a character may remain essentially “stable,” or unchanged in outlook and disposition, from beginning to end of a work [...], or may undergo a radical change, either through a gradual process of development [...] or as a result of a [traumatic event or] a crisis. Whether a character remains stable or changes, the reader of a traditional and realistic work expects “consistency”—the character should not suddenly break off and act in a way not plausibly grounded in his or her temperament as we have already come to know it. (Abrams & Harpham, 2012, p. 46) Since E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel (1927) a distinction has often been made between 'flat' and 'two-dimensional' characters, which are simple and unchanging, and 'round' characters, which are complex, 'dynamic' (i.e. subject to development), and less predictable. (Baldick, 2001, p. 37) Also see character development, crisis