Archetypes in Genre: The Manipualtor
Sometimes referred to in common parlance as ‘The Machiavellian’, the Manipulator archetype in the Triad of genre fiction is seldom viewed in a positive light by readers or viewers. Storytellers have a tendency, in the written form, to describe these individuals as being possessed of physical traits or features that we associate with negative connotations; rat-like, fox-like, narrow of eye, reminiscent of serpents or snakes, and similar such points of reference. We are given visual indicators early on that there is little if any reason to trust in these characters.
The Manipulator in genre works tend not to take a great deal of direct action in relation to the principle cast of the tale. They either command subordinates to act on their behalf, or maneuver events in such a manner as to have the conclusion of a lengthy series of incidents result in a net benefit to their own personal plans or gains.
Yet, not all Manipulators are antagonists. Indeed, some Manipulators in the Triad are among our most revered characters.
In science fiction, the Manipulator is usually a galactic politician of some sort. They frequently rely upon trade relationships or money and status to push people in the world constructed by the storyteller into doing what they want. One of the most infamous examples of the Manipulator in science fiction would be Senator/Emperor Palpatine, of the Star Wars mythos. I would go into details here, but if you aren’t familiar with Star Wars and Palpatine, I wonder if you’ve even arrived on the right website.
In horror, while they are less prevalent, the Manipulator is usually the master or maker of a beast or set of creatures that are causing all of the chaos within the confines of the narrative. Think Doctor Frankenstein, or even, in the setting of the Castlevania games, Dracula.
And now, of course, we come to fantasy, where Manipulators are everywhere we look, especially in the modern era of the genre. Here, I would like to present to you the first example in this piece of a protagonist Manipulator, a character who is usually associated by literary analysts who discuss Archetypes as being of the Wise Elder sort (I’ll cover them in a future write-up):
Albus Dumbledore, of the Harry Potter novels.
You may be thinking, ‘Josh, you’ve clearly mixed up character names here. You mean Voldemort, the villain, right?’ No, actually, I mean Dumbledore, Headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I understand that it’s very in vogue right now to shit all over J.K.Rowling as a person, and to try and excise her from the zeitgeist of fantasy literature, but I am not here to discuss her as a person. I am here to discuss this character who she created, and explain why he is, from my perspective, a Manipulator.
From the very start, before he was even born, Dumbledore has been maneuvering young Harry to be put in circumstances that will either make or break him. Given over to the Dursleys to raise and care for, Harry is put in a position where he will emphatically NOT be taught that he has access to powers, or that he is in any way special. He’s just an English boy, and not a particularly well liked one at that.
This would help ensure that the boy did not grow with a sense of entitlement, which is one of the character facets Voldemort and his ilk fixated upon as a path of recruitment for their fellow practitioners of the dark arts.
Further, Dumbledore knew full well that Harry would be watched and eventually sought out by Voldemort and his followers in the future. Where better to have the boy, eventually, than at the very school that Albus and his own allies taught at? Their ideological foes, if they were to come crawling out of the shadows, would eventually have to show themselves by coming to the school itself, where Albus and his allies would have the homefield advantages of entrenchment, familiarity of battleground, and resources.
Understanding full well Severus Snape’s attachment to Lily Potter, Dumbledore allows the Potions master to continue working as a mole within Voldemort’s ranks, understanding that Snape’s emotional attachment to Lily can be used as a lever to crank on if or when necessary. Harry’s in danger? Remind Snape that Harry is all that’s left of Lily.
Even knowing that he is ultimately condemned to death, Dumbledore keeps his fatal condition a secret in order to push events in the last novel where he will have a part to play. First, he knows that no amount of pain will be his undoing when he and Harry are off to retrieve the first horcrux. Even if there were to be long-term effects, he’s already doomed; but Harry doesn’t know that. Later on, when Draco is faced with the task of killing him, Dumbledore once again is in a position where, were he to convey information that he knows, that he’s already on his way to his grave, he could have changed the course of events. However, opting to keep this knowledge hidden, he pushes events with a small nudge in the direction that he wants them to go.
I recognize that I’ve spent most of this piece talking about Dumbledore, but I do so only to demonstrate clearly that being a Manipulator by Archetype does not consign a character to being viewed as an antagonist. Clearly, they can be playing either side of the story, and the complexities of these characters, when fully developed, can make them among the most fascinating and famous of genre characters.