"As for an authentic villain, the real thing, the absolute, the artist, one rarely meets him even once in a lifetime. The ordinary bad hat is always in part a decent fellow"

This quote by Sidonie Gabrielle Colette talks to the rarity of a truly atrocious individual. She recommends that the "normal bad hat" is often only partly bad, and that a really atrocious individual is an uncommon find. This indicates that the "genuine thing" of a bad guy is an individual who is wholly and completely bad, without any redeeming qualities. Colette suggests that such an individual is so uncommon that one may not even experience them in a life time. This quote speaks with the concept that individuals are often more complicated than they appear, and that even those who are considered bad may have some good in them. It also talks to the concept that real evil is uncommon, which most people are capable of redemption.