EMPATHY OR UNDERSTANDING. HOW LIKABLE IS LIKABLE ENOUGH?

"I have found in short, reading my own writing, that my subject in fiction is grace in territory held largely by the devil." Flannery O'Connor

Hardly anyone would call Flannery O'Connor's characters likable. She specializes in the odd, the evil, the weird, the strange--yet her stories are fascinating.  People are captivated by characters like Hannibal or Tom Ripley. At times we even root for the scoundrel to triumph. Yet conventional wisdom (and my agent) claim that it is necessary to create a likable protagonist.

My work in progress (a Knife to the Heart) features twins, one generous and empathetic, the other self-centered and conniving. Why am I more drawn to the less "likable" twin?

Perhaps there is a part of all of us that identifies with the dark side as much as the light? How to make an antagonist intriguing, evil, yet but not totally repellent?

In my novel A Bridge to the Moon (working title) I create two very difficult characters who come together in a situation neither could have anticipated. They are forced to come to terms with one another throughout the course of the narrative. I attempted to track the changes brought about by their interaction, forcing each of them to become more empathetic (and likable) as they overcome their conflicts. I'm still working on that one. WRITE ON.