Foil

Takeaways

• A foil shares enough surface to make the contrast legible.
• The foil need not be antagonistic.
• A foil's choices throw the protagonist's choices into relief.

Overview

A foil is a secondary character whose contrasting traits highlight the qualities, choices, or trajectory of another character. The foil need not oppose, only differ in a meaningful axis.

Examples

• A reckless brother to a cautious one.
• A devout neighbour to a doubting protagonist.
• A second courtship that exposes the protagonist's first.