Long, Rambly, and Semi-Coherent (A Song of Ice and Fire)
Because it's where my head has been - a post, primarily related to A Song of Ice and Fire but with a couple other things thrown in there too. I was thinking in Chemistry today (not about Chemistry, alarmingly enough) and a few things came up in my head.
Firstly is that the great thing about this series (and others, but this one especially) is that GRRM is very good at creating characters we want to see again with very little space. I have a list of characters I barely knew that I want to see again, whether they're actually dead or just unlikely to turn up again. First and foremost and most obviously among these would be Oberyn Martell who was alive for exactly one book and around for probably under 200 pages. And yet the man has his own LJ comm and a legion of still grieving fans (I'd like to think it's not only because of how hot he sounds but also because he's a very interesting and intense character). Then there's Bronn who is pretty much the most secondary character to ever secondary a secondary, but he has his fair share of supporters in fandom. Not to mention Renly who we don't see much of and isn't coming back. And then there are the characters we never see firsthand at all - Lyanna and Rhaegar - who somehow still have a draw and connection to the reader even though they've never even been spotted onscreen. And isn't that interesting?
The second thing was that I cannot stand the pairing Theon/Robb. I suppose I see the attraction and, actually, in normal mode might go for it myself, but I think it's a measure of how much I loathe Theon that I don't. Because I really do hate him. And I don't want him near Robb because the boy deserves better.
So then I was thinking about why I dislike Theon so much...
And I think I pinpointed it. Much as I love my characters ambiguous and savage and dangerous, all of them have one thing consistently in common - devotion to someone other than themselves. And Theon doesn't have that - he doesn't have any loyalty at all, in fact, and more and more I realize that I can't respect people like that. Who don't have any kind of compulsion to be loyal or devoted or anything at all. Not even necessarily to a person; even to a cause.
Most of my favorite characters, that devotion is to their families - Lucivar and Locke Lamora have it in almost fanatic quantities, and no matter the latter's slippery morals he nonetheless cares far more about his brothers than he ever will about himself. The Starks, by far my favorite people in A Song of Ice and Fire, are known for their devotion to the pack. Felix has his own weird attachment to Mildmay that, though he's horrible at expressing it, is even more emphatically a need than a tendency. Caliban and Niko rely totally on each other, especially on Cal's end, and would quite literally die for each other several times over. Finally, and one of the more interesting examples, I think the reason I'm so attached to the Feanorians is that they take their loyalty all the way to the bitter end. It's an expression of a very good thing gone horribly wrong; the loyalty to family leading ultimately to the end of that same family. Even Snape, who I am rediscovering my love for, has this in his loyalty (unto death) to Dumbledore, and to Lily.
In contrast, my least favorite characters are the ones that don't stay attached to one thing, don't have any particular loyalty or ability to keep faith. Theon is one example; Petyr Baelish is an even better one. While Tywin does some terrible things and Gregor Clegane is a pure monster, Littlefinger has my loathing because he doesn't do things for anyone but himself. Tywin, it is arguable, fights for the advancement of his family; Petyr has only ever done anything to get himself farther up the social ladder. Axis, from the Wayfarer Redemption series, reneges on a promise and worst of all, has no real punishment for it.
That would be the other thing that jars me about A Song of Ice and Fire, that is very true to life. When someone does something wrong, I want them to be punished; I want justice to be served. In this series it never is.
Of course, not all of this holds true for all my favorite characters. Rand is a loner, though one could argue that his almost manic attitude toward isolating himself is in fact a version of the 'protect others first' mentality that often shows up in these types. Lymond is a hard man to pin down, and no one from China Mieville's universe is precisely a paragon of virtue. However, for the majority...
I like my characters loyal. To something, at least, even if it may not be strictly wise.
Finally, rereading Half-Blood Prince, all the 'Snape is ebul!' things are making me sad and all 'STFU HARRY YOU KNOW NOTHING JON SNOW' but those are two separate canons.
I may have an essay in the works on Brotherhood in A Song of Ice and Fire (and possibly sisterhood, but I'd need more sister pairs, ideas :O?) but that shall be later.
I leave you with that, and apologize sincerely for any major incoherency that may have occurred.
Firstly is that the great thing about this series (and others, but this one especially) is that GRRM is very good at creating characters we want to see again with very little space. I have a list of characters I barely knew that I want to see again, whether they're actually dead or just unlikely to turn up again. First and foremost and most obviously among these would be Oberyn Martell who was alive for exactly one book and around for probably under 200 pages. And yet the man has his own LJ comm and a legion of still grieving fans (I'd like to think it's not only because of how hot he sounds but also because he's a very interesting and intense character). Then there's Bronn who is pretty much the most secondary character to ever secondary a secondary, but he has his fair share of supporters in fandom. Not to mention Renly who we don't see much of and isn't coming back. And then there are the characters we never see firsthand at all - Lyanna and Rhaegar - who somehow still have a draw and connection to the reader even though they've never even been spotted onscreen. And isn't that interesting?
The second thing was that I cannot stand the pairing Theon/Robb. I suppose I see the attraction and, actually, in normal mode might go for it myself, but I think it's a measure of how much I loathe Theon that I don't. Because I really do hate him. And I don't want him near Robb because the boy deserves better.
So then I was thinking about why I dislike Theon so much...
And I think I pinpointed it. Much as I love my characters ambiguous and savage and dangerous, all of them have one thing consistently in common - devotion to someone other than themselves. And Theon doesn't have that - he doesn't have any loyalty at all, in fact, and more and more I realize that I can't respect people like that. Who don't have any kind of compulsion to be loyal or devoted or anything at all. Not even necessarily to a person; even to a cause.
Most of my favorite characters, that devotion is to their families - Lucivar and Locke Lamora have it in almost fanatic quantities, and no matter the latter's slippery morals he nonetheless cares far more about his brothers than he ever will about himself. The Starks, by far my favorite people in A Song of Ice and Fire, are known for their devotion to the pack. Felix has his own weird attachment to Mildmay that, though he's horrible at expressing it, is even more emphatically a need than a tendency. Caliban and Niko rely totally on each other, especially on Cal's end, and would quite literally die for each other several times over. Finally, and one of the more interesting examples, I think the reason I'm so attached to the Feanorians is that they take their loyalty all the way to the bitter end. It's an expression of a very good thing gone horribly wrong; the loyalty to family leading ultimately to the end of that same family. Even Snape, who I am rediscovering my love for, has this in his loyalty (unto death) to Dumbledore, and to Lily.
In contrast, my least favorite characters are the ones that don't stay attached to one thing, don't have any particular loyalty or ability to keep faith. Theon is one example; Petyr Baelish is an even better one. While Tywin does some terrible things and Gregor Clegane is a pure monster, Littlefinger has my loathing because he doesn't do things for anyone but himself. Tywin, it is arguable, fights for the advancement of his family; Petyr has only ever done anything to get himself farther up the social ladder. Axis, from the Wayfarer Redemption series, reneges on a promise and worst of all, has no real punishment for it.
That would be the other thing that jars me about A Song of Ice and Fire, that is very true to life. When someone does something wrong, I want them to be punished; I want justice to be served. In this series it never is.
Of course, not all of this holds true for all my favorite characters. Rand is a loner, though one could argue that his almost manic attitude toward isolating himself is in fact a version of the 'protect others first' mentality that often shows up in these types. Lymond is a hard man to pin down, and no one from China Mieville's universe is precisely a paragon of virtue. However, for the majority...
I like my characters loyal. To something, at least, even if it may not be strictly wise.
Finally, rereading Half-Blood Prince, all the 'Snape is ebul!' things are making me sad and all 'STFU HARRY YOU KNOW NOTHING JON SNOW' but those are two separate canons.
I may have an essay in the works on Brotherhood in A Song of Ice and Fire (and possibly sisterhood, but I'd need more sister pairs, ideas :O?) but that shall be later.
I leave you with that, and apologize sincerely for any major incoherency that may have occurred.