The protagonist is the principal character of a story, the person whose goals, choices and struggles drive the plot and whose fate the reader follows most closely.
Where the term comes from
Britannica explains that in ancient Greek drama the protagonist was the first or leading actor. The poet Thespis is credited with introducing this first actor, who stood opposite the chorus. According to Aristotle's Poetics, Aeschylus then added a second actor and Sophocles a third, and one actor could play more than one character. The term has since come to mean the principal character in a novel, story or drama. Merriam-Webster gives the same definition and adds that the Greek word literally means first struggler, which is a handy way to remember that a protagonist is defined by struggle, not by being likable.
An example
In a novel set at a river ferry, Juniper Kell, a ticket seller, is the protagonist. She wants to keep the ferry running after the company announces it will sell the service. Every scene we follow matters to that goal: she bargains with the mayor, lies to an inspector and eventually rows the last passenger across herself. Other characters, such as the inspector, Dorian Ault, have their own stories, but the book keeps returning to Juniper because her choices push the plot, and the ending is a verdict on what she does.
Common mistakes
- Making the protagonist passive, with events happening to them rather than because of them.
- Equating protagonist with hero. Merriam-Webster's entry on antagonist observes that there may occasionally be an evil protagonist, and a flawed lead can be more interesting than a perfect one.
- Giving the main character no clear want, so the story has no spine.
- Sharing the story among so many leads that no one's struggle gets space. In a book with several viewpoints, make sure each lead has their own goal.
- Mistaking the narrator for the protagonist. They may be different people, as when a friend tells the story of someone else.
How to check your manuscript
Name the person who wants something badly and has the most to lose. Count the chapters where they act, rather than watch. Ask what they want in chapter one, what they want in the middle and what they have in the final scene. If you cannot answer in a sentence, the book may be unsure whose story it is. Then compare with the antagonist, whose opposition gives the want its resistance. The character profile template is a handy place to keep the answers.
In Musael, world and characters keeps each character as an entry with relations and mentions, so you can see how often the protagonist appears in the text.