Failed redemption arcs

[Heartlock]

So I am sure that we can all agree, Redemption arcs are awes, but as most things in life. They can’t possibly work out 100% of the time. So I have a rather simple question to ask. What is a good/correct reason for a character to fail at redemption?

this is of course under a few assumptions, first being that redemption is possible (they are given chances to change and their personality can change) assumption 2,they aren’t doing it alone, all redemption arcs need a guide to keep the character on their path. (Think of uncle iroh for zuko in ATLA). Assumption 3 they want to change/gain forgiveness. Our character needs to desire making up for their past transgressions.

my thought about this is to have her fail and fail and fail and be betrayed and fail to the point where she starts thinking that forgiveness is just not something she can achieve.
Or for her to be condemned and looked down upon by people she cares about (like her sister getting angry that she wants to change)

what can take the momentum out of the sail so much that the character can no longer achieve redemption?

please leave your thoughts

 

[Echimera]

Well, lack of actual character growth can be a big reason to fail a redemption arc.
If the character shows no actual remorse over the previous misdeeds or even continues to act in similar ways, especially without repurcussions (or even with praise from previous victims).
This can clash with your point 3, depending on how you see it. Like, the character may say (and at some point even actually think) that they want to change, but ultimately just never actually do anything to be better beyond a token effort.

Derived from that, if other characters, especial previous victims, make it too easy and are too forgiving, can be a purely external factor as well and actually lead to the situation I described. Even if the redemptee has the drive, if the goal is set too close, they may be damned to fail from the start.

A big part of the specifics probably depends on what exactly the previous misdeeds are, as that detemins in which way the redemptee has to grow and how they can fail.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Jean Paul Sartre wrote a very cool novel where characters fail at redemption arcs - "Les Jeux Son Faits"; the characters are given a chance at the one thing they missed out on in life - love - but put their own former concerns ahead of each other and fail at not just their relationship but also the stuff they failed at the first time. And yet it is almost a satisfying failure, definitely a bittersweet one.
Our Creative Writing class teacher had us pick a point in this story or one other (don't remember the other, but about 2/3 of the class preferred it over Sartre) and re-write the final chapter; most had them complete the redemption arc but fail at the other things they tried; I think I was the only one who had them SUCCEED at the stuff they tried to do on the side, yet still fail to reconnect because... well... the bets are placed...

 

[cabbag3]

Jean Paul Sartre wrote a very cool novel where characters fail at redemption arcs - "Les Jeux Son Faits"; the characters are given a chance at the one thing they missed out on in life - love - but put their own former concerns ahead of each other and fail at not just their relationship but also the stuff they failed at the first time. And yet it is almost a satisfying failure, definitely a bittersweet one.

Is there a trope for this type of bittersweet satisfying failed redemption/ failure in general?
I think most of us have watched or read something similar, and I think it's a good brain cleanser if I'm watching too much brainrot.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Is there a trope for this type of bittersweet satisfying failed redemption/ failure in general?
I think most of us have watched or read something similar, and I think it's a good brain cleanser if I'm watching too much brainrot.

I haven't been able to find a single, specific trope, but the literary form is called "Determinism" - that our choices are "baked in" by who we are, and even if we know better, we will still pursue them.

 

[laccoff_mawning]

What is a good/correct reason for a character to fail at redemption?

I think the only satisfying reason you'll ever get is because that character doesn't actually want to change. That is, the character wants all the benefits of being a changed person, but doesn't want to become that changed person.

In other words, I don't think it's possible unless:

Assumption 3 they want to change/gain forgiveness. Our character needs to desire making up for their past transgressions.

This is only true on the surface level for the character.

 

[Dragon_SAMA]

What is a good/correct reason for a character to fail at redemption?
The rewards from the evil are so great that they can't leave it.
some selfishness of the protagonist herself to not leave the evil.
pressure from the society and those around her, can keep her shackled to the evil.
Her social conditioning, [knowing its wrong but still doing it because that's how she was taught]
Revenge can be a good reason.
excess of any seven deadly sins can also be a reason for it.