But I want to throw a monkey into the works.
While we would always choose to deal with nice people in our every day lives, given the choice, where do those kinds of characters fit into the books that we write or read? Where do they come in when we can have actual control over them?
While we would always choose to deal with nice people in our every day lives, given the choice, where do those kinds of characters fit into the books that we write or read? Where do they come in when we can have actual control over them?
I don't often read or write about nice heroes. I do have one in a novel, a youth minister who is gregarious with the kids, but rather on the quiet side with people his own age. Is he a pansy?
Most of the heroes I read about are a little domineering. They order the heroine about, or openly insult/argue with her. Granted, the story is all about the change that they incur, but they sure can't be considered in any way, shape or form as nice. And at the end of such a book, is the hero now nice because he is treating the heroine like precious gems, or has he just been tamed temporarily because he's broken by the heroine?
It's almost like portraying a main character as kind is also showing them as weak. Do the two go hand-in-hand?
I'm really looking forward to your comments on this one! Can the protagonists in fiction be effective and still be nice, or is nice so much of a good thing that they won't have enough trouble to work through? What are some good examples of NICE main characters? Why do you call them nice?
I think one of the best examples of a kind and good heroine is Jane Eyre. She is strong and compassionate and kind with very few obvious flaws and yet she is much-loved and has endured the test of time. Another is Esther Summerson from Dickens' Bleak House. It can be done. It just must be done well.
ReplyDeleteI think a hero or heroine can be nice - as long as they're also brave. Meek and fearful doesn't make a great lead character. Nice and fearless would be a fun combo!
ReplyDeleteJane Eyre is a great example, Anne!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Julie, meek doesn't make for a good lead, but I remember one that would fit the category. Elizabeth from THE PREACHER'S BRIDE. She was incredibly kind, but not one to back down in the face of pressure.
I just can't think of any nice heroes though.
I like to read about characters who are really kind at heart, but it gradually comes out as the story progresses. It also helps when the hero and heroine can be nice and savvy at the same time. Naive characters can be tiresome.
ReplyDeleteNice is nice...and makes a nice read sometimes.
ReplyDeleteLoree, Sometimes a light read is just what I need - especially a short story.
ReplyDeleteBrandi, I get what you're saying. The diamond in the rough. Still can't remember any nice heroes, though.
My daughter reminded me that Superman is nice. I told her he doesn't count!
ReplyDeleteShe did come up with a real hero that was nice in every respect. Edward Farris from Sense and Sensibility. The only problem is, I didn't like the character. I thought he was pretty spineless throughout.
Oh, but then we talked about the hero and heroine in Susan May Warren's book DEADLY PURSUIT. Neither of them were nice, more like the Taming of the Shrew type again. But her newest book, MY FOOLISH HEART, scores! Both of those main characters where extremely kind, but not pushovers. They had an internal strength and a peace that made it work! Yea!
Nice and boring don't have to go together, although it may seem that way at times. Often, we may want to pass by someone who is "nice", citing it as a detriment to them as compared to the "bad boy", until we have experiences that give us a true basis for comparison (as in Sense & Sensibility).
ReplyDeleteGood point! I didn't think about the Colonel in that book. He was certainly nice and long-suffering while Marianne went flitting around with bad-boy Willoughby.
ReplyDeleteHe's another nice guy hero-type! That's two!
Hmm, great question. Maybe because characters need to grow, we have to let them be deficient somewhere. And if they're going through a lot, well, I think most of us can say that when times are tough our niceness can suffer.
ReplyDeletePatty,
ReplyDeleteThat's what the precious redhead and I decided while we drove back from - you guessed it - volleyball practice! Because those main characters have to go through change and because the hero, more often than not, has to be broken to realize his love for the heroine or else he would've been snatched up long ago, they won't often start out nice. (Except in Susan May Warren's MY FOOLISH HEART where their challenges lay elsewhere.)
Thanks for stopping by!