A friend whose blog I follow recently posted a review of Veronica Roth’s book Divergent. I’d seen all the movies, but never felt motivated to read the book. Maybe it was because I once ate dinner with someone who talked at length about the series, but not in a way that made it compelling. My friend even admitted in her post that the plot of Divergent was not that unique, but there was one thing that caught her attention—the character Tobias Eaton (“Four”).
She specifically said that Tobias was the “best-written male character in literature.” That caught my attention, because this friend is also one of my readers. Now I had to read the book—one of my fans was raving about another author’s character! So, like a jealous teenager, I had to check out the competition.
Subtle Strength
I read Divergent and found it enjoyable enough, but mostly I came to some conclusions about what makes Four’s character compelling. First of all, he’s very male. He’s a decent example of a Sigma male, which is all the rage these days—a guy who’s strong enough to be an alpha, but unlike an alpha he doesn’t assert dominance or flaunt his strength. The alpha to Four’s sigma would be Eric, the up-and-coming but brutal Dauntless leader who proves to be a villain. Four could have a higher position within the Dauntless faction, but he turned it down, possibly in order to avoid his abusive father, who runs the faction that Four came from.
This is a second layer to Four’s character which rounds him out: he has fears, and yet, not that many. His nickname draws from the fears that gained him notoriety within Dauntless—the fact that he has only four, a record low number. One of those fears is heights, a fear which Tris does not share. When Tris climbs the ferris wheel near the book’s midpoint, Four is uncomfortable. But he still follows her up there. It’s the first scene in the book where he shows any kind of weakness, but within that same scene he shows the ability to overcome his weakness. This not only makes him more relatable, but more likable. He’s not just a cold shadow who fears nothing. But he’s not paralyzed by the fear either, proving that his strength is real.
Flirtation Skill: 0
A third layer to Four’s character is how he relates to Tris. He falls in love with her over the course of the book, but never treats her like some dainty thing. In Tris’s words, “He is not sweet or gentle or particularly kind. But he is smart and brave, and even though he saved me, he treated me like I was strong” (p. 289). That’s a pretty good description of Four’s masculinity. He saves the girl, but doesn’t treat her like a damsel in distress. And even though he has feelings for Tris, he doesn’t profess those feelings in lots of words. Instead, his feelings comes through in various actions, some more subtle than others. This is pretty typical, especially for a guy of Four’s age—and considering that he grew up in Abnegation, where flirting isn’t a cultivated skill. I should point out, a male character like this isn’t often seen from a female writer. We’d rather just have things spelled out to us—“Yes, tell me I’m beautiful…”)
There’s a fourth layer, which isn’t exactly tied to Four’s character, but the way he’s physically portrayed. He’s tall, slim and strong. He might not be body-builder strong, but he has the right amount of muscle for his frame. Roth does a good job of describing Four’s physique without sounding awkwardly steamy. She gives just enough details to make the picture come together, like the shape of a jawline, or how the muscles in his back move (though I have to say I’ve never thought to draw a comparison between a character’s upper and lower lip. Tris notices odd things.) All of this helps add to Four’s unique but very male image.
The Would-be Protagonist
Interestingly, the earlier draft of Divergent had Four as the main character. It eventually changed to Tris, but this could be one reason that Four’s character is well-rounded. If you didn’t know, there’s a short story collection called Four. It contains the full character backstory, beginning with Four’s Choosing Ceremony. I found it more compelling than Tris’s early story, probably because Four’s situation was so much worse. I already knew what faction he would choose, but I was still sweating until the moment was over because I was so desperate for him to get out of Abnegation. And yet, Four isn’t defined by trauma. This can be an easy cop-out to try to add depth to a character. Sure, Four’s background influences his decisions, but it’s obvious he becomes who he is because it’s who he decides to be. As a reader, that’s an interesting character path to follow.
Is Four the best-written male character in literature? It’s a hard competition. I do think he could be the best-written male character for this generation, which isn’t looking for 80’s bravado but for someone who’s intrinsically strong despite what he’s gone through. If you’re a fan of Four, I highly recommend the short story collection.
Inspiration for this blog post came from the blog of Sarah Hamilton: https://contemplationsofachristiancreator.wordpress.com/
Photo by Alan Labisch on Unsplash
