Are these two contradictory reactions?

After sharing his completely fabricated tales about kicking ass everywhere about Geatland and the Norwegian sea, AB!Beowulf gets into a heated argument with Unferth about the legitimacy of his boasts. In retaliation the kid uses his seiðr ability to take a glimse into his mind and see his insecurities, and he reveals for all to hear that Unferth was directly responsible for the death of his brother. Unferth gets really upset and defensive and makes accusations of unmanliness, niþinghood and seiðr practition before rushing out.

After Beowulf uses seiðr to kill Grendel, instead of being grateful for what he's done, the population of Heorot including Hrothgar call him niþing, liar, warlock and unmanly for knowing seiðr *

and threaten to throw him out. They don't want to believe that a "deceiver and traitor to his own sex" is their hero.

Guess who stands up for him? Unferth. His reasoning is no matter what the circumstances or what he's like, this young man saved Heorot, and it doesn't matter how.

Are Unferth's opinions/actions believable or contradictory? Unferth still disapproves of Beowulf's ways, but has no problem with the way he uses them.

edited 26th May '11 3:49:14 AM by annebeeche

Banned entirely for telling FE that he was being rude and not contributing to the discussion. I shall watch down from the goon heavens.

No. It's a type of philosophy. Uhm, ever read Watchmen? Rorshach defends a man because he is "a hero" despite anything else he has done.

Now, Rorshach wasn't portrayed in the best of light, mind you, but a more toned down version is perfectly fine.

I mean, just because you're a douche bag does not mean your accomplishments necessarily go away. Being a jerk ass does not make you wrong, etc. etc.

edited 26th May '11 4:09:43 AM by MrAHR

Read my stories!

A character can have contradictory reactions and still be perfectly believable, real people are complex like that. In this case, I see no problem.

Although, Reality Is Unrealistic, so I advise you have him use this quality of his at an earlier point for an unrelated situation.

Read my stories!

That sounds like a good idea, but Unferth doesn't speak his first line until he criticizes Beowulf.

Banned entirely for telling FE that he was being rude and not contributing to the discussion. I shall watch down from the goon heavens.

Does he do anything in between that and his defense of Beowulf?

Read my stories!

My Dad took an Old English class where they studied the sagas, so I described your plot to him and asked his opinion. His answer is that it does sound plausible - it would be an honor thing. Because he saved all their lives, Beowulf deserves honor, even if he has other aspects they don't like. (Honor was a very big deal to that culture.)

If I'm asking for advice on a story idea, don't tell me it can't be done.

Wow, thanks a lot for the valuable input! I never even considered it from that angle.

Banned entirely for telling FE that he was being rude and not contributing to the discussion. I shall watch down from the goon heavens.