Discussion Main / PragmaticVillainy

I usually see Pragmatic Villainy as an excuse for a Complete Monster to excuse themselves from a moment of heinousness, but what cases are there where practicing pragmatism actually leads to the villain abandoning their claim to that title?

I got my political views from reddit and that's bad

Are we able to post real life villainy in the discussion page?

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Is Trundle the Mountain King from Hilda graphic novels and movie an example of Pragmatic Villainy. I think so because he left Hilda alone once she served her purpose to him, had his brother restrained when he tried to stop him, and only destroyed belltowers and part of wall when infiltrating Trolberg, before getting himself killed on purpose. He says in the movie that he's not here to fight anyone

Is Frollo raising Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame as a baby an example of Pragmatic Villainy? He only raised Quasimodo as a way to spread his lies about the outside world. He also uses Quasimodo to find the location of the Gypsies in the Court of Miracles.

Edited by iansimsjam

Anyone know who made the term Pragmatic Villainy?

Moved this here:

• Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade: Elsa Schneider took advantage of just about everyone to get her hands on the Holy Grail, including helping the Nazis in return for their resources. She convinces her superiors to let Indy live, since she knows he’ll be useful to her quest later. Inside the grail temple, Elsa gives Donovan a false grail that eliminates him from the picture. However, for all her cunning, Elsa’s plans fall apart when she triggers an earthquake trap trying to leave with the grail. She ends up dangling from Indy’s arms above a cliff, but despite the danger, uses his grip as an opportunity to reach for it. Her gloved hand slips just before she’s able to grasp it.

This is misuse in several ways and seems to depend on Alternative Character Interpretation at points. This trope is defined as "when a villain refuses to do something horrible not because it is too evil and/or abhorrent, but rather because it's not in their interests to do so". It's not about pragmatic villains in general; a willingness to do something evil to reach a certain goal is basically the exact opposite. Manipulating Indy is just Elsa being a Manipulative Bastard, as is killing Donovan (the scene itself is too vague anyway to conclude whether she intended for him to die or really did make the wrong choice). The only act that would qualify her is sparing Indy because he's useful, but there's a more appropriate subtrope for that which I'd be more inclined to list it under: Can't Kill You, Still Need You.

You've got roaming bands of armed, aggressive, tyrannical plumbers coming to your door, saying "Use our service, or else!" Hide / Show Replies

Okay, this is pragmatism for Evil on good vs evil, so what would pragmatism be for Chaos?

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