Fictionalizing

[lillibet]

Another one from writersblock:

Do you connect or identify with any particular fictional character? If so, which one and why? If you could be that character in their world for one day, what would you do?

greenquotebook wrote a great response to this one, inspiring me to give it a try.

This is not a way that I tend to think about characters, perhaps because I am too essentialist in viewing gender. I think I tend to identify with lead characters, but their tendency to maleness gets in the way of true sympathy for me.

The exception that I can think of is Lizzy, from Pride and Prejudice--her wit and tendency to enjoy her own, her observation of others and tolerance for their faults. But I am also Lydia, at least in the way my sisters see me, and I think that gets at a key issue in my identifications--they are more often because I recognize the relationship than the character itself. I am Marianne, but only because B. is Elinor. I am Kirk, but only because I hang out with Spock a lot and have several Bones and Scotties. I am Ferris, but that never occurred to me until I married a Cameron. Of course, we are both Pooh, so that helps :)

But considering it further, I think that I do not look for myself in books. I look for other options, other ways of being that feel authentic to me.

How about you? Are there characters with whom you strongly identify? Are there characters that make you think of me? Is that kind of identification something that you look for in your fiction?

Comments

[dpolicar]

I am like you in this, I think. The way I usually frame it is that I tend to slice the plenum up into relationships rather than individuals, and individuals are just the focal point that certain sets of relationships have in common.

So when I identify with "characters" in fiction what I am usually identifying with is particular relationships, often transient ones.

I can't think of any particular examples right now, though.

[sovay]

Is that kind of identification something that you look for in your fiction?

Most of my character imprints are based on liking or sympathizing with the character, but very few if any are direct identifications—I do not read books or watch movies and say, "Oh, there I am." (It's a very alien thought, in fact, and can be disorienting when applied to me by other people.) As an adult, I've been able to look at some of the early characters and see why they were so important to me, which can include elements about myself that needed reinforcing or alternatives, but I don't think that's quite the same thing. I am much more likely to incorporate fictional or historical persons into a metaphorical reference system or a kind of miniature pantheon—Tiny Wittgenstein and Tiny Richardson—than I am to fantasize about living a favorite character's life for a day.

[beowabbit]

I don't really see myself in fiction; to the contrary, my inner monologue as I'm reading is more about how I would behave differently if I were in that situation. (Not necessarily better or wiser, although the fictional devices of telegraphing disaster and making the reader think they know something the characters don't know both tend in that direction, but differently.) What I mostly notice as I read fiction or watch plays or movies is how realistic the characters feel to me — not "I am that person", but "I know people like that". (Or, "That character wouldn't really be that dumb with that experience!")

The closest to an exception was that as a child I identified with Spock, but only in the very broad strokes of being isolated from the social structure around me and interested in other things than other children were.

[greenquotebook.livejournal.com]

You are the first Pooh I've met, I think. My best friend, Owl who often behaves like Tigger, declared me Kanga years ago. :)

If you haven't yet read The Book Thief, you should. And yes, they did a good job with the movie.

[trowa-barton.livejournal.com]

For me, there is a reason why my username is what it is.
Trowa Barton remains my favorite anime character because of how much I related to him.