Dean Priest

via {no, this is not a real model for Dean}

The Latest Literary Series . . . A Hero

      I like to find the “unlikely” heroes in fiction—those that touched me, but weren’t always co-starring with a lovely heroine. Dean Priest, of L.M. Montgomery’s Emily trilogy, is just such a man.

      Dean isn’t a Gilbert Blythe—not perfectly sweet, forgiving, young, or exactly handsome. But he holds some charm—probably because of his roguishness. He’s actually overly possessive, old (at least compared to the heroine, with whom he’s in love), and walks with a limp. Hence the name Dean “Jarback” Priest.

      Emily Starr thinks he knows too much—and he’s certainly not “the man” for her, though they are good friends. He has plenty of faults yet is still, maybe surprisingly, likeable.

      His advice to you? Your characters can be mysterious. We never fully “get” him. He was basically an outcast of the Priest clan. He was sorrowful. He shows again that suffering makes a character all the more interesting and real.

     Who is your literary hero?

Faramir

An Introduction to the Latest Literary {Blank} Series.

      I got this idea off Hayden’s blog. She had posts of her literary heroes and heroines . . . and I’ve made it into a series including my favorite book heroes, heroines, villains, and “facepalms.” This series should appear on this blog at least once a month. Oh, and by the way . . . these characters will have been involved in the last book I read (which was The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien). 

 

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      Today I honor my latest literary hero, Faramir. Captain of the White Tower, dashing, wise, sorrowful. Who can’t love him?

      Faramir is the son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor. While he doesn’t appear in The Lord of the Rings until The Two Towers: Book Four, his story penetrates the line of his brother Boromir (the rash, handsome, ever-obedient elder son) by the time Tolkien reaches The Fellowship of the Ring: Book Two. With Boromir’s death, Faramir is catapulted into grief and the future stewardship of Gondor—but his father’s constant comparison of him to his older brother seems to serve for more sorrow than even Boromir’s death. He’s the kind man who deserves so much yet often receives so little because he’s not as “flashy” as someone else in his family.

      Faramir has to be one of my favorite characters in The Lord of the Rings. We aren’t always with him, which makes him more intriguing; he carries “baggage” as my sister Hallie would say; and he suffers. For some reason I’m very attracted to the suffering male character. Maybe part of it, too, is because his relationship with Denethor is very real: familial relationships don’t usually get much thought with Tolkien.

      Then there’s his romance with Éowyn: yet another of my favorite parts. Éowyn is the feisty niece of Théoden King of Rohan, who goes to fight for Minas Tirith though she is a woman. Éowyn deserves a whole character sketch herself, so I won’t go into detail of her here. I know that many people call her a feminist, and while I don’t personally commend all of her actions, I don’t find her “unmaidenly”—actually the contrary. Anyway, that romance is another topic for discussion, since I’m supposed to be focusing on Faramir. His persistence with her is admirable, even when he knows she wants to marry another man. “Éowyn, do you not love me, or will you not?”

      The advice I glean for writers from Faramir: Don’t hesitate to make character relationships bad, even to the point of huge mental pain.