds a certain interest to a character. It's a really interesting way of playing with binaries.
Plus, rich, beautiful, perfect characters are boring . . . unless they have something to hide. And vice versa.
I hope this was more on-topic, because I am genuinely interested in this conversation.
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It's interesting that fantastical creatures choose to masquerade to be "under the radar" but readers now (at least this is my case when I read a fantasy/fairytale and an unfortunate character shows up) suspect something magical must be up. Like the beautiful nymph masquerading as an old lady in The Wife of Bath's tale. Mainly the ugly/bum approaching more fortunate characters is, in a sense, crossing an established line between "rich" and "poor". And when the person lower on the "scale" has something to offer a person in a better social position - well that just raises a whole bunch of questions about the correlation between wealth and morality, innocence and experience, etc.
Ugliness, to me and probably others, adds a certain interest to a character. It's a really interesting way of playing with binaries.
Plus, rich, beautiful, perfect characters are boring . . . unless they have something to hide. And vice versa.
I hope this was more on-topic, because I am genuinely interested in this conversation.