If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
October 26th 2006 12:01
I just love reading. I love being taken to another world, experiencing another set of values, meeting another set of characters. It’s the most exhilarating feeling to be caught up in a world completely of someone else’s creation, laughing and crying with their characters, experiencing their joy and sadness, seeing another world through their eyes. It’s a wonderful talent to be able to transport a reader to another time and place, and it’s a wonderful talent to experience.
Of all the characters I’ve ever met in my reading forays, I would most like to be Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennett, apparently a character very close to Jane Austen’s own persona. She’s witty, intelligent, caring, and extraordinarily frustrated by the confines society imposes on her. She operates within them, but is always pushing the boundaries of social decorum and acceptability for a female in her situation. She is, despite her happily-ever-after ending, one of the great early feminist characters (I know this is an anachronism, but I’m going with it anyway) and I love her for this. And she gets to spend the rest of her days with Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy, one of the most incredibly sexy men in fiction. And one of the most sexy men on the screen, thanks to Colin Firth who (I think most of the female population will agree) was the perfect man to play this complex character.
Of all the other characters I’ve ever met, I wouldn’t mind being Arwen in The Lord of the Rings. She’s strong, fair, brave, beautiful and immortal. She also ends up with Aragorn. When I was young, I thought Strider was the most incredible man I’d ever encountered, until I met Mr Darcy. I had a massive crush on this dark, brooding character who holds the answers to saving his world; who knows the sacrifices he and his fellow Rangers have to make in order for good to triumph over evil; and who knows the sacrifices Arwen has to make to be with him. I just can’t imagine him ever taking his Elven goddess for granted.
I wonder if it’s a coincidence that, although I love Elizabeth and Arwen in their own right, of all the characters I could choose to be I have chosen the two who end up with my all-time favourite male characters. Mr Darcy and Strider have perhaps destroyed me forever, dooming me to being a singleton to my dying day. No man could possibly be as perfect as these two. Noble, devoted, strong, sexy, intelligent … I could go on. Would I sacrifice them for a real man? Absolutely, but I haven’t yet met anyone I would give them up for. And so, until my own Mr Darcy comes along, I’m happy to imagine myself as Elizabeth Bennett before she realises what she has before her, making copious mistakes with people like Mr Wickham. After all, it was these experiences that led her to her Mr Darcy in the first place.
Perhaps my own Mr Darcy is just around the corner … And until then, I’ll never be alone with my library of books and the plethora of wonderful people who inhabit them.
Of all the characters I’ve ever met in my reading forays, I would most like to be Jane Austen’s Elizabeth Bennett, apparently a character very close to Jane Austen’s own persona. She’s witty, intelligent, caring, and extraordinarily frustrated by the confines society imposes on her. She operates within them, but is always pushing the boundaries of social decorum and acceptability for a female in her situation. She is, despite her happily-ever-after ending, one of the great early feminist characters (I know this is an anachronism, but I’m going with it anyway) and I love her for this. And she gets to spend the rest of her days with Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy, one of the most incredibly sexy men in fiction. And one of the most sexy men on the screen, thanks to Colin Firth who (I think most of the female population will agree) was the perfect man to play this complex character.
Of all the other characters I’ve ever met, I wouldn’t mind being Arwen in The Lord of the Rings. She’s strong, fair, brave, beautiful and immortal. She also ends up with Aragorn. When I was young, I thought Strider was the most incredible man I’d ever encountered, until I met Mr Darcy. I had a massive crush on this dark, brooding character who holds the answers to saving his world; who knows the sacrifices he and his fellow Rangers have to make in order for good to triumph over evil; and who knows the sacrifices Arwen has to make to be with him. I just can’t imagine him ever taking his Elven goddess for granted.
I wonder if it’s a coincidence that, although I love Elizabeth and Arwen in their own right, of all the characters I could choose to be I have chosen the two who end up with my all-time favourite male characters. Mr Darcy and Strider have perhaps destroyed me forever, dooming me to being a singleton to my dying day. No man could possibly be as perfect as these two. Noble, devoted, strong, sexy, intelligent … I could go on. Would I sacrifice them for a real man? Absolutely, but I haven’t yet met anyone I would give them up for. And so, until my own Mr Darcy comes along, I’m happy to imagine myself as Elizabeth Bennett before she realises what she has before her, making copious mistakes with people like Mr Wickham. After all, it was these experiences that led her to her Mr Darcy in the first place.
Perhaps my own Mr Darcy is just around the corner … And until then, I’ll never be alone with my library of books and the plethora of wonderful people who inhabit them.
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Comment by Adrian
Philosophy Blog
One comment to make about the female characters you select -- Elizabeth Bennett and Arwen -- is that they're still very recognizably feminine. I think it's an open question to what extent they're good feminist models. Especially given that both of them are in the thrall of particular men, I wonder if either of them could ever transcend a men's world...
Comment by KarenC
Genghis Gal
It's an interesting idea, but I wasn't being quite that far-reaching. It was more that it's wonderful to experience their talent and to be taken along on the ride.
Being feminine and feminist are two very different things and you can definitely be both.
But you didn't answer the main question - who would you be if you had the choice? And why??
Comment by Adrian
Philosophy Blog
In a sense, we all want to be the fictional characters that we present ourselves as being.
Comment by KarenC
Genghis Gal
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by KarenC
Genghis Gal
Nice choice. I'd love to be anything Oscar created. The man was a genius.
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Yes, I also love his work and I really loved this book.
Tracy
Comment by K.L. Almeroth
Motherhood
To KarenC,
This is a hard one for me...I love so many books and so many characters...
Perhaps Lucky from Jackie Collins' Lucky series...she is the best! A kick-ass woman, sexy, rich, powerful...
Yeah, I'd like to be her!
K.L.
Comment by K.L. Almeroth
Motherhood
P.S.
Now that I've said that, I might just add Kit...from my own book!
You know a little bit of her!
I love her!
K.L.
Comment by KarenC
Genghis Gal
I do know Kit and I'm dying to read some more. I hope you keep me up to date on her - you've got my details ...
I'm sorry I've been so very slack in responding to this - I'm a bit distracted and in all likelihood I won't be posting any more posts, but I should not let that distract me from responding to the people who have visted me, should I?
I've been keeping up to date with the MOSTEST sisters - good luck in your new endeavours!!
Comment by JoshZ
A Simple Christian
good question.
Guan Yu (from the book review I did) was certainly one of the most moral characters I have ever met.
Dr House, because he says things that I only THINK about saying, and because of his actual compassion and optimism.
A jedi knight, because I'd like to have force powers and a light sabre.
Hmmmm, maybe a combination of them all.
JZ
Comment by KarenC
Genghis Gal
I've been the slackest blog host in the world recently. Thanks for dropping by. I still have to get around to reading The Three Kingdoms so not overly familiar with his character. Looking forward to finding out, though.
I do like House, although I have to say I prefer Hugh Laurie in his Blackadder guises.
And I love the jedi knights.
What would a mixture of them all look like, I wonder? Yet another incentive for me to get on with reading Three Kingdoms. May the force be with me??