and
his monster In
Emily Brontë's 1847 novel
Wuthering Heights, Edgar Linton is described as opposite to main character
Heathcliff, in looks, money, inheritance and morals, however similar in their love for Catherine. In
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, an 1818 novel by
Mary Shelley, the two main characters—
Dr. Frankenstein and his "creature"—are literary foils to each other, functioning to compare one to the other. In
David Copperfield, an 1850 novel by
Charles Dickens, Edward Murdstone's marriage to David's mother Clara, contrasts with David's future marriage to Dora Spenlow, presented with a different outcome if David had endeavored to subdue his wife's caprices, as did Edward Murdstone with Clara's. In
Jane Austen's 1813 novel
Pride and Prejudice, Mary's absorption in her studies places her as a foil to her sister
Elizabeth Bennet's lively and distracted nature. Similarly, in
William Shakespeare's tragedy
Julius Caesar, the character Brutus has foils in the two characters
Cassius and
Mark Antony. In the play
Romeo and Juliet,
Romeo and
Mercutio serve as character foils for one another, as well as
Macbeth and
Banquo in the play
Macbeth. In the tragedy
Hamlet, a foil is created between
Laertes and
Prince Hamlet to elaborate the differences between the two men. In Act V Scene 2, Prince Hamlet tells Laertes that he will
fence with him and states, "I'll be your
foil, Laertes" (5.2.272). This
word play reveals the foil between Hamlet and Laertes that was developed throughout the play. George and Lennie are foils to each other in John Steinbeck's 1937 novella
Of Mice and Men. Lennie is huge and strong as a bull but mentally slow, while George is small, skinny and very smart. In
Frank Herbert's 1965
science fiction novel
Dune,
Feyd-Rautha serves as the narrative foil to
Paul Atreides. While both characters are heirs of powerful noble houses, feature in the plans of the
Bene Gesserit, and have received extensive combat training, Paul is compassionate and wishes to avoid war while Feyd is portrayed as interested solely in the acquisition of power. In the
Harry Potter series,
Draco Malfoy can be seen as a foil to the
Harry Potter character;
Professor Snape enables both characters "to experience the essential adventures of
self-determination" but they make different choices; Harry chooses to oppose
Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters wholeheartedly, whereas Draco (whose parents remained sympathetic to Voldemort's cause) struggles with his allegiances through the whole series. Another foil to Harry in this series is
Tom Riddle. Tom and Harry are frequently juxtaposed with one another: both are "Half-Bloods" of similar physical features, and both are intelligent and powerful magicians. Yet while similar in looks and capability, they are dissimilar in their morality, emphasising the importance of choice as opposed to destiny. Their aforementioned similarity is undercut by the fact that Harry —who, whilst an orphan, is the child of a loving marriage— subsequently thrives whereas Voldemort —
conceived forcibly under the spell of a "love potion"— is stated as incapable of love and empathy due to his parentage, which ushers in his desire for power and domination. Likewise, with Harry being "marked" at birth as Voldemort's enemy via prophecy, his antagonism towards Voldemort's evil actions is not made from a point of moral impartiality, but from an antipathy that was effectively selected for him. ==See also==