> The opposing view is weirder, why should characters be preserved for consumption by the audience? I don't see how characters are "consumed" by the audience,

> The opposing view is weirder, why should characters be preserved for consumption by the audience? I don't see how characters are "consumed" by the audience, unless the audience is vampires. But my answer would be: Because the entire story exists for the audience. There isn't actually a separate universe that lives on independently of the people watching or reading the story.