Thinking about it, yes, I do want the redeemed villain to suffer a bit. I want any villain to suffer, and doing good things doesn't erase what you've already done. Why do I want the suffering? I think it comes from the fact that I have a very strong sense of justice and fairness, most similar to the Wiccan three-fold law (whatever you do, good or bad, comes back to three-times over) and the Buddhist concept of karma (or at least what my largely uneducated Western mind understands karma to be). I think that if you cause suffering, it's only right that you also endure suffering. That's what's fair.
Of course, the real world doesn't work this way. Lots of horrible monsters escape scot free. But if I wanted nothing but realism, I'd watch the news 24/7 instead of enjoying fiction.
While the example you gave a villain going off and finding spiritual enlightenment is certainly interesting, to me, it's deeply unsatisfying. Plus, if the villain did come back to spread his wisdom, I know that my reaction would be big old "Fuck you. What right do you have to lecture me?"
I couldn't tell you why I find this justice so important, beyond the fact that it's simply part of my root morals.
Now, the next question is "How should the villain suffer?" The first option is suffering delivered by the universe. I find this to be the least satisfying. There's no real cause and effect, I feel. The villain isn't suffering because of the cruelty that she inflicted, she's just suffering. It does make sense from a narrative point of view, but I tend to get more involved in the story than that.
The second option is suffering inflicted by the villains victims, in other words, revenge. I have mixed feelings on revenge. On one hand, it's a truly deserved type of suffering. To use an example from one of my fandoms, once you've tortured, raped, and murdered someone, any desire they have for revenge is going to seem pretty damn reasonable. On the other hand, causing suffering is bad, no matter why you're doing it, even if the person really, really deserves it. This concern is more out of a worry for the character taking revenge than anything else. There's also the "it's not as if it fixes anything" approach, but I'm not sure that I can make that argument, given what I've said earlier.
The third suffering option, and my favorite, is when the villain makes himself suffer. I would argue that there's no redemption until there's true regret. Without regret, the villain isn't a better person, she's just doing something different. (Which is fine as a narrative trope and plot point, it's just not redemption.) And though this may be my overdeveloped guilt complex speaking, I believe that guilt should come with that regret. More than suffering itself, guilt and regret show to me a desire to change.
None of this means that I don't believe that the villain has to do good works. I think they're vital. Good works and regret are, to me, the requirements for redemption. Suffering alone doesn't prove anything. Any asshole can suffer. To change, you need to work at it.
Does this mean that I would have no interest in a redeemed villain who decided that guilt was worthless, she'd done what she'd done, and the only thing worth doing was making things better? No, not at all. If done well, such a character could be very interesting. It would just be a bit more work to sell her to me.
Here via metafandom
Of course, the real world doesn't work this way. Lots of horrible monsters escape scot free. But if I wanted nothing but realism, I'd watch the news 24/7 instead of enjoying fiction.
While the example you gave a villain going off and finding spiritual enlightenment is certainly interesting, to me, it's deeply unsatisfying. Plus, if the villain did come back to spread his wisdom, I know that my reaction would be big old "Fuck you. What right do you have to lecture me?"
I couldn't tell you why I find this justice so important, beyond the fact that it's simply part of my root morals.
Now, the next question is "How should the villain suffer?" The first option is suffering delivered by the universe. I find this to be the least satisfying. There's no real cause and effect, I feel. The villain isn't suffering because of the cruelty that she inflicted, she's just suffering. It does make sense from a narrative point of view, but I tend to get more involved in the story than that.
The second option is suffering inflicted by the villains victims, in other words, revenge. I have mixed feelings on revenge. On one hand, it's a truly deserved type of suffering. To use an example from one of my fandoms, once you've tortured, raped, and murdered someone, any desire they have for revenge is going to seem pretty damn reasonable. On the other hand, causing suffering is bad, no matter why you're doing it, even if the person really, really deserves it. This concern is more out of a worry for the character taking revenge than anything else. There's also the "it's not as if it fixes anything" approach, but I'm not sure that I can make that argument, given what I've said earlier.
The third suffering option, and my favorite, is when the villain makes himself suffer. I would argue that there's no redemption until there's true regret. Without regret, the villain isn't a better person, she's just doing something different. (Which is fine as a narrative trope and plot point, it's just not redemption.) And though this may be my overdeveloped guilt complex speaking, I believe that guilt should come with that regret. More than suffering itself, guilt and regret show to me a desire to change.
None of this means that I don't believe that the villain has to do good works. I think they're vital. Good works and regret are, to me, the requirements for redemption. Suffering alone doesn't prove anything. Any asshole can suffer. To change, you need to work at it.
Does this mean that I would have no interest in a redeemed villain who decided that guilt was worthless, she'd done what she'd done, and the only thing worth doing was making things better? No, not at all. If done well, such a character could be very interesting. It would just be a bit more work to sell her to me.