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| Melanie and Mammy, my favorite GWTW characters |
After much thought, I arrived to the conclusion that I will read a novel over and over again, to the point that it merits a place in my lengthy list of favorite works of literature, for two reasons: atmosphere and characters to die for. Usually the bond developed between readers and those characters stem from four emotions: identification, empathy, admiration and fascination.
Identification: The reader relates to the character, they share common traits, mores or tastes. They may share similar backgrounds, cultures, faith, and ideologies. Sometimes a character could be confronting a problem, dilemma, or situation similar to what the reader is undergoing. They may even be in the same line of work. I remember enjoying Anne of Windy Poplars much more than Anne of Green Gables, because when I read the Lucy Maud Montgomery’s novels, I was teaching at an all girls’ school. I could and did relate to Anne’s teaching experiences and her problems with her students.
Empathy: The character goes through a situation totally alien to the reader, but the latter understands the character’s motivations and imagines he/she would do the same in that situation. I have never attended a witchcraft school like Hogwarts, yet I know if I had, I would behave just like Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series.
Beth March is the least loved of the Little Women, but when I was very ill, a couple of years ago; it was she whom I selected as a model of valor and endurance. I also loved Melanie in Gone with the Wind because she possessed both, physical and spiritual courage unlike Scarlett who was a moral coward.
I have always admired characters that are willing to stand up for their beliefs even if it causes them grief. As a I child I adored Ligia in Quo Vadis because she was willing to live in poverty rather than become a dissolute Roman patrician’s concubine, and Ivanhoe’s Rebecca threatening to jump from a window rather than surrendering to Sir Brian’s lust moved me to tears of respect. And even though it breaks my heart, I stand with Julia at the end of Brideshead Revisited when she refuses to divorce, in order to marry her true love, because it goes against her Catholic faith.
Julia's Farewell in Brideshead Revisited
Fascination: This is an old quirk of mine. Since childhood I was in the habit of developing crushes on literary heroes. My mother claims that I was in love with Sinbad, the Sailor before I learned to read!
Though embarrassing to confess, I am sure there is more than a bookworm out there who uses protagonists as reference for ideal lovers. Or maybe a fictional character does remind you of an old flame. Then there are characters that represent our secret object of desire, but are only safe to encounter between the pages of a book. My list of fictional paramours (going back to my childhood reading material) is huge, from Hector in The Iliad to Ari Be Canaan in Leon Uris’ Exodus, from Petronius in Quo Vadis to Stendhal’s Julien Sorel.
Now that I have shown you mine, show me yours. What does a character have to do for you to get hook on him/her? And what fictional people do you admire, feel close to, or have fallen in love with?
Despite the constant requests for action-filled scenes and plot-oriented novels, there are still those who are drawn to fiction because of the creatures that inhabit it.
ReplyDeleteHija, pero como te adoro por haber escrito esto!
JaJaJaJa ¡Gracias Hermana! Let the publishing world know there are readers who still want scrumptious characters, not just cliff-hangers and car-chasing scenes.
ReplyDeleteThat is a rather lovely image of Eric Bana there. It might take me a moment to collect myself.
ReplyDeleteOK. Yes! Great post, and love-of-character is definitely what keeps me reading, more than action. It also keeps me writing. When I develop a character I really love, I want to get back to the computer. I can hardly tear myself away.
When I was 13 or so, I found my grandmother's old copy of Little Women in her basement. I didn't know anything about the story, so when Beth died, I was very shocked and upset. I loved her character and identified with her more than the others, possibly because of my age. I admired Jo, of course, but identified more with Beth.
I think we all develop crushes on certain characters; it's part of the fun of reading. Everyone I know who's read Outlander gets a mad crush on Jamie. And speaking of Eric Bana, I had a crush on Henry DeTamble after reading the Time Traveler's Wife. Maybe I just identify with fictional Clairs! (Or Clares.)
But doesn’t he always look lovely? Take your time collecting yourself, Sister Steph, I tend to drool incessantly throughout “Troy”, and I’ve seen it 20 times!
ReplyDeleteYou know, that´s funny you also like Beth, because I keep on hearing that Beth is the least developed character in “Little Women”, that she has no personality, is a pathetic little creature…etc, etc. I even found a list of most-hated characters in literature and she was there (along with Scarlett, Melanie, Jane Eyre and other favorites of mine). I read LW when I was 8 and I related immediately to Beth because she was shy, domestic and a cat lover!
Oops, I’m terrible, but have to be honest. Henry De Tamble is my least loved EB character, perhaps because I didn’t like the book, or perhaps because I never really related to his affliction.
As a teenager in the late 1940s, I read a lot of fiction, but I can think of only two characters that affected me. One was the protagonist of "The Master of Hestviken." And the second, oddly, was an old rancher in "The Octopus." a novel by Norris about the struggle of the California farmers against the gunmen of the Southern Pacific railroad. The character shows up and is described in some detail at the rancher's meetings, but he never says a word. Toward the end of the book, he is one of the ranchers shot dead, again, described in detail. Why did it affect me more than the battle scenes and deaths in other books? Norris was a powerful writer. One of his tricks was to involve the reader psychologically with a character, and then kill him. Norris was a 'muckraker'. All of his novels are about the evils of the establishment—which should go over well now. I never fell in love with any of the female characters. I think thats a girl thing. Regis
ReplyDeleteHi Regis,
ReplyDeleteIndeed, it must be a girl’s thing, but it’s so much fun! I fall in love with my protagonist’s too. Like cats (and unlike flesh&blood fellows) they never betray me.
I know so many people, of different ages, background and nationalities who are still, in XXI century, moved by Sigrid Unsted’s characters that I can understand how they hooked you.
On the other hand, and sadly, Frank Norris did not enjoy such longevity. I only read “McTeague”, and because it was mandatory in high school. Years later, I reread it after watching von Stroheim’s film version, and only then I realized what a master witer he was.
Sister Violante, I think you have assessed very well the four elements that draw us to a character. I would add that
ReplyDelete"fascination" doesn't always have to be attraction. It can also be that you like a character because of his uniqueness and want to see how he reacts to a given circumstance.
I may be the exception but I'm more drawn to plot than character. What drives me to pick up a book is wanting to know what happens (this is why I rarely reread a book). My one exception is "Mi planta de naranja-lima". I absolutely love Zeze's character and have read the book several times. I also liked Florentino Ariza in "Love in the Times of Cholera." Another character I remember fondly is Jennifer Cavalleri in "Love Story" (Ali Mac Graw's character.) Actually, this is another book I've read more than once (but never understood the whole "love means never having to say you're sorry" thing, ha ha).
For some reason, the most memorable characters for me are in films (not in books). Not sure if this has to do with performance of just character design. For example: I love most characters in "Steel Magnolias" (particularly Sally Fields, Dolly Parton, Shirley McLaine and Olympia Dukakis); Winona Ryder in "Mermaids" (Charlotte) where she plays Cher's daughter; Jack Nicholson in "As good as it gets"; John Malkovich in "Dangerous Liaisons"; Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump"; Ellen Page as "Juno" and Audrey Tautou in both "Amelie" and "Coco before Chanel".
Now, when it comes to fascination/attraction I would have to confess that "Jake Ryan" in "Sixteen Candles" was my first love [sigh] But what preeteen/teen in the 80's didn't fall in love with him? Also, Marty McFly in "Back to the Future" and during my college years it was Toto in "Cinema Paradiso" (obviously the adult actor) and Ethan Hawke in "Reality Bites" and "Before Sunrise". More recently it's been Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. (Again, who doesn't...?) I won't even begin to name all my soap opera crushes--I would run out of space!! (But you know them well, Sister Violante!)
True, sister Lore, fictional characters are so easy to love. Talking about that. I forgot to include Valmont in my list of fantasies, but neither Malkovich, nor Colin Firth, not even Ryan Philippe have made him attractive to me. The only film Valmont I find sexy is Gerard Philippe in the Roger Vadim version.
ReplyDeleteI loved Charlotte, both in the film and the book version of “Mermaids”.
So we can gather that plot-oriented readers only read a book once, whereas characters will make you return to the book over and over again?
I, like Sister Lorena, am more drawn to the plot than the characters (I almost never reread a novel either). I, too, tend to be more drawn to the characters on the screen than in the novels. My two all-time favorite films are "Last of the Mohicans" (the Daniel Day Lewis version) and "A River Runs Through It." One reason is the time periods of each film. The rawness of the Americas in Mohicans just really speaks to me and so much of that rawness is reflected in the characters and how they act. As for River, Robert Redford's narration of the story gets me every time. And the brothers (I have read the short story the film is based on and enjoy both immensely) remind me of how very different my own brothers were growing up and it just makes me sad. This is my favorite Brad Pitt movie ever!
ReplyDeleteAs for novel characters, (oh crap, here I go again!) it's Orry Main and George Hazard (from "The North and the South" series) who tug at my heartstrings every time. They both want to do what's right, but a bitter war divides them. More recently, I'm drawn to those lovely three ladies from "The Help." The voices of each in the novel are great. Plus, I really like the first person POV in "Water for Elephants." Okay, I can't think of anymore right now, but if I do, I'll let you know.
The comments on this forum have been very interesting and illuminating to me. i'll have to study the characters mentioned to see what facets are so attractive to female readers. In my present book, the teen age boy MC, isn't handsome, or particularly lovable, and his would-be girlfriend, an orphan, is a bit difficult—perhaps her struggle with her two quarreling guardians may twang a few heart strings. I hope the plot carries it, without having to induce excessive lovability.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Frank Norris, I skimmed "The Octopus' on Gutenberg, and there he is, the silent man, Mr. Dabney. I didn't read on to where he is killed. The interesting thing, however, was the stilted language and obsolete dialog, a la Zane Grey. Norris has worked in a romance, with a simpering girl 'Hilma', and two suitors, Mr. old and mean, and Mr. young poor and handsome. I suppose it says something about me, that I had completely forgotten that part. Lorena would be horrified-adverbs by the score. Enough raving. Regis
Sister Mary, Mary it’s much easier to relate to characters on the screen, they have a face. In a book, no matter how well depicted they are, we have to give them faces. I tend to have a problem with miscasting, I hate when the film version or the miniseries come out and the actors look nothing like I pictured characters in the book.
ReplyDeleteWe have two postulates. Plot-oriented books are seldom reread. The reader returns over and over again to character-oriented book. Conclusion: It´s the characters that turns a book into a faithful companion. Of course, the industry couldn’t care less, a book is bought once. Who cares what the reader does with it after the purchase? And yet, in thirty years I have bought Gone with the Wind six times (once in the Spanish version) either because I had lost the previous editions, or because I wanted to give it as a present to somebody else. So you could say that Peggy Mitchell´s mastery in character development increased her book’s sales.
And I adored DDL's Hawkeye. Although the film bears little resemblance with Fenimore Cooper's novel, I always had a soft spot for Hawkeye
Sister Mary, Mary it’s much easier to relate to characters on the screen, they have a face. In a book, no matter how well depicted they are, we have to give them faces. I tend to have a problem with miscasting, I hate when the film version or the miniseries come out and the actors look nothing like I pictured characters in the book.
ReplyDeleteWe have two postulates. Plot-oriented books are seldom reread. The reader returns over and over again to character-oriented book. Conclusion: It´s the characters that turns a book into a faithful companion. Of course, the industry couldn’t care less, a book is bought once. Who cares what the reader does with it after the purchase? And yet, in thirty years I have bought Gone with the Wind six times (once in the Spanish version) either because I had lost the previous editions, or because I wanted to give it as a present to somebody else. So you could say that Peggy Mitchell´s mastery in character development increased her book’s sales.
Regis, you are growing into the Sisterhood’s faithful companion, don’t go away! I couldn’t say a character has to be handsome or young to become a feminine reader’s fantasy, at least not mine. Just like in real life, I am drawn to personality, decision-making abilities, panache, that sort of thing.
Now you got me interested in “The Octopus.”
I use Gutenburg a lot, however, things get complicated if you just type in the site name. I use this. The site is for A but you can use all letters for both Authors and titles. http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/a
ReplyDeleteRegis
Thank you, Regis!
ReplyDeleteI can tell you that I hated Madame Bovary (the woman) so much that I threw the book across the room! She repulsed me. Maybe I need to read that book again, though.
ReplyDeleteI can't pin down why a character mesmerizes me. It could be anything. In the Dragon Tattoo books, I was riveted by Lisbeth's brokenness. Actually, now that I think about it (when I was listing books I love in my head) the protagonists tend to have a bit of roughness and hurt about them. I don't like it when people overcome; I like it better when they die of consumption! (In movies and books, not in real life!)
Yesss! I hate Emma Bovary too. I hate Flaubert. Why is he such an icon? My Mom also loves Lisabeth Salander, and watching the movie, I can understand why people bond with her but I was so bored by the beginning of the book that I threw it away, and won’t touch Larsson again. He has such an engaging beginning, and then pages and pages of nothing.
ReplyDeleteImpressing tour de force...
ReplyDeleteScarlett o'Hara is a very intense character but a bit too shallow for my taste..
Lovely blog, kisses.
Welcome Unikorna! Scarlet is shallow because she´s been brought up to be artificial and it´s convenient for her to seem that way. The few times she delves in introspection are very painful for her, so she goes back to her shallow-but-hard-as-nail façade.
ReplyDeleteyes she is my hero, she is strong, tough, fearless, loyal and an irresistible seductress...I think I've read "Gone with the wind" 50 times so far.
ReplyDeleteIt is such a pleasure discovering interesting new bloggers Violante. Kissesssssssss
Ditto! You have a very interesting blog!
ReplyDelete'JaJaJaJa ¡Gracias Hermana! Let the publishing world know there are readers who still want scrumptious characters, not just cliff-hangers and car-chasing scenes.'
ReplyDeleteAmen y AMEN! Oye, me dice la Lorena que nos vamos a comunicar por telefono, hoy. :)
Sii, G-d willing. ¡Y vamos a hablar en español!!
ReplyDelete