Every great story has a villain and a trickster. Occasionally these two meet and create a dynamic super-villain. It is the trickster traits created by William Hynes and Lewis Hyde that explain the motivation behind their actions. Hynes breaks his traits down into six categories while Hyde maintains only one. Hynes believes tricksters are defined by an ambiguous and anomalous nature, actions of deceit and trickery, shape-shifting, situation inversion, bricoleur, and imitation of the gods. Hyde maintains that all tricksters are motivated by a hunger, be it food or otherwise. When thinking of these traits the many incarnations of James Moriarty come to mind but none quite resonate with each of them like that played by Andrew Scott in BBC’s series Sherlock. In this recent adaption, Moriarty is driven by an insatiable need to best Sherlock Holmes through a series of clever competitions crafted by Moriarty himself. Moriarty is able to become a true trickster buy using his drive to best Sherlock Holmes and publicly disgrace him through powers of situation inversion, shape-shifting, bricoleur, and an anomalous nature that become so convincing the public, along with the hero are never sure what his next step will be.
Hynes theory of ambiguity and anomaly characterizes Moriarty because every move he makes has a flair for the dramatic, acting on the outs of social and cultural norms, and promoting only his own agenda. Moriarty is unafraid to kill, mame, and torture others emotionally and physically to fulfill his desire of beating Sherlock Holmes. Acting as a “criminal consultant” Moriarty is responsible for most of the crimes in the series as either a sponsor, informant, or mastermind. Moriarty is a psychopath with dark tendencies appearing...
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...he personified “dark side’ of Sherlock Holmes; whereas Holmes created the job “consulting detective” Moriarty became a “consulting criminal.” While tricksters most commonly are devilish jokers, Moriarty plays the crucial role of motivating the hero. He pushes Holmes to solve the mysterious and in his pursuit for reason. Moriarty is a true trickster in the way he plays his games and sets his traps. To Moriarty, everything is a game and every move has a reason.
Works Cited
Hyde, Lewis. Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art. 1997. Web.
Hynes, William. Trickster Makes the World . Web.
Crossley- Holland, Kevin. The Norse Myths. New York: Pantheon, 1980. Print.
Martin, Richard P. Myths of the Ancient Greeks. New York: New American Library, 2003. Print.
Moffat, Steven, dir. "The Great Game, The Reichenbach Fall ." Sherlock. BBC: 25 July 2010. Television.
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