The Secret History: People miss the point of Henry Winter’s character by being attracted to him.

Henry Winters is a very cleverly written character. And for that I admire Donna Tartt. There is no one way to interpret a character, but this is me airing my opinions regarding one such man. It seems to be a popular assumption for most that Henry is charming and for that, he is attractive. This, I can't agree with. Here's a rant.

The entire time I was reading the book after the farmer's death was mentioned, I was really uncomfortable around Henry. I saw through his manipulations to what he really wanted.

• My main point going forward: Henry is more volatile and unpredictable than Bunny ever was. Only, aren't initially aware of this as Tartt describes Bunny a lot more obviously. And we as readers are manipulated into perceiving Bunny as a threat, rather than the victim he actually is.

1. Do not believe for one second that he accidentally killed that farmer. He saw the man as a threat, and acted both pragmatically and impulsively under the influence of the drugs. But regardless of interpretation, we know that he is capable of murder and has been known in the past to be violent (we know he beat a man at a party who insulted Camila)
2. Henry stalks Richard after he gets back from Italy. Do not think for one second that he is not casing Richard. Everything Henry does is calculated. Think, he has just committed murder and his volatile friend has just found out. He has escaped and knows that he needs a plan to protect himself if Bunny comes back ready to talk
3. The way he speaks to Richard after letting him in on the secret is just chilling. To Richard, being let in is an honour. To Richard, this is him being inducted properly into the elite. To Richard, this is the same man who brought him to the hospital and saved his life! But to Henry, this is pure calculation and self preservation. The way he set Richard up to be the scapegoat and the way he spoke to him gives me chills. "you're just as smart as I thought you were. I knew you'd figure it out" yet he set the 'clues' up for Richard to find. Henry set him up from the beginning and played on Richard's insecurities to manipulate how he would view the situation. Richard was never anything but a pawn in Henry's eyes. Think, what did he have to benefit from telling Richard other than saving his own skin.
4. Henry makes Richard both an scapegoat and an alarm bell. He doesn't hide the fact that he needs Richard. But he plays on this and congratulates him when he comes to tell Henry that Bunny decided to spill the beans about the murder to him. Bunny was terrified of Henry but didn't know how to show it. We as readers are manipulated into seeing Bunny as a threat, rather than the victim of Henry he really is. Bunny knows that Henry has killed a man and if anything, he is the only one out of the group who had a human reaction. He didn't even witness it and yet it destroyed him from the inside out. Richard was the only safe space for Bunny, but Henry got there first. Henry was betting on Bunny trusting the unbiased Richard. Too bad he calculated that move first.
5. The way he manipulates EVERYONE to think they are in the same level of danger. Just think, one person killed that Farmer. One person is guilty. The rest of them are technically innocent if you ignore the fact that they did not fess up sooner. Henry manipulated all of them to cover him and got them all to think that they were in as much trouble as he would be if the truth came out.
6. He wrote down the murder in his diary. He knew that Bunny would go through his belongings and he did it anyway. The fact that it was coded is a moot point. Bunny was written and interpreted to seem less clever than the others due to his social skills, but don't forget that this is the same man who got into the Elite Greek class in the first place.
7. He was the one who brought up murdering Bunny. Being the leader of the group, he influenced them all in this aspect.
8. He planned and executed (forgive my pun) the plan, making sure Bunny was dead.
9. His attempts to kill Charles when he became a liability. Don't forget that he doesn't even try to hide the fact that he gave an alcoholic painkillers that are toxic when mixed with alcohol. He gives his alcoholic friend his expensive car to drive, hoping he would be arrested. And this was his 'friend'. He discarded him as soon as he became a threat.
10. The way he keeps an eye on Richard after the murder, when he sees him beginning to lose it. I think was the worst part for me when I read the book. Richard, towards the end, becomes an alcoholic and addicted to pills due to the strain of the entire situation. We know what Henry is capable of. We know what he has done and attempted to do to two of the friends that he has known for double the time he has known Richard for. Richard is the perfect victim: His parent's aren't present. He has no support system. He is poor. He is isolated due to his choice of major. Henry knows all of this, Henry literally saw him at his worst during the winter months at Hampten College. The only draw back being that if another of the Elites goes missing, people will begin to sniff around him.

He holds no loyalty to anyone apart from Camila and himself. This much is shown in the final scene. I understand that this is one of the more 'romantic' actions he takes in the book; his final action.

Hope you enjoyed this rant, lmk if you don't agree or want to add anything!