I was perusing another lit site today and ran across a great question I decided to pose here. Anyone out there ever have a crush on a literary character?
I'll 'fess up. When I was little and read Little Women I had a crush on Laurie, as I'm sure many girls had had before me and have had since. What's funny to me is that I pictured him so differently from the description Jo provides in the book. "Curly black hair, brown skin, big black eyes, handsome nose, fine teeth, small hands and feet, taller than I am, very polite for a boy, and altogether jolly." Although I have no doubt my Laurie was polite (for a boy) and jolly, in my imagination he was a fair-skinned, auburn-haired, lanky young man. At least I had the height thing right. I'm not how sure my imagination strayed so far from the author's intention - Alcott gave such a detailed description! - but I quite liked my Laurie and he fit very well into his role in the book. Why didn't Jo want him to love her, I wondered? Silly girl! Prof Bhaer wasn't alluring to me at all.
Is there a literary love of your life? Or just a wee bit of a crush? Feel free to reveal which characters you fancy. (Don't be shy - I'm pretty sure none of them are blog readers.)
3 comments:
Without a moment's hesitation - Francis Crawford of Lymond, from Dorothy Dunnett's "Lymond Chronicles". The blurb on the back of the books describes him as "Byronic". A "Bad Boy" of the kind women adore, he's a brilliant but tormented Renaissance man. A poet, a scholar, a warrior and a lover. I discovered him just when I was preparing for my Bar exams - it was hard to tear myself away from him to study my law books. Lymond was one of only 2 "pen and ink" creations I ever fell in love with. The other was Aragorn from "The Lord of the Rings".
I can't imagine how I forgot, but I also fell in love with Remus Lupin from the Harry Potter books - and I absolutely hated the way he was cast in the films!
I apologize that it's taken so long for me to respond to your comments, Shimona.
I never heard of the Lymond Chronicles and that word 'Byronic' certainly makes me intrigued to find out more....I can't remember Aragorn very well - I only saw the movies, I must admit.
I love to read about these lit crushes! Thanks for the comments!
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