Literary characterization

In prose fiction, cinema and drama persons who are depicted in a relatively complete way as to their behaviour and motivations are said to be main or minor characters in their respective works. The characterization of personalities evolves out of earlier dramatic and literary antecedents concerning stock rôles such as the villain, the hero, the ingenue, etc. These in turn rose out of mimetic ritual in which the powers of nature were personified. Characters in literature may also be portrayed according to various theories of types ranging from the ancient humours: choleric, phlegmatic, sanguine, etc; and the astrological rulerships described as mercurial, venal, jovial, saturnine, martial, etc; to modern theories concerning introversion, fixation, regression, compulsion and the like. The perpetuation of literary stereotypes impinges on social consciousness to the extent of influencing perception of others so that their individuality is masked by the stereotype projected. This is particularly true in the characterization of women and ethnic minorities as being irrevocably placed in inferior social, educational, and economic situations. Realistic literary characterization, on the other hand, is an educational force for human development.