Rough Heroes

Abstract

This essay is a response to Anne Eaton’s case for the position in the ethics of narrative fiction known as “immoralism,” or as she calls it “Robust Immoralism.” Her examples in behalf of immoralism include the cultivation of positive attitudes on the part of the audience toward characters like Tony Soprano in the television series The Sopranos. In contrast to Eaton, the author argues that the case for “rough heroes” is based on what he calls “the narrative fallacy” and that currying sympathy for rough heroes is not, pace Eaton, a very challenging artistic feat.