High on Es
Mar. 15th, 2012 09:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lokifanI finally got round to this meme! And LOL you guys it is SO LONG. I AM SORRY.
1. Leave a comment to this post!
2. I will give you a letter.
3. Post the names of five fictional characters whose names begin with that letter, and your thoughts on each. The characters can be from books, movies, or TV shows. Or plays.
brinimc gave me an E.
Incidentally: I will be quite thrilled to hear dissenting views. If you share virulent hatred for one of these characters, I’ll be happy! The capslock is a sign of joy :)
El Burke from White Collar is marvellous. The actress is incredibly charismatic and gorgeous, and I always smile when I see her on screen. I love that she’s kind and supportive, but never the only one putting the work into her marriage. I love that she’s emotionally intelligent and kind to Neal, but counterbalanced by Diana - it’s not a Thing Women Do, it’s El’s own particular talent and a vital one. I like that she has her own job and that she’s so open to all the oddities Peter’s work brings home and that she has such a sense of humour about things. She’s clever and resourceful, and I just... she is one of the relatively few fictional characters who I not only like but would actually enjoy being friends with.
Elphaba from Wicked - oh Elphaba. So clever, so isolated, such a fun combination of dryly comical (“you really don’t have to do that”) and slapstick (“Boo!”) I love her for being so passionately loving of Galinda, and for putting freedom above love. I love that she dreamt for so long of working with the Wizard, and in those terms that I so completely empathise with, of being successful and admired and modest: “well of course that’s not important to me”. And I love how she throws them away without a glance back when she sees the truth. And I really like that she tries to persuade Galinda to come with her, but doesn’t hate Galinda for choosing to stay. And the turning away from Good Deeds, after so long looking after Nessa and trying to protect lion cubs, is my favourite thing.
Also, the mirroring with Galinda is just fascinating to me. Pink vs green, popularity vs splendid isolation, and the differing affectations: faintly sneering bookishness vs giggly, squeaky fluffiness. I like that their shared talent for magic and desire for approval leads them in such different directions: the passionate declaration that approval means nothing now, vs the acknowledgment that approval means everything now, because Elphaba is gone and Fiyero scorns her. I am endlessly pleased by their love song turned on its head, and their final duet. And I love that Galinda is the one left to sort of sing an epitaph for Elphaba, to pretend she didn’t know her but also pay tribute. AHHHH GIRLS WHY COULDN’T YOU HAVE ENDED UP RUNNING OZ AS AN AWESOME COUPLE. MAYBE WITH FIYERO RUNNING AROUND IN THE BACKGROUND HAVING OCCASIONAL THREESOMES ON DIPLOMATIC ~PRINCE VISITS.
I have a lot of love for book!Elphaba too, but I have more ~feels about musical!Elphaba.
Eric Chant from the Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones - Eric Chant, otherwise known as Cat, is brilliant. I sometimes feel I don’t understand him very well, but I like him a lot. His life is so defined, and in some ways circumscribed, by his big sister: it’s perfect that the first line of Charmed Life is “Cat Chant admired his older sister Gwendolen. He admired her and he clung to her.” That clinging is evident in so many ways through the novel. But even when Gwendolen abandons and betrays him, he manages. He survives. He’s quietly really very tough: witness his making the bad guys’ defeat happen, even while he’s on the ground and tied up and “rather wishes he were dead”.
And I love, love, love his petulant reaction to Tonino in Stealer of Souls - it’s what made me really appreciate him as a character, that he’s used to being the youngest and most to be pitied person, and when that position is usurped he is so resentful and annoyed. He is SO MUCH the baby sibling, it’s kind of no wonder he never recognises that his older sister’s enormous magical power is actually his by right.
Edgar Linton from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - I LOVE Edgar Linton. I once had this argument with a professor in a seminar, because he thought that if you liked Edgar Linton better than Heathcliff, you had kind of missed the point of the book on a fundamental level. And I DISAGREE. I know what Edgar stands for and what Heathcliff stands for, and God knows Cathy shouldn’t have married Edgar. But Edgar, for all that he’s spoilt and sometimes nasty as a child, is good, and decent, and he tries really hard. He’s a good father, even if he’s overprotective. He tries to be a good husband, even though it’s completely hopeless; all that fruitless effort to be what Cathy needs makes me love him.
His withdrawal to the library while Cathy is dying breaks my heart. I completely see why Cathy reacts the way she does, but it just speaks so strongly of an anguished man who could never express it in the torrents of emotion Cathy does, who needs to hide. *tear*
Also, I hate Heathcliff. And who we like as characters in a book often has no relation to who we like in RL, so I completely get why people love him. But Heathcliff’s treatment of his wife and son, and the implied abuse there, makes my blood run absolutely cold. And his contempt for those he considers weak just ENRAGES me. YOUR APPROACH MADE YOUR SON FALL DOWN, THEN HALF-FAINT. CONTEMPT FOR HIS WEAKNESS AT THAT JUNCTURE MAKES ME WANT TO PUNCH YOU IN THE FUCKING MOUTH.
Which is another reason I love Edgar. Because he’s the milquetoast blond who’s rich and spoilt, has no connection with nature untamed, who finds Cathy’s emotional tempests annoying and exhausting. He finds his wife and Heathcliff alone together when he’s tried throwing Heathcliff out. So he’s ineffectual, humiliated, even his wife won’t obey him and come away. And Heathcliff LOLs, and basically goes “come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough!” And Edgar defies all genre convention and KNOCKS HIM DOWN. WHAM.
EDGAR LINTON JUST PWNED YOU.
Edmund from King Lear by William Shakespeare - I actually don’t like King Lear much, it’s by far my least favourite of the tragedies. But I LOVE Edmund and he’s one of my absolute favourite Shakespeare characters. I love his nasty sense of humour and his scheming. Society won’t acknowledge his talents because he’s a bastard - even though his scheming, and Goneril and Reagan’s reactions to him, suggest he’s clever, handsome and politically gifted. So he turns to nature over the Church, to ruthless self-interest over filial duty, and generally runs around being brilliant. “Now gods, stand up for bastards!” is one of my favourite lines from the play. Particularly since Edmund doesn’t need the gods; he stands up for himself.
I mean, I fully acknowledge that since I hate Lear like poison and the Fool, Goneril and Reagan don’t really connect for me, I am left adrift with no character to emotionally connect to until Cordelia comes back. And thus I may have imprinted on Edmund like a morally inappropraite duckling as someone who at least amuses me and is distinct from the depressing morass around Lear and the way he fucks up his own life and everyone around him.
But then, oh, his death scene hits me in the heart: “some good I mean to do/ despite of mine own nature.” He’s dying, and he’s got no instinct for doing the right thing, but in his last moments he tries to help Cordelia and Lear. ♥
Also: bonus points for being the inspiration for another Edmund. I always liked Edmund Pevensie a lot. He’s easy to empathise with, I think, because he fucks up and then feels guilty about it but can’t make himself come clean. Also I am always amused by the Turkish Delight of Sexual Tension. I like to imagine that the White Witch, not realising the pure heroes would have to be unspoilt by puberty because it’s Lewis, arrived in this low-cut, high-slit white number and then was like OH CRAP. WHAT DO CHILDREN LIKE.
1. Leave a comment to this post!
2. I will give you a letter.
3. Post the names of five fictional characters whose names begin with that letter, and your thoughts on each. The characters can be from books, movies, or TV shows. Or plays.
brinimc gave me an E.Incidentally: I will be quite thrilled to hear dissenting views. If you share virulent hatred for one of these characters, I’ll be happy! The capslock is a sign of joy :)
El Burke from White Collar is marvellous. The actress is incredibly charismatic and gorgeous, and I always smile when I see her on screen. I love that she’s kind and supportive, but never the only one putting the work into her marriage. I love that she’s emotionally intelligent and kind to Neal, but counterbalanced by Diana - it’s not a Thing Women Do, it’s El’s own particular talent and a vital one. I like that she has her own job and that she’s so open to all the oddities Peter’s work brings home and that she has such a sense of humour about things. She’s clever and resourceful, and I just... she is one of the relatively few fictional characters who I not only like but would actually enjoy being friends with.
Elphaba from Wicked - oh Elphaba. So clever, so isolated, such a fun combination of dryly comical (“you really don’t have to do that”) and slapstick (“Boo!”) I love her for being so passionately loving of Galinda, and for putting freedom above love. I love that she dreamt for so long of working with the Wizard, and in those terms that I so completely empathise with, of being successful and admired and modest: “well of course that’s not important to me”. And I love how she throws them away without a glance back when she sees the truth. And I really like that she tries to persuade Galinda to come with her, but doesn’t hate Galinda for choosing to stay. And the turning away from Good Deeds, after so long looking after Nessa and trying to protect lion cubs, is my favourite thing.
Also, the mirroring with Galinda is just fascinating to me. Pink vs green, popularity vs splendid isolation, and the differing affectations: faintly sneering bookishness vs giggly, squeaky fluffiness. I like that their shared talent for magic and desire for approval leads them in such different directions: the passionate declaration that approval means nothing now, vs the acknowledgment that approval means everything now, because Elphaba is gone and Fiyero scorns her. I am endlessly pleased by their love song turned on its head, and their final duet. And I love that Galinda is the one left to sort of sing an epitaph for Elphaba, to pretend she didn’t know her but also pay tribute. AHHHH GIRLS WHY COULDN’T YOU HAVE ENDED UP RUNNING OZ AS AN AWESOME COUPLE. MAYBE WITH FIYERO RUNNING AROUND IN THE BACKGROUND HAVING OCCASIONAL THREESOMES ON DIPLOMATIC ~PRINCE VISITS.
I have a lot of love for book!Elphaba too, but I have more ~feels about musical!Elphaba.
Eric Chant from the Chrestomanci series by Diana Wynne Jones - Eric Chant, otherwise known as Cat, is brilliant. I sometimes feel I don’t understand him very well, but I like him a lot. His life is so defined, and in some ways circumscribed, by his big sister: it’s perfect that the first line of Charmed Life is “Cat Chant admired his older sister Gwendolen. He admired her and he clung to her.” That clinging is evident in so many ways through the novel. But even when Gwendolen abandons and betrays him, he manages. He survives. He’s quietly really very tough: witness his making the bad guys’ defeat happen, even while he’s on the ground and tied up and “rather wishes he were dead”.
And I love, love, love his petulant reaction to Tonino in Stealer of Souls - it’s what made me really appreciate him as a character, that he’s used to being the youngest and most to be pitied person, and when that position is usurped he is so resentful and annoyed. He is SO MUCH the baby sibling, it’s kind of no wonder he never recognises that his older sister’s enormous magical power is actually his by right.
Edgar Linton from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - I LOVE Edgar Linton. I once had this argument with a professor in a seminar, because he thought that if you liked Edgar Linton better than Heathcliff, you had kind of missed the point of the book on a fundamental level. And I DISAGREE. I know what Edgar stands for and what Heathcliff stands for, and God knows Cathy shouldn’t have married Edgar. But Edgar, for all that he’s spoilt and sometimes nasty as a child, is good, and decent, and he tries really hard. He’s a good father, even if he’s overprotective. He tries to be a good husband, even though it’s completely hopeless; all that fruitless effort to be what Cathy needs makes me love him.
His withdrawal to the library while Cathy is dying breaks my heart. I completely see why Cathy reacts the way she does, but it just speaks so strongly of an anguished man who could never express it in the torrents of emotion Cathy does, who needs to hide. *tear*
Also, I hate Heathcliff. And who we like as characters in a book often has no relation to who we like in RL, so I completely get why people love him. But Heathcliff’s treatment of his wife and son, and the implied abuse there, makes my blood run absolutely cold. And his contempt for those he considers weak just ENRAGES me. YOUR APPROACH MADE YOUR SON FALL DOWN, THEN HALF-FAINT. CONTEMPT FOR HIS WEAKNESS AT THAT JUNCTURE MAKES ME WANT TO PUNCH YOU IN THE FUCKING MOUTH.
Which is another reason I love Edgar. Because he’s the milquetoast blond who’s rich and spoilt, has no connection with nature untamed, who finds Cathy’s emotional tempests annoying and exhausting. He finds his wife and Heathcliff alone together when he’s tried throwing Heathcliff out. So he’s ineffectual, humiliated, even his wife won’t obey him and come away. And Heathcliff LOLs, and basically goes “come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough!” And Edgar defies all genre convention and KNOCKS HIM DOWN. WHAM.
EDGAR LINTON JUST PWNED YOU.
Edmund from King Lear by William Shakespeare - I actually don’t like King Lear much, it’s by far my least favourite of the tragedies. But I LOVE Edmund and he’s one of my absolute favourite Shakespeare characters. I love his nasty sense of humour and his scheming. Society won’t acknowledge his talents because he’s a bastard - even though his scheming, and Goneril and Reagan’s reactions to him, suggest he’s clever, handsome and politically gifted. So he turns to nature over the Church, to ruthless self-interest over filial duty, and generally runs around being brilliant. “Now gods, stand up for bastards!” is one of my favourite lines from the play. Particularly since Edmund doesn’t need the gods; he stands up for himself.
I mean, I fully acknowledge that since I hate Lear like poison and the Fool, Goneril and Reagan don’t really connect for me, I am left adrift with no character to emotionally connect to until Cordelia comes back. And thus I may have imprinted on Edmund like a morally inappropraite duckling as someone who at least amuses me and is distinct from the depressing morass around Lear and the way he fucks up his own life and everyone around him.
But then, oh, his death scene hits me in the heart: “some good I mean to do/ despite of mine own nature.” He’s dying, and he’s got no instinct for doing the right thing, but in his last moments he tries to help Cordelia and Lear. ♥
Also: bonus points for being the inspiration for another Edmund. I always liked Edmund Pevensie a lot. He’s easy to empathise with, I think, because he fucks up and then feels guilty about it but can’t make himself come clean. Also I am always amused by the Turkish Delight of Sexual Tension. I like to imagine that the White Witch, not realising the pure heroes would have to be unspoilt by puberty because it’s Lewis, arrived in this low-cut, high-slit white number and then was like OH CRAP. WHAT DO CHILDREN LIKE.
Re: GUH! And MANY FEELINGS re: Heathcliff/Darcy parallels
Date: 2012-03-16 07:11 pm (UTC)OMG NOOOOO. JKR makes a lot of weird comparisons re: her popular villains. But yeah. Like, calling Lily an awful slur is not actually on the same level as beating her when they were married - and the appeal of Snape isn't solely about him being a dramatic dick.
James-Darcy is another very weird comparison. Like, the woman says "I'd sooner go out with the Giant Squid"/"I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man on earth I would marry". But yeah, being awkward and snobby is different from being a bully.
And yeah - I mean, I don't think James is quite that far gone even with what we know now about the timeline, but I do think SWM coming post-Prank just says incredibly bad things about James.
Hahahaha. ♥ you!