Falling in love with characters in books
Jul. 7th, 2007 08:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vcmwOk, so the reason I am waiting with bated breath (and already have a copy reserved at the library, but might buy one anyway) for Sarah Monette's "Mirador" to come out is that I am totally in love with Mildmay the Fox. Felix I just about can't stand, and I think Mehitabel is a nasty piece of work though maybe fun to go drinking with, but Mildmay is just a gorgeous gorgeous character. One of those people in literature who you're sure that they could rescue you if stuff goes bad but you can't help sorta thinking that you could rescue them, well, emotionally. I felt that way about Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings, and I used to fantasize as a little kid of about 8 that I could come up with some way for him and Arwen to get together a bit during their long long waiting period. Maybe set up a mail drop for the two of them or something.
So now I'm pondering what it is that makes you just fall for a character. It's a great trick, whatever it is. Obviously part of it is about the character hitting your kinks just right. And part of it is good, consistent writing and characterization - the character should strike you as a real person with a past and a future and a point of view, or even the most devoted fan will hesitate to fall in love. And it's not, y'know, necessarily an erotic love that we're talking about here. I certainly don't want to sleep with Mildmay - he sounds like far, far too much work to get to know romantically. Megan Whalen Turner's Thief is another good example - Eugenides is the kind of person who you just want to know more and more about, so that it itches in the back of your brain. I fell for Tamora Pierce's Alanna and for Aerin and Hari (ok, for just about every lead character Robin McKinley has ever written, which is why it is so so frustrating that she doesn't come out with more in the way of sequels). I know that first person voice helps, but is not essential. Gender doesn't seem to matter much, at least to me. Occupation? Not so many heroic-model heroes do the trick, though there are some. I don't really know how to abstract it - a bit like the judge said about pornography, I know it when I see it.
The best way I can describe it is that it makes you look forward to new books featuring the character the same way you might look forward to an infrequent visit from an old friend who lives across country. Making elaborate plans for the get-together, canceling other engagements, stocking up on tempting snacks - then curling up together on the couch and just enjoying each others' company.
So now I'm pondering what it is that makes you just fall for a character. It's a great trick, whatever it is. Obviously part of it is about the character hitting your kinks just right. And part of it is good, consistent writing and characterization - the character should strike you as a real person with a past and a future and a point of view, or even the most devoted fan will hesitate to fall in love. And it's not, y'know, necessarily an erotic love that we're talking about here. I certainly don't want to sleep with Mildmay - he sounds like far, far too much work to get to know romantically. Megan Whalen Turner's Thief is another good example - Eugenides is the kind of person who you just want to know more and more about, so that it itches in the back of your brain. I fell for Tamora Pierce's Alanna and for Aerin and Hari (ok, for just about every lead character Robin McKinley has ever written, which is why it is so so frustrating that she doesn't come out with more in the way of sequels). I know that first person voice helps, but is not essential. Gender doesn't seem to matter much, at least to me. Occupation? Not so many heroic-model heroes do the trick, though there are some. I don't really know how to abstract it - a bit like the judge said about pornography, I know it when I see it.
The best way I can describe it is that it makes you look forward to new books featuring the character the same way you might look forward to an infrequent visit from an old friend who lives across country. Making elaborate plans for the get-together, canceling other engagements, stocking up on tempting snacks - then curling up together on the couch and just enjoying each others' company.
