What is a Foil Character?

As writers, we know how important it is to develop well-rounded characters through their actions, quirks, and mannerisms. Equally important, however, is getting to know characters based on what they are not—or, more specifically, who they are not.

This is where a foil character can help develop your protagonist through the simple yet underrated power of contrast.

In this article, Amanda Reynolds defines exactly what we mean by ‘foil characters,’ offering a breadth of examples from classic and contemporary fiction and explaining why you might want to include a foil character in your novel. Amanda Reynolds is the author of six bestselling psychological suspense novels, including her number-one bestseller Close to Me, which was developed into a major TV series. She coaches mystery, psychological suspense, and thriller at The Novelry, and with stories full of tension and conflict, Amanda has plenty of experience creating and developing exciting character foils. For aspiring writers and readers, she explores the ‘foil character’ device and demonstrates its value.

Foil character definition

What is a foil character, and what are literary foils? Let’s begin with the word ‘foil,’ as we are all wordsmiths, after all.

Like most words in the English language, ‘foil’ has multiple meanings: among others, a term that refers to the shining thin silver sheets we line our baking trays with, akin to a thin piece of metal put under a paste stone to add brilliance. It’s this latter meaning that leads us to foil characters—the players in our stories who shine a light on something, or rather someone, by contrasting their opposing attributes to pull focus to them, thus revealing our heroes more clearly.

How that works in practice is something I will demonstrate with practical examples of character foil.

It’s also worth noting that not every story has, or indeed, needs a foil, so I will also delve into the reasons to include one and what it might add to the emotional depth of not only your characters but the story itself. A neat tool to add to your craft kit.

Examples of foil characters 

When researching literary foil characters, several classic examples come up—for instance, the affable character of Dr. Watson set in stark contrast to his genius, if socially inept counterpart, Sherlock Holmes.

I wondered whether I had included foil characters in my own books, and—spoiler alert—I found that I had.

Foil characters in Amanda Reynolds’s Close to Me 

In Close to Me, there is a favorite character of mine called Thomas, brilliantly played in the TV adaptation by Nick Blood of Marvel fame.

I loved writing Thomas—the boyfriend of my main character’s daughter, who embodied everything that protagonist Jo feared and desired. Jo is drawn to Thomas but that very attraction terrifies her. She loves her daughter and yet is jealous of what she has: not only Thomas but the opportunities of being in her twenties that Jo is afraid Sash is about to throw away.

Thomas, both feckless and desirable, clashes with Jo’s traditional husband brilliantly, too, giving both sides an opportunity to point out each other’s many flaws. As one of the secondary characters, Thomas works hard as a foil and presented me with the opportunity to give him some killer lines! He also has his own stuff going on, and he connects deeply to the plot—which is important, too—flirting with Jo when he recognizes that need within her, knowing she will respond.

Thomas also has his insecurities, and the games he plays derive from those. He has more going on than seems at first glance. He is, in other words, hiding his truth. A mainstay of my genre of psychological thrillers.

Character foils in romance

But what about in other genres? Where do foil characters come into play there?

Take a classic romance like One Day by David Nicholls. Emma is studious, geeky, and working class, and sees herself as unattractive and lacking in confidence, whereas Dex is handsome, confident, and monied with every opportunity.

As their lives unfold and entwine over the next 20 years, Dex’s entitlement acts as a foil for Emma’s striving. She is frustrated by his lack of responsibility, to himself and others, including her, and sees it as selfishness. He is shamed by the mirror she holds up to his faults, eventually making him face up to them and the connection they have, which he doesn’t value enough.

Nic Caws, an editor here at The Novelry who specializes in historical fiction, romance, and mystery, says:

I love it when romantic interests are foils for each other! I guess that’s ‘opposites attract’ in romance-book lingo, but I find it can create the most satisfying character arcs because they are pushed by each other to consider things from a totally different perspective and to get out of their comfort zones. Any romance described as enemies to lovers, opposites attract, or grumpy/sunshine probably uses this.
—Nic Caws

Foil characters in science fiction and fantasy

Georgia Summers, who writes and edits for The Novelry in her specialism of sci-fi and fantasy, says:

I love foil characters and think they can be especially effective in conjunction with your theme. For example, if the theme is embodied by your main character’s journey, your foil character can make the argument against it, creating organic tension and conflict while adding cohesion and depth to your narrative.

My favorite foil character is probably Emeric from Little Thieves. Both he and the main character, Vanja, seek justice but by very different means, with Vanja operating outside of the law and Emeric operating within it. This contrast of opposing traits gives them delicious romantic tension because it puts them at odds with one another, even as they’re trying to achieve the same goal.
—Georgia Summers

Foil characters in classic novels

In The Great Gatsby, Nick, our narrator, acts as a foil for not only the wealthy Gatsby but also the decadence of the age, highlighting the carelessness of the uber-rich and the boredom, his gaze turning from envy in his first encounters with Gatsby and the Buchanans at their lavish gatherings to disappointment and even scorn as he is confounded by their lack of morality and complete absence of empathy.

Nick is a foil for Daisy, too, whom he initially is attracted to, but then sees as vacuous and driven only by material things. Jay Gatsby’s love for her is wasted. A tragic figure whom Nick has much more sympathy with and, indeed, more in common.

The social commentary is highlighted by the foil character of Nick, who becomes our eyes and ears. Without him, the book would be so very different. And yet he is a passive character, only involved when the protagonists need him—which again reflects his inferior status.

Why you should include foil characters

So why might we consider using a foil character in our works-in-progress?

As with much in writing, I would suggest you trust your gut and include one only on the basis that it feels right for your story. However, it’s certainly worth your consideration—you may well find potential within your existing cast that can be further developed.

• Does your main character have a backstory that influences how they act in the here and now of your story? If so, it is likely that it is linked to a foil character.
• Maybe your main character has a dominant parent whom they have never felt they made proud. Or a friend or sibling they compare themselves to. Ask yourself whose voice it is they hear that drives them on or defeats them, and you may have found your foil character.

Then you can let the reader in on that, subtly highlighting how the foil and your main character interact, and why. These relationships are always emotionally resonant for readers and get to the truth of your character’s motivations for behaving as they do, however crazy that might seem, creating deep character development that feels authentic.

The foil character should reflect opposing moral and social attributes

In Zoë Heller’s Notes on a Scandal (published in the U.S. as What Was She Thinking? ), Sheba Hart is a brilliant foil for the narrator, Barbara Covett. Even the names evoke their opposing personalities, and like a moth to a flame, priggish Barbara is enthralled by Sheba’s bohemian teaching approach and luxuriates in the friendship that develops, but when Sheba’s affair with a pupil is exposed, Barbara is both appalled and transfixed, reveling in her role as Sheba’s protector while horrified by the sordidness of the situation.

Barbara is, in some ways, a proxy moral compass, but she is much more than that. As a foil for Sheba’s free and happier life, she seeks to insinuate and eventually control that while revolted by the base impulses that drive her only friend, as her ordered life is disrupted, too.

A foil should, therefore, be more than a reflection of opposing moral and social attributes. They need to be, like all our characters, nuanced. At times sympathetic, at times maybe less so, or even repugnant. The contrast they provide enhances the depth of the protagonist’s personality and contributes to the narrative’s themes and conflicts.

Foil characters in Harry Potter

The roles can reverse, and we should see that development as moments of connection, too. Look at Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Arch enemies, they still share qualities that could bind them given different circumstances, something which is acknowledged by Harry when he tries to help Malfoy, a boy like him who is caught in a web of his upbringing, a legacy he cannot escape.

Foil characters in children’s and Young Adult fiction

This dynamic is also a feature of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series. As Simran Kaur Sandhu, one of our editors at The Novelry, says:

Percy Jackson and Luke Castellan are both characters who don’t like the establishment (Olympus) but go about attempting to make change in very different ways, mostly because of how the world has treated them/their parenting and having support or not having support. It leaves Luke open to being influenced by scary or more violent influences like Kronos, and we get the similar Draco beat in book 4, where he realizes he may be getting in a little too deep. The thing that makes these two so good is that their foil positions are constantly commented on throughout the series and are key to the twist in the ending.
—Simran Kaur Sandhu

Creating a foil character simply to highlight personality traits would likely feel forced, but often, characters arise naturally as foils, particularly when our protagonists find themselves thrown into extraordinary situations.

If you are trying to save the world, there will be someone who is simultaneously trying to destroy it. How interesting, then, to give an insight into the psyches of those opposing sets of values, and even better if neither is entirely good or bad.

Remember that even an evil genius has their own moral code. It may not align with the norm, but it has to make sense to them—and, to a degree, us too.

Foil characters in thrillers and psychological suspense

In Renee Knight’s Disclaimer—a recent book-to-screen adaptation showing on Apple TV starring Cate Blanchett—a widower (played superbly on screen by Kevin Kline) is hell-bent on revenge after a discovery that leads him to believe his son’s death is our protagonist’s fault.

The twists and turns are intricate, but Stephen Brigstocke’s quest never falters. He is a man reduced to desperation by his grief. His actions are reprehensible and yet completely rooted in an understandable motivation. He is the perfect foil character for a woman who seems to have everything despite what she’s done.

The necessary retribution is embodied in an old man who has nothing left to lose, a perfect foil to shine a light on all that Catherine has amassed: a career, a home, a husband, a son. Through Stephen’s loss, we see her gains, but her picture-perfect life is, of course, far from perfect. Her relationship with her son is fractured, her life built on secrets, her marriage crumbling.

Do we always need a foil character?

No, but they can earn a very valuable place in our stories if they are integral not only to the plot but also by underscoring the emotional traits of our characters. By opposing our protagonists with a secondary foil character, thus the contrast is highlighted.

This also creates spiky dialogues between characters who stand on either end of a spectrum, thereby opening up a debate on the page that the reader can also consider. Even better if there is no clear-cut answer, or at least some nuance to both sides.

It is not our job as authors to make up our readers’ minds, and few moral debates do not have two sides, but it’s endlessly interesting to be exposed to and ponder such polarized viewpoints.

So what can foil characters do for us as writers? Well, they can certainly stir things up, especially when our heroes resist change. They also enliven dialogue, ramp up tension (romantic or threat), and cement motivations.

We may not always justify the use of literary foils, but it seems pretty compelling to include them if we can. So how do we do that? Here are my top ten tips for writing a literary foil.

Ten tips for writing a foil character

1. Make sure their character traits are distinct enough from the protagonist’s.
2. Have the foil character disagree with our main character on the page.
3. Root motivations in their opposing opinions.
4. Nuance those opinions; make them real and believable.
5. Have your foil, even in the smallest way possible, convince us of their opinions.
6. Link your theme and plot to your literary foil: redemption, morality, loss, etc.
7. Make what happens in the story dependent on your protagonist overcoming their own obstacles rather than necessarily convincing their literary foil to change.
8. Ensure the main character exhibits change in the face of opposition. Without change, there is no story or believable characters.
9. Have fun with your foil: make them opinionated and acerbic, or fun and charming, or all those things and more.
10. Make sure, if you include a foil, that they add something tangible to the plot, as well as an extra element such as fun or danger—maybe both!

‍

Welcome home, writers. Join us on the world’s best creative writing courses to create, write and complete your book. Sign up and start today.