Not every novel does it, but I believe that the best ones change the protagonist. If your character can go through all the trials and tribulations of your novel, and come out the other end looking, sounding, and feeling the same, something may be amiss.
It might be that your character definition is so rigid that the idea of change is unthinkable.
Now, there are characters who don’t change… but they, for the most part, are cartoon animals, not people.
Image: blogs.nationaltrust.org
Your initial character definition should include more than what he or she looks like. You need to know who each main character really is–else how will you know which set of behaviours is best? Look at an earlier post, “What would Superman Do?“ Even Superman has changed over the years. Still, his basic character remains the same. Is this a dichotomy? Yeah, I guess so. In some ways, at least, your character may stay the same.
Your character may look the same coming out of the gauntlet of your novel, but if there are no new insights, no new observations, skills, understandings, knowledge; if your character has not learned anything—and if your character has not, how can your reader? What would be the purpose of your book?
You do not need to use the standard clichés, best friend turns bad, worst enemy isn’t so bad, after all—redeemable or not, and the antagonist person who got in the way becomes a love interest or a best friend. You can find a fresh way to do it.
Your thoughts?
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I think that a protagonist can remain static . . . as long as he/she inspires others to change.
For example, Horton Hears A Who ~ Horton doesn’t change, but he inspires everyone else to embrace the truism that “a person’s a person . . . no matter how small.”
That said, I love stories like The Grinch and A Christmas Carol where the lead characters inspire others to change . . . based on a paradigm shift in their own reality.
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