A stock character is a fictional character that relies heavily on cultural types or stereotypes for its personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. Stock characters are instantly recognizable to members of a given culture.
Stock characters in the western tradition originate from the theatres of ancient Greece and Rome, and, somewhat more recently, from the Italian Commedia Dell'arte.
Stock characters
The Damsel in Distress: the young, beautiful, virginal woman who must be rescued from some cruel fate by the Hero (see below), la Penelope Pitstop.
The Ingenue, also young, beautiful and virginal, in mental or emotional rather than physical danger, usually a target of The Cad (see below).
The femme fatale, La belle dame sans merci, the Black Widow, the beautiful, but evil woman who leads the hero to his doom.
The Fop: The fop is a highly fashionable aristocrat. He is typically overdressed and his speech is characterized by over-use or misuse of popular phrases (often French phrases) or various forms of hypercorrection. The fop is never intelligent and always talkative. (The Hero sometimes poses as a fop to allay his enemies' suspicions: Zorro hid behind the image of the Fop, Don Diego. The Scarlet Pimpernel hid behind the persona of Sir Percy Blakeney.)
The Fool: The fool is a clown or joker who speaks in riddles and puns. Often, the fool is intelligent and witty and reveals key truths about the characters he fools with (Shakespeare's fools, such as the ones in Twelfth Night and King Lear, are well-known examples).
The Henchman: a major villain's frequently incompetent stooge. (Heroes have sidekicks; villains have henchmen.)
The Mad Scientist: The insane man of science (often based around a caricature of Albert Einstein), who either accidentally or intentionally "meddles with the forces of nature" and causes the trouble which the hero must correct. Well-known examples are Doctor Frankenstein and Dr. Strangelove.
The Miser: a wealthy, greedy man who lives miserably in order to save and increase his treasure. Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge is an obvious example.
The Noble Savage (and a related subtype, the Magical Negro): a representative of a disadvantaged or disempowered ethnic group or culture who aids the (usually white) Hero by helping him out of a jam or introducing him to spiritual enlightenment.
The Outlaw: sometimes a cold-blooded desperado, but also often a gallant highwayman or a dashing thief after the manner of Robin Hood.
The Rake or Cad: The Rake is a man who seduces a young woman and impregnates her before leaving, often to her social or financial ruin. Often portrayed as a heavy drinker or gambler. Also known as a rake-hell. To call the character a rake calls attention to his promiscuity and wild spending of money; to call the character a cad implies a callous seducer who coldly breaks his victim's heart. See: Hogarth's "A Rake's Progress".
The Avenger: The Avenger is a hot-blooded young man who has had a loved one (ideally a fiance) cruelly murdered and/or raped and seeks his revenge outside the law. (Laertes in Hamlet and Hamlet himself, as well as Amsterdam from the film Gangs of New York are examples of Avengers.) - Also commonly applies to situations such as son of a Rake
The Sidekick: the Hero's helper, Sancho Panza in Don Quixote, Dr. Watson in Sherlock Holmes. The Sidekick is often a figure of fun, but is trustworthy and sometimes shows surprising resourcefulness and bravery. In whodunnits and secondary literature on detective fiction in general, the Sidekick is often referred to as the Watson – slightly dumber than the average reader, time and again overlooking decisive clues, occasionally drawing the wrong conclusions (such as Capt. Hastings, a friend of Hercule Poirot's).
The Wise Old Man: a Merlin or Yoda figure, who trains and advises the Hero; often portrayed as a wizard and/or hermit.
The Tart with a Heart: Outwardly tough and hard, she hides a heart of gold under her hard-bitten exterior. The modern interpretation of this character is often "The Stripper (also Whore or Hooker) with a Heart of Gold".
The Town Drunk: who serves as a figure of fun, serves as a moral example, or is used as a plot device to disrupt public gatherings.
The Whiz Kid: Brainy sidekick to the hero. Often, physically the weakest of the group. As a result, he can be useless in a fight, but knows his way around computers and technical stuff. Often witty in an erudite way. Typically talks using big words.
The Jokester: Often a part of a group of adventurers. Not to be confused with the fool, The Jokester copes with the seriousness of the situation (often war) with constant good humor. Sometimes they may be crying on the inside. Or their laughter might mask insecurities. Occasionally, his perpetual good humor can be annoying but they are always loved by their teammates. Nightcrawler of the X-Men is an example. Hawkeye Pierce of MASH is another.
The use of allegorical characters, such as Death, Everyman, Strength, Discretion, Beauty, Fellowship, Knowledge, and Good-Deeds, Avaricia, is a device not unlike the use of stockcharacters.
A stockcharacter, often used in childrenâs books and films, who originally was a clear cut villain, often a loyal or high ranking one, who is sent to infiltrate and betray the âgood guysâ.
A background character who, unlike others, survives on skill instead of luck or because the plot requires it as is often the case with the major characters.
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