A beloved hero that killed for the sake of revenge, a family’s fortune and reputation reduced to nothing, a young child thrown into the merciless cruelties of war; there’s something to be said about the similar dread within these situation. In fact, this tainted light was what inspired many works within the Southern Gothic genre: what caused characters to go off the deep end just trying to cling to whatever remnants of their past was left. However, none have epitomized this trait more than the famed fallen angel himself, the Devil.

According to Christianity, Satan, or rather Lucifer, was considered to be the most beloved of Heaven. He was a cherub who carried God’s light, and was described as the Morning Star. However, after some time had passed, he decided he wanted more, wanted to ascend to the throne of Heaven, to be even greater than God. He fought against God in a bid for power, and when he lost, he, along with the angels who sided with him, were cast down, and thus became the first foundations of Hell. Even today, in order to assuage his shattered ego, he tries to lure people away from morality and justice, desecrating their hearts until they can’t even see themselves in the end.

There have been a lot of interpretations for Lucifer’s character. In Supernatural, many characters, including the archangels, attribute his falling equivalent to a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, simply because he was jealous of God’s love for humanity. In Lucifer, the main protagonist is introduced as someone relatable and, despite his supernatural prowess, someone we genuinely respect, and even root for. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, the Devil is charismatic, and is able to call upon legions of fallen angels, telling them that God is nothing more than a tyrant that deserves to be overthrown. However, he can also be seen to be a tragic hero, who has immense courage and tries to fight back against his defeat, even if it means damning himself, and his comrades. It’s these interpretations that make up the bedrock of our literary foundations today.

But not only has Lucifer been subjected to many different literary analyses, but many writers have branched off from those interpretations. In Anna Holloway’s Shadow Wings, the antagonist was an angel that had a backstory similar to Lucifer’s, but still strove to come back to Heaven, no matter the cost. In Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush, a fallen angel had learned to love a human, and through her manages to save himself in the end. In Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada, a recent college graduate has to serve a somewhat sadistic, elitist woman who cares little for anything other than her own success, and will willingly destroy others to get her own way. It’s because of Lucifer that many writers have set up scenarios in which things like love and ambition can redeem, forsake, or even twist their characters and stories into something unrecognizable, even gruesome to an extent.

The famous fall-from-grace scenarios have had foundations in Lucifer’s fall from Heaven. Whether that be literally or figuratively, there’s something beautifully tragic about the fall. It’s a dark, yet fragile thing that many writers have used, mourned for, even glorified, because it reflects humanity in one of its deepest moral settings.