Protagonist and deuteragonist

You already know about the protagonist, or main character of the story. You also know about the antagonist, the character who opposes the protagonist. But do you know what a deuteragonist is? 

The deuteragonist is the secondary main character of a story. They can either support or oppose the main character. A deuteragonist can be the antagonist, a loyal companion or sidekick, or a love interest. Samwise Gangee, Dr. Watson, and Elizabeth Swann are all examples of deuteragonists.

The word deuteragonist comes from ancient Greek, much like the terms protagonist and antagonist. The word means “second actor.” Ancient Greek dramas traditionally had one actor (the protagonist) and a chorus. Playwright Aeschylus is credited by Aristotle with introducing the deuteragonist to ancient Greek dramas.

How do I develop a deuteragonist for my story?

Your deuteragonist should be as fully developed as your protagonist. Even though they’re not the main character, they should have wants, needs, goals, and intentions. Think carefully about their character arc, how they will grow throughout the story, and the ways in which they both compliment and cause tension with the protagonist.

You should go about developing your deuteragonist in the same way that you’d develop your protagonist or any other important character. Some people like to journal from the point of view of their characters. Others like to create an elaborate backstory that the reader or viewer will never know about. I personally like to choose one guiding “want” for the character, and then a deeper seated “need” that requires them to let go of their want. For example, a character who wants to avoid confrontation may actually need to speak truth to power and disrupt oppressive systems. Once I’ve decided that, it’s my job as the writer to create a character arc that takes them from their initial form (pursuing the want) to their new form (embracing the need.)

If your POV allows, your B plot may center around your deuteragonist. A B plot isn’t the main thrust of the story, but it’s an important way to keep your audience interested, round out secondary characters, and take a brief break from the main storyline. Even if the B plot doesn’t strictly belong to the deuteragonist, featuring them can be a good way to add depth to the relationship between protagonist and deuteragonist. For example, think of an action-adventure story with a romance B plot. In the main plot, the protagonist is going on adventures and potentially endangering themselves. In that storyline, we get to see one side of them. In the B plot, the romance storyline, we get to see them with the deuteragonist, their love interest, being tender, emotional, and human. Without the deuteragonist, we’d never get to see that side of our hero, and they would seem less multi dimensional. In this example, the deuteragonist serves to humanize the main character.