Royal Bastards of Medieval and Renaissance England: A Literary Analysis of Illegitimacy in Le Morte d'Arthur, King Lear, and Game of Thrones

The relationship between a fictional character and its reader is one built on sympathy. Likable characters who combat personal adversity or who possess culturally acceptable and praised characteristics at the time of the fictional work's publication garner compassion from its audience. Does the same kind of reader reaction occur when characters of an unfavorable social status begin to transgress specified cultural attitudes to better themselves?