Who Is The Antagonist In 'It Starts With Us'?

2025-06-26 04:13:29
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3 Answers

Damien
Damien
Favorite read: It Ends With Us
Detail Spotter Cashier
The antagonist in 'It Starts With Us' is Atlas Corrigan's abusive father, Richard. This guy is pure nightmare fuel—a manipulative, violent drunk who made Atlas's childhood hell. He's not just a typical bad dad; he's the kind of villain who leaves scars both physical and emotional. What makes him terrifying is how real he feels. He doesn't have superpowers or a dramatic backstory—just raw, unchecked cruelty that echoes the kind of abuse survivors actually face. His presence looms over the story even when he's off-page, affecting Atlas's relationships and self-worth. The book shows how this kind of damage doesn't just vanish when you grow up.
2025-06-27 04:30:54
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Scarlett
Scarlett
Favorite read: The villian
Novel Fan Mechanic
Let's talk about Richard Corrigan from 'It Starts With Us'—a villain who ruins lives without raising his voice half the time. He's not some cartoonish monster; Hoover paints him as the kind of abuser who kills hope slowly. The power imbalance is brutal: grown man versus child, father versus son, sober rage versus drunken 'apologies'. What got me was how his abuse shaped Atlas into someone who struggles to accept love later, especially in relationships.

The book avoids making Richard a one-note villain by showing glimpses of how society enabled him—neighbors looked away, systems failed to intervene. That complexity makes him more infuriating. While Atlas's stepdad later becomes an antagonist too, Richard remains the original source of poison. His legacy isn't just bruises; it's Atlas flinching at raised voices or overprotecting his son. That's the mark of a well-written villain—their damage outlives them.
2025-06-28 16:05:42
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Reply Helper Accountant
In 'It Starts With Us', Richard Corrigan stands out as one of those antagonists who gets under your skin because he represents systemic family trauma. He's Atlas's biological father, but their connection is purely genetic—this man weaponized parenthood to inflict pain. Colleen Hoover writes him with chilling authenticity; the way he cycles between drunken rage and false charm mirrors real-life abusers' tactics.

What's fascinating is how his influence persists across generations. Even after Atlas escapes, Richard's shadow affects how Atlas parents his own son. The book doesn't give him a redemption arc or dramatic comeuppance, which makes his portrayal hit harder. He exists as a reminder that some wounds never fully heal, and that survival sometimes means building new families instead of fixing broken ones.

Compared to other Hoover antagonists, Richard feels uniquely mundane in his evil—no grand schemes, just relentless pettiness and control. That realism makes him scarier than any supernatural villain. The scenes where Atlas confronts his childhood home? Chills. It's rare to see a story handle intergenerational trauma with this much raw honesty.
2025-06-30 23:39:25
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