Can there be a protagonist without an antagonist?

Answer 1

The protagonist is the hero or central character, the focus of the story and it's themes. So unless you define "antagonist" so broadly as to include all possible opposition such as bad luck, geography, and weather, stories are perfectly possible without one.

Consider "To Build a Fire" or "Hatchet" as stories with a protagonist lacking a proper opponent. Conversely, if you consider "antagonist" to indeed include any and all difficulties, then the statement "A Protagonist requires an Antagonist" is a tautology and your answer is no.

Answer 2

Yes, a protagonist can exist without a clear antagonist. In some stories, the conflict may come from within the protagonist themselves or from external challenges rather than a specific antagonist. The absence of a traditional antagonist does not diminish the importance or impact of the protagonist's journey.

Answer 3

There is a protagonist and an antagonist in every story, no matter what. Often there is more than one antagonist. Every story has both, because a protagonist is the main character in a piece of literature, who everything revolves around. The antagonist is the person or element in a piece of literature who causes trouble for the protagonist. Every story needs a protagonist, or else there isn't a story to be told. Every story needs an antagonist because otherwise the story wouldn't be interesting. The only way there is a story is if there's some sort of problem.