In anynarrative, afoil is a character who contrasts with another character, typically, a character who contrasts with theprotagonist, in order to better highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist.[2][3][4] A foil to the protagonist may also be theantagonist of the plot.[5]
In some cases, a subplot can be used as a foil to the main plot. This is especially true in the case ofmetafiction and the "story within a story" motif.[6]
A foil usually either differs dramatically or is an extreme comparison that is made to contrast a difference between two things.[7]Thomas F. Gieryn places these uses of literary foils into three categories, which Tamara A. P. Metze explains as: those that emphasize theheightened contrast (this is different because ...), those that operate byexclusion (this is not X because...), and those that assignblame ("due to the slow decision-making procedures of government...").[8]
The wordfoil comes from the old practice of backing gems with foil to make them shine more brightly.[9]
Shakespeare refers directly to the origin of the term "foil" inHenry IV, Part 1. Prince Hal says that when he starts behaving better, the change will impress people:"And like bright metal on a sullen ground/My reformation, glittering o'er my fault/Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes/Than that which hath no foil to set it off."[10]
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InEmily Brontë's 1847 novelWuthering Heights, Edgar Linton is described as opposite to main characterHeathcliff, in looks, money, inheritance and morals, however similar in their love for Catherine.
InFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, an 1818 novel byMary Shelley, the two main characters—Dr. Frankenstein and his "creature"—are literary foils to each other, functioning to compare one to the other.
InDavid Copperfield, an 1850 novel byCharles Dickens, Edward Murdstone's marriage to David's mother Clara, contrasts with David's future marriage to Dora Spenlow, presented with a different outcome if David had endeavored to subdue his wife's caprices, as did Edward Murdstone with Clara's.
InJane Austen's 1813 novelPride and Prejudice, Mary's absorption in her studies places her as a foil to her sisterElizabeth Bennet's lively and distracted nature.[11]
Similarly, inWilliam Shakespeare's tragedyJulius Caesar, the character Brutus has foils in the two charactersCassius andMark Antony.[12] In the playRomeo and Juliet,Romeo andMercutio serve as character foils for one another, as well asMacbeth andBanquo in the playMacbeth. In the tragedyHamlet, a foil is created betweenLaertes andPrince Hamlet to elaborate the differences between the two men.[13] In Act V Scene 2, Prince Hamlet tells Laertes that he willfence with him and states, "I'll be yourfoil, Laertes" (5.2.272).[14] Thisword play reveals the foil between Hamlet and Laertes that was developed throughout the play.
George and Lennie are foils to each other in John Steinbeck's 1937 novellaOf Mice and Men. Lennie is huge and strong as a bull but mentally slow, while George is small, skinny and very smart.
InFrank Herbert's 1965science fiction novelDune,Feyd-Rautha serves as the narrative foil toPaul Atreides.[15] While both characters are heirs of powerful noble houses, feature in the plans of theBene Gesserit,[16] and have received extensive combat training, Paul is compassionate and wishes to avoid war while Feyd is portrayed as interested solely in the acquisition of power.[17]
In theHarry Potter series,Draco Malfoy can be seen as a foil to theHarry Potter character;Professor Snape enables both characters "to experience the essential adventures ofself-determination"[18] but they make different choices; Harry chooses to opposeLord Voldemort and the Death Eaters wholeheartedly, whereas Draco's (whose parents remained sympathetic to Voldemort's cause) struggles with his allegiances through the whole series. On a symbolic level, Tom Riddle (Voldemort) and Harry are frequently juxtaposed as similar; both "Half-Bloods", of similar physical features, intelligent and powerful magicians. As both are similar in capability, they are opposed in morality, emphasising the importance of choice as opposed to destiny. This similarity has been noted as undercut by the fact that Harry who, whilst an orphan, is the a child of a loving marriage, subsequently thrives whereas Voldemort,conceived forcibly under spell of a "love potion", is stated as incapable of love and empathy due to his parentage, which ushers in his desire for power and domination. Likewise, with Harry being "marked" at birth as the enemy of Voldemort via prophecy, his antagonism towards Voldemort's evil actions is not made from a point of moral impartiality, but from an antipathy that was effectively selected for him.[19]
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