Is Rashta a villain? - The Remarried Empress character breakdown

While Reading the Remarried Empress, I noticed how much people despised Rashta in the comment section. I agreed because I felt the anger and annoyance as I watched her sabotage Navier’s life. However, I’ve now taken a more neutral position. I looked at the story from Rashta’s perspective, when I was working on a YouTube video titled ‘How a slave overthrew the Empress.’ That was when I started thinking differently about Rashta’s character, and I wondered if she truly is a villain.

In this blog, I will be debating whether Rashta is a villain or not and explaining why I think she is.

What makes a villlain

A villain is a character who causes mayhem. They seek to disrupt peace and inflict suffering. They typically do this for the sake of it, or because they enjoy it. A villain is usually synonymous with evil. If a character is a villain, it means they are also evil.

Rashta disrupted Navier’s peace from the moment she appeared; because she became involved in Navier’s marriage. She caused distress for Navier whether or not she meant to. Moreover, she intentionally ruined Duchess Tuania’s marriage; so rumors about her being a slave will reduce. While her actions match a typical villain's actions, there’s more to it.

What is an antagonist?

The antagonist is the character who has a goal that conflicts with the protagonist. Because of this, they stand against each other. I sometimes think of the antagonist as the protagonist of their own story.

Of course, the antagonist is not always a person. For example, forces of nature could be the antagonist stopping the protagonist from reaching their goal.

Without a doubt, Rashta is the antagonist of The Remarried Empress, along with Sovieshu. Her goal is to live in luxury, and she needs Navier’s husband to achieve that goal. Similarly, Navier needs Sovieshu to be an empress which causes them to clash.

If the story was from Rashta’s perspective, then Navier would be an antagonist. However, Navier wouldn’t be a villain.

The difference between antagonist and villain

"The villain is a character type, and the antagonist is a plot role.” - Annika Griffith

A villain can be described as a type of antagonist. However, Screencraft says a villain doesn’t have to be the antagonist. Similarly, the antagonist doesn’t have to be a villain. It’s a little bit confusing and there's a grey area when you consider anti-heroes and sympathetic villains.

In my opinion, most villains are two-dimensional in terms of their character descriptions and motivations. I think of characters like the evil stepmother in Cinderella when I think of a villain. They're antagonists who invoke fear or disgust and are easily described in one word - evil.

This isn't a bad thing. But my favorite stories have complex villains. Their complexity and depth create conversations between fans. For example, the antagonist/villain in Death Note and Madoka Magica.

I think it gets confusing because protagonists can share traits with villains, and antagonists can be kinder than protagonists. But these are also the types of complex characters I enjoy reading/watching.

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Quick tip -

There's no right or wrong answer, just the one your readers enjoy most.

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Is Rashta a villain?

[Spoilers for seasons 1 and 2 of the webtoon]

With everything that’s been written, Rashta is a villain. She puts herself before others, not caring who she hurts. Also, she stole the charity money Navier left behind. But the lines are blurry because of her circumstances.

Firstly, Rasta was a slave. This already is a terrible life to live and creates sympathy for her. It also explains why she is so desperate to stay with Sovieshu and escape her previous life.

Secondly, Rashta is pregnant. Most mothers want the best for their children. Due to her status, Rashta’s child will never be treated fairly, and she wants to make sure that doesn’t happen.

In addition, Rashta has no allies. She's in a mentally vulnerable position with no one to rely on. In comparison, Navier has her maids, family, and connections. Worst, the only friend Rashta has is probably using her.

While Rashta does have Sovieshu, she must share him with Navier. Moreover, Sovieshu starts to yearn for Navier in the second season of the webtoon. It seems like he’s only with Rashta for fun and for his first child.

All these things help readers understand Rashta as a character. She doesn’t seem like a two-dimensional character like some villains. Instead, she is in the grey area like a real person would be.

Rashta wasn't a villain from the start

Rashta from the first few chapters doesn’t strike me as a villain. She claimed that she wanted to be Navier’s friend but didn’t understand social etiquette. This led to Navier being offended and, in response, Rashta started crying.

I’m not certain of how much she is faking, but Rashta didn’t do anything to Navier at the start. Sovieshu kept forcing Navier to be friends with his mistress and humiliated his wife in public. Rashta didn’t tell him to behave how he did, although it did make her happy to see that Sovieshu is on her side.

Rashta became a true threat after she met Duke Ergi. He encouraged her to spread rumors and set up Duchess Tuania. He also encouraged her to go after the title of Empress. But he is likely manipulating her to make the eastern empire fall.

If Navier was the antagonist

I wonder, if Navier was the antagonist, would she be a villain? The main difference between both characters is their empathy for others. Rashta is very selfish, regardless of her past, this is a trait almost all villains share. Meanwhile, Navier is extremely caring.

Rashta's old master would be the main villain of her story if she was the protagonist and not Navier. This is because he is as selfish and cruel as she is.

There is a moment in the story where Rashta finds a blue bird. She picks it up and cares for it in her room. I think a 2-D villain would have ignored or killed the bird. Conversely, there is another moment where she has the feathers of a different bird plucked.

Rashta is a well written antagonist

Overall Rashta is a well-made antagonist with villainous traits and sad circumstances. She is the product of her environment, ambitiously clawing her way to the top.