Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Characters All

1. Three characters you wish were real so you could meet them.

Mma Ramotswe (the proprietor of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency)--I feel like I have met her already, over a cup of strong bush tea; she's such a well-drawn character! I love her discernment--knowing when to speak and when to listen.

Gandalf, in The Lord of the Rings--Who wouldn't want to watch him blow smoke rings and set off fireworks? I'd love to hang out with him just to enjoy his eccentricities.

Marmee in Little Women--she's such a positive, loving, wise role model as a mother.


2. Three characters you would like to be.


Eowyn, in The Lord of the Rings

I already feel like Eowyn--I relate, in certain ways, to her journey from wishing she were male to embracing her feminine nature and doing what she alone can do, because she's female. I love her line just before she kills the ghost-king that no man can kill: "Well, I am no man!" (Plus, I agree with Tonia--she ends up with the real catch in The Lord of the Rings, Faramir!

Lessa, in Dragonflight, Dragonquest and The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey

I read this space fantasy series over and over when I was in junior high. (If you liked Eragon, you've got to read these to see who, besides Tolkien, Christopher Paolini swiped all his material from!)

Lessa's is a Cinderella story--nobility hidden at birth, the dirtiest of servants when she's discovered and presented as a candidate at the hatching of Pern's last dragon queen egg. She becomes the new queen's rider and saves her planet, Pern, from the deadly menace that only dragons can destroy. I would love to ride a queen dragon! And F'lar, her husband-figure, always made my heart leap. I love the scene where she first washes away the dirt of years; soon, it becomes apparent that she is a woman of amazing beauty. To me, this is a powerful metaphor, a "hatching" of her own--and it speaks to me as a Christian woman.

(Just a note: The culture on Pern is sort of a secular utopia where the commitment of a marriage is not expected, but no one ever gets hurt; children are often raised by foster parents for cross-cultural understanding, with no ill effects. Sexual situations, especially relating to the mating of dragons, are sprinkled throughout--they can be emotionally intense but aren't graphic. With these qualifiers, I'd still recommend them as well-written and super-engaging.)

A member of Robin Hood's merry band

I read Howard Pyle's The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood when I was a kid, and I remember laying awake at night pretending I was a little girl that the Merry Men took in. I loved their adventures, laughed out loud at their misadventures, and partly, I just wanted to talk like that!

3. Three characters who scare you.

Saruman--the evil presence throughout The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Oooh, that evil all-seeing eye gives me the shivers!

The humans in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH--yup, we're the scary bad guys

The humans in Watership Down--yup, us again

(HT to Island Sparrow)

Since I'm still busy painting--I'd love to hear YOUR answers to this meme in the comments!

4 comments:

Deb said...

Interesting answers you have here. I have not heard of Dragonflight or Anne McCaffrey. This something to think about, but don't know if I would post my list. It depends on how it turns out. Good luck with the painting. I am finally moving into my studio.

tonia said...

kindred spirit. :)

~I agree about Watership Down! some of those scenes still send chills down my spine.

Really interesting answers, it would be fun to sit over coffee and talk books!

Hope you are staying sane!

Anonymous said...

I'd add Albus Dumbledore (Hogwarts' headmaster) to the folks I'd like to meet... and I'd like to be Harry from Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword.

Annie in CO

At A Hen's Pace said...

Annie--

I don't know The Blue Sword. Sounds like a good boys' book?

Jeanne