tragic figures

Tragic figures are characters—in literature, history, or life—whose downfall results from some combination of fate, circumstance, and their own flaws.

The term originates in classical drama, where heroes like Oedipus or Hamlet are undone by qualities inseparable from their greatness.

More broadly, any person whose suffering seems inevitable or whose nobility makes their destruction especially poignant qualifies: Nixon remains one of American politics' great tragic figures.

The phrase implies sympathy—tragic figures aren't villains but people caught in forces larger than themselves.