Thomas Ripley
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- For the English architect, see Thomas Ripley (architect).
Thomas Ripley is the infamous protagonist of the Ripliad by Patricia Highsmith, and hence protagonist in several films spawned from the novels. A "suave, agreeable and utterly amoral" con artist who always gets away with his crimes, including murder, he is a classic example of an antihero, a character type featured in most of Highsmith's books. He has been played by Matt Damon, John Malkovich, Dennis Hopper, Barry Pepper and Alain Delon.</p>
Orphaned at a young age when his parents drowned, he was brought up in Boston by an emotionally abusive aunt. He left at 18 for New York.
A sociopath, Ripley lived for years off of his "talents"—forgery, impersonation and lying—until he was paid to go to Italy by Herbert Greenleaf, a rich shipping magnate, to convince his son Dickie to return to the family business. Ripley eventually murdered the younger Greenleaf and assumed his identity after the young playboy spurned his friendship and latent homosexual attraction, and used it both to travel in luxury and to enjoy pretending to be someone other than himself.
After murdering Greenleaf's suspicious friend, Freddie Miles, Ripley forged Greenleaf's will, leaving himself the other man's inheritance, and returned to New York.
He was involved in many criminal enterprises after that, including art forgery, an entanglement with the Mafia, and several murders.
Initially living in Italy, he had several abodes before settling down at his chateau, Belle Ombre, on the outskirts of Villeperce, France, with a rich trophy wife, Heloise, who suspected but preferred not to know about his criminal activities. His last reported murder was of a neighbor who had threatened to reveal his criminal past.
While completely without conscience and capable of incredible violence (he beats most of his victims to death), Ripley also has his own code of ethics: he detests murder, and often tries to reason with his victims to see things his way and go along with his criminal plans. It's only when people directly threaten him (either with violence or with the police) that he does what he thinks is "necessary" and unavoidable. He has had friendships with many of his victims, particularly Greenleaf, and has later regretted resorting to murder. His primary desire, at least after coming into money, is to live quietly in great comfort, and he sees other people as expendable means to that end.
While the novels were written over a period of 36 years (from 1955 to 1991) only about ten years pass in the chronology of the books, even though the fashions, politics and music reflected those of the time in which they were written.