Tragic Flaw September: Community

Hello readers, I am continuing this month’s theme of tragic flaws.

As mentioned previously, each post will have the following criteria: I will speak about tragic flaws in stories that are neither Classical works, Shakespearean theatre, nor epics before the 1900s. All examples will come from more contemporary authors and playwrights.

This week, I will delve into the tragic flaw of community.

As a social species, humans rely on each other to survive and arrange resources. Our relationships express that in the form of kin, friends, municipality, and nation. When used correctly, these attributes enrich our physical and mental well-being, rooted in improving what is within there rather than attacking what is without.

Common archetypes are the Tight-Knit Family, the City-State, and the Zealot.

However, tribalism is the negative expression of this. Assuming the “in group” as superior, and the “out group” as lesser, inverts the ultimate goal of helping others. Unlike obedience, loyalty to a command, tragically flawed community refers to the collective.

A fantastic example of the negative Tight-Knit family comes from A Song of Ice and Fire (and the respective TV show Game of Thrones) by George R. R. Martin. The premise of the series involves multiple noble houses pitted against each other for supremacy of the kingdom — and one has more reason to fear one’s allies than enemies. Each faction treats the others with brutal hostility, embroiling the land in a war that leaves misery and turmoil in its wake.

Most infamous is House Lannister, whose dedication to maintaining and advancing their family’s status drives several of the conflicts. However, they are merely more direct about their selfish ambition than the others. In reality, most of the factions prioritize the needs of their own kin above the needs of the kingdom at large. The Starks, putting their desire for independence over their duty to guard the north; the Iron Islands, giving into plunder to bolster their pockets rather than protect the seas; the Tyrells in Clash of Kings, choosing glamour and decadence instead of responsible leadership; and so on. Meanwhile, bandits raid and pillage while the houses focus on battling each other.

Here, the small-scale community of family threatens the larger picture. Their unity in the short run and reckless self-improvement lead to long run disunity and the detriment of all around them. Like many tragic flaws, their failed methods betray their ultimate goals.

Children’s literature can make similar points in more eccentric ways, like in The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Dictionopolis and Digitopolis, the respective cities of letters and numbers, embody the City-State archetype in its adverse form: rival municipalities. Obsessed with proving the superiority of their domains over the other’s, the brother kings of each place banish the Princesses Rhyme and Reason when the girls say they are equally valuable.

The symbolism is much more literal than Martin’s work, adjusted for its target audience, but what Juster does is break it down to its rudimentary level. The outlandish effort King Azaz and the Mathemagician go to show whose part of the kingdom is better only fractures it, making it weaker and devaluing what either community can accomplish.

As foolish as cutting one’s own arm off to show how strong it is.

The Zealot archetype goes even further, its negative form one of the most dangerous. At its worst, the fierce enthusiasm of a Zealot corrupts into utter malevolence for anything outside itself, to the point of actively harming others. A prime example would be Voldemort, from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.

Convinced that wizards are superior and Muggles are lesser people, the Dark Lord strives to subjugate and slaughter any who do not fit into his ideal community. However, he and his followers are the number one killer of witches and wizards in the entire series. He claims that he is saving magical society from Muggles, while actively murdering the people he believes to be protecting.

Spells and snake-nose aside, a figure like Voldemort is a little too realistic. Considering Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Mao, Pinochet, Leopold II, and countless others, he bears a stark resemblance to these abhorrent stains of history.

When a person views everyone outside their community as their foe, they soon become their own worst enemy.

What are some of your favorite examples of this flaw, or the archetypes listed above?

Note: all works and characters are the property of their respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, research, commentary, and or parody. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.