History JerkWithAHeartOfGold / Literature

* ''Literature/MrMen'': Mr. Clever and Little Miss Splendid are both egotistical, arrogant and tend to overestimate how clever/splendid they are, but it's shown in a number of stories and episodes of [[WesternAnimation/MrMenAndLittleMiss the 90s cartoon]] that they far from bad people.

* ''Literature/MrMen: Mr. Clever and Little Miss Splendid are both egotistical, arrogant and tend to overestimate how clever/splendid they are, but it's shown in a number of stories and episodes of [[WesternAnimation/MrMenAndLittleMiss the 90s cartoon]] that they far from bad people.

* Henry Bacon from [[Literature/{{Dragons}} The Last Dragon Chronicles]].

*** He also holds a borderline homicidal grudge against Sirius Black in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]''. However, at the time, he still [[spoiler: believes that Sirius betrayed (and thus indirectly killed) James and Lily Potter, so the outburst is likely attributed to his life-long love of Lily (Evans) Potter, Harry's mother (then again, given that it was Snape himself who told Voldemort about the prophecy which placed a target on the Potters' backs, it would still be at least a little hypocritical of him to hold a grudge against anyone over this). In any event, his rivalry with Sirius is much tamer in all later moments in the books when he has been assured of Sirius' innocence, even going so far as checking up on Sirius' safety when Harry has visions of him trapped in the Ministry with Voldemort]]. Not to mention [[spoiler:Sirius and James routinely bullied Snape throughout their time in school, and Sirius tried to feed Snape to a werewolf at one point, so they aren't starting from a great point.]]

*** He also holds a borderline homicidal grudge against Sirius Black in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]''. However, at the time, he still [[spoiler: believes that Sirius betrayed (and thus indirectly killed) James and Lily Potter, so the outburst is likely attributed to his life-long love of Lily (Evans) Potter, Harry's mother. His rivalry with Sirius is much tamer in all later moments in the books when he has been assured of Sirius' innocence, even going so far as checking up on Sirius' safety when Harry has visions of him trapped in the Ministry with Voldemort]]. Not to mention [[spoiler:Sirius and James routinely bullied Snape throughout their time in school, and Sirius tried to feed Snape to a werewolf at one point, so they aren't starting from a great point.]]

** Clear Sky as well. Sure, first he takes a Level in Jerkass[[took a level in jerkass]], but later on, his encounters with Gray Wing show there's still a heart

* The title character of ''{{Literature/Eloise}}''. While certain parents take offence at her being the ScrewySquirrel, in reality Eloise is shown especially in the adaptations as a caring, generous person, giving gifts to Plaza Hotel employees and the less fortunate.

-->'''Sain:''' "So, he's [[HiddenHeartOfGold secretly a softie?]]"\\
'''Ahrek:''' "Deep down, yes."

* Sir Gerald, father of ''Literature/LordPeterWimsey'' is an English country nobleman of the first water; a stubborn, reactionary, HotBlooded BoisterousBruiser. However, when given the choice between his own and that of an innocent woman ([[spoiler:The woman is his mistress, and she is married to a deeply abusive man. Sir Gerald is accused of murder and she could provide him with an alibi, but then her husband would almost certainly beat her to death.]]) he chooses the former without hesitation. He also doesn't hesitate to give his son permission to marry Harriet Vane, a woman of significantly lower status and ''quite'' the reputation, after he has been convinced she isn't a GoldDigger but really loves Peter.

** [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] and demolished with regards to Albert, Death's manservant. "And it's no good thinking you can appeal to my better nature under this here crusty exterior, 'cos my interior's pretty damn crusty as well." [[spoiler: He ''was'' the head of Unseen University at its most cutthroat, after all.]]
** Despite her intimidating demeanor, Granny Weatherwax is a good witch, albeit with much reluctance. She's hard and sharp as flint, but that's because she likes to test people; as Tiffany Aching notes in ''Discworld/AHatFullOfSky'', witches do their hardest work on "the edge" (between life and death, right and wrong, and so on), and "the edge is no place for people to break."
*** In ''Discworld/{{Wintersmith}}'', Granny makes very, very sure that Tiffany is out of sight before she takes in the kitten Tiffany left on her doorstep. She has a reputation to maintain.
** Moist von Lipwig fits this to a degree (though he is more of a reformed GentlemanThief), in that all his plans are self-serving, but he usually manages to do a ton of good deeds along the way. In ''Discworld/MakingMoney'', he reflects: "Am I really a bastard or am I just really good at thinking like one?"

* Sir Gerald, father of ''Literature/LordPeterWimsey'' is an English country nobleman of the first water; a stubborn, reactionary, HotBlooded BoisterousBruiser. However, when given the choice between his own and that of an innocent woman ([[spoiler:The woman is his mistress, and she is married to a deeply abusive man. Sir Gerald is accused of murder and she could provide him with an alibi, but then her husband would almost certainly beat her to death.]]) he chooses the former without hesitation. He also doesn't hesitate to give his son permission to marry Harriet Vane, a woman of significantly lower status and ''quite'' the reputation, after he has been convinced she isn't a GoldDigger but really loves Peter.

*** He also holds a borderline homicidal grudge against Sirius Black in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]''. However, at the time, he still [[spoiler: believes that Sirius betrayed (and thus indirectly killed) James and Lily Potter, so the outburst is likely attributed to his life-long love of Lily (Evans) Potter, Harry's mother. His rivalry with Sirius is much tamer in all later moments in the books when he has been assured of Sirius' innocence, even going so far as checking up on Sirius' safety when Harry has visions of him trapped in the Ministry with Voldemort]]. Not to mention [[spoiler:Sirius and Harry's routinely bullied Snape throughout their time in school, and Sirius tried to feed Snape to a werewolf at one point.]]
** Sirius Black and as his best friend, James Potter fit as well, as they mostly seemed to have been popular and well liked, numerous flashbacks show them being downright cruel to Snape on numerous occasions, and Lily originally disliked James for being a bully.

** Ron fits too. Despite being [[DownplayedTrope considerably nicer]] than many examples, he is rather [[FieryRedhead hot-tempered]] and throws a number of fits when he is displeased with Harry and [[BelligerentSexualTension Hermione]]. Of course, when his best friends are [[BadassBookworm probably the most capable witch their age]] and TheChosenOne it's easy to feel like the third wheel, and in the end one of his defining traits is his UndyingLoyalty to his friends and family.

* Severus Snape of the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series perhaps walks the line between this and all out {{Jerkass}}. He's ridiculously biased towards Slytherin, he has a particularly nasty grudge against Harry Potter and his associates [[spoiler:due to the actions of Harry's father]], and holds a nearly-homicidal grudge against [[spoiler:Sirius Black for his childhood antics]]. And yet, in the end, he [[spoiler:was in fact fanatically devoted to Dumbledore, saving Harry's life and eventually getting himself killed by Voldemort]].
** The grudge against [[spoiler:Sirius Black appears nearly homicidal only in the scene in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' in which he has an emotional outburst at Sirius' escape. However, at the time, he still believes that Sirius is responsible for the betrayal of James and Lily Potter, and so the outburst can be attributed for his life-long love of Lily (Evans) Potter, Harry's mother, another major addition to his "heart of gold" status. His rivalry with Sirius is much tamer in all later moments in the books when he has been assured of Sirius' innocence, even going so far as checking up on Sirius' safety when Harry has visions of him trapped in the Ministry with Voldemort]].
** Not to mention [[spoiler:Sirius tried to feed him to a werewolf when he was sixteen and routinely bullied him]], so it's understandable.
** Speaking of which, Sirius Black himself fits this trope, as well as his best friend, James Potter.
** While not a jerk, Horace Slughorn seems to be rather more concerned about his influence and knowing famous people than being a decent person, as well as being a bit 'old fashioned' (He seems to find the idea of muggle-borns being really good witches novel but to his credit doesn't hold it against said witches and seems to like such a surprise). However, [[spoiler:his terrible guilt over what he revealed to the young Tom Riddle as well as his willingness to personally fight Voldemort in the final book]] show that there's more to him than connections and influence.
** Ron fits pretty well too. Despite being [[DownplayedTrope considerably nicer]] than many examples, he is rather [[FieryRedhead hot-tempered]] and can be incredibly insensitive (especially to [[BelligerentSexualTension Hermione]]). However, one of the defining traits of his character is his UndyingLoyalty to his friends and family.

* Vidia from the Franchise/DisneyFairies series is usually described as the nastiest fairy, and has been shown time and again to be condescending to others, and only care about herself. Yet in ''Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg'', she shared the last of her dust to save Neverland, and has occasionally shown a soft spot for Prilla.

* Ripred the Gnawer (read: rat) from ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'' is this. He's an antisocial semi-loner with only a small band of outcasts around him, and doesn't respect anyone unless they earn it from him. He has his moments, such as in ''Gregor the Overlander'' comforting Gregor after one of the quest members dies and he feels it's his fault, but in ''Gregor and the Code of Claw'', [[spoiler:we learn he had a family that drowned in an event described in ''Gregor and the Mark of Secret''. He had a daughter, named Silksharp, that liked to do math puzzles and was apparently not very strong-bodied. Lizzie, the middle child of Gregor's family, reminds her of him. One of the SugarWiki/{{heartwarming moments}} of the book is him comforting Lizzie in the middle of the night after she has a panic attack.]]