Characters To Remember

I have written before on my favorite writers but not really on the my favorite book characters. On the about me page I've listed a few of my favorite writers; Sir Walter Scott and Jane Austen and like I said it is quite a contrast but I like a wide range of authors and types of writing.

So firstly, my favorite Sir Walter Scott character is Ivanhoe, the famous chivalrous Anglo Saxon knight and in the 1952 film, Robert Taylor portrays him beautifully. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. The story takes place in South Yorkshire which I concluded from the places that are mentioned in the beginning; the River Don, Sheffield, and Doncaster. The hero of the book has just returned from the Crusades in disguise and he faces many challenges when he returns. His father has disinherited him for supporting the Norman King Richard and he is in love with Lady Rowena his father's ward who he has promised to Lord Athelstane in hopes he can revive Anglo Saxon Power. What I liked about him the most is that he is a brave and chivalrous knight upholding the Code of Chivalry. The Code of Chivalry was started in the 12^th Century and was a code of conduct established to give knights something to measure themselves against and to know how to behave especially with a Lady. According to http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/ The Song of Roland lists the Code of Chivalry as follows:

To fear God and maintain His Church

To serve the liege lord in valour and faith

To protect the weak and defenceless

To give succour to widows and orphans

To refrain from the wanton giving of offence

To live by honour and for glory

To despise pecuniary reward

To fight for the welfare of all

To obey those placed in authority

To guard the honour of fellow knights

To eschew unfairness, meanness and deceit

To keep faith

At all times to speak the truth

To persevere to the end in any enterprise begun

To respect the honour of women

Never to refuse a challenge from an equal

Never to turn the back upon a foe

I won't detail all of the individual codes but point out my two favorite examples. At the tournament of Ashby de la Zouche Ivanhoe presents Lady Rowena with the crown of love and beauty, a public declaration of his heart of love for her. He shows her great honor by presenting her with a crown since she is an Anglo Saxon Lady and thus setting her above all the other ladies present. Later in the novel, his chivalrous conduct is exemplified when he defends the honor of the lovely Rebecca, the daughter of a wealthy Jew. She is unjustly tried and convicted of witchcraft and Ivanhoe saves her life by fighting in a joust to the death by defeating his greatest opponent, the Norman knight Brian de Bois Guilbert. Again he shows great respect by defending her since she is of the Hebrew Faith and he is a Christian knight.

My favorite Jane Austen character is a difficult choice. I love all her characters. I think that for the time they are set in and written in they portray strong characters. There is outspoken Lizzie Bennet and determined matchmaker Emma Woodhouse, and of course the charming Dashwood sisters and Fanny Price. However, I think I would have to especially mention Anne Elliot, the heroine of Persuasion who is slightly older and considered almost past her chances of marrying and in danger of becoming a spinster. I think she was the most mature of Austen's work which is portrayed in the way she handles the return of a man she had jilted ten years earlier. She had been in love with Frederick Wentworth but was persuaded by Lady Russell to break the engagement as it was considered an unsuitable match for an Elliot. 

Ten years have past and Wentworth is now a wealthy naval captain. In fact their social situations have almost reversed and Wentworth is now very Wealthy and Anne's family have come into financial difficulty and must move from the family home. And what's worse is that Wentworth's sister and husband acquire the Elliot estate and Anne is forced to visit her own home with the man she jilted staying there. She must face him again and she soon discovers that her feelings haven't changed and there is the possibility that he will marry one of the Musgrove sisters, Louisa or Henrietta. She is very brave as she deals with the awkwardness, hiding her innermost feelings for there is no one she can share it with. She bares it as a saint watching him flirt and mingle with the two lovely young girls knowing that one of them might become his wife and her feelings for him haven't changed and she is forced into social situations where she must face him. I think it is one of Austen's most realistic characters. It's a little more melancholy than her other stories and draws more on the emotions.

I have many literary characters that inspire me and could spend hours studying them and these are just a few. I'll save the rest for another time.