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Friday, April 22, 2011

a few of moi favorite "heroes"

What is a hero? To me (and no, this isn't the actual definition, :P ) a good story consists of a charmingly dashing, undeniably handsome fellow - preferably DARK haired, :swoon: who is either immensely brave or devastatingly romantic. (This does NOT include Mr. Darcy. :runs to avoid pelted tomatoes: ) Yup. I don't call myself fluffy...but I CAN be a hopeless romantic. In a tough sense. Not mushy-romantic. I like the gorgeously-tragic, dramatic tales that leave me sobbing or swelled with passion. This is one of the reasons I'm not a Jane Austen fan. :ducks renewed onslaught of tomatoes: Long, complicated reasons. :P
  
Anyhow...been wanting to compile a list like this for a while - and voila! Here you have it. A couple of weeks ago I thought I'd discovered my all-time-very-most-favorite hero - and was going to write a massive post explaining just WHY he's so incredible . . .Then I reached the end of The Count of Monte Cristo. . . and well, Edmond isn't so heroic anymore. Ah, the disappointments of life.  

flynn rider
Its devastating, I know. . . I haven't seen Tangled yet! o.O But never fear, dear followers - I plan on watching it next month in OR with a friend. You can all breath freely now. ;)

I've always been infatuated by cartoon men. . .but then again, I've always liked cartoon villains. . . When I was little I carried around a tiny figurine of Gaston (from Beauty and the Beast,) and would cry and throw fits if I lost him some place. My poor parents would run around the house searching top to bottom for Gaston. He was my deepest love - next to Captain Hook. :P Hey, so at least Flynn isn't a "bad guy". Hm. Though I guess thieves don't typically have the most commendable character. :nervous laugh: 

Why is it that all the "bad guys" are the dashing-est and most romantic? I mean, check out Flynn's all around heroic-ness. He's handsome, wears awesome BOOTS, and you've gotta love those expressive eyebrows! (have I ever mentioned that I adore Willoughby from Sense and Sensibility? Um . . . maybe that should wait for a future post. :P ) 

enjolras 
Alrighty - time for some seriousness. I just have to mention very quickly that I am supposed to be doing my weekly Friday cleaning right now. But blogging is much more important, right? Of course!

Enjolras! <3Some people have argued that Enjolras (from the book, Les Miserables - I prefer the stage play,) is NOT a hero. We already know Flynn most-likely isn't. Since in detail it would take too long to post my defensive reasons (poor guy,) I'll only say that Enjo's innocent, boyish passion is inspiring. He clearly possessed a deep compassion for the poor, so much in fact that he did what no other 19th century French Gentlemen would do - he fought and died for the "wretched of the earth."

But recently something terrible has happened to Enjo's hair. . . he's gone BLONDE. What is the world coming to? Anyway - all that said, despite the fact that yes, he died, he failed to accomplish his goal, and is even (in the minds of certain friends  - you know who you are, :P ) a communist joining ranks with Obama, his red-and-gold waistcoat is enough to warrant him the ultimate hero to me. ;)

Did you see them
Lying where they died?
Someone used to cradle them
And kiss them when they cried.

They were schoolboys 
Never held a gun...
Fighting for a new world
That would rise up like the sun.
{"Turning", Les Miserables}

jean valjean
I just have to mention that I LOVE the way the layout for this post is coming along. Mhm. Its the perfectionist in me. . .oh, and btw, this is my 2nd Friday cleaning day-turned blogging day. haha

Jean Valjean is the emblem of a TRUE hero. He isn't handsome, he isn't even charming - and goes to prove that I'm not as fluffy as I appear. . .I *do* understand real heroism. ;) A good friend and I are currently discussing "imagined" heroism vs. reality. . .which of course makes this post extremely amusing. Perhaps I should post my really-real views on the topic sometime. For now, I'll continue my dreamy-hero banter. Hey, fictional "heroes" are almost NEVER truly heroic. . .Mr. Darcy, for example. 
:valiantly defies tomato throwing mob: 

But this is about Valjean. :P 

From the moment I first saw the 10th Anniversary Concert DVD of Les Miserables (yes, I'm a fan of the musical, NOT the book. Shock, shock!) I was deeply moved by the story of  a man, who, being a sinner like anyone else, committed a crime that sent him to prison for 19 years. The following tale of redemption - making up the main plot of Les Miz, is breathtaking. Valjean, though his entire life was haunted by the past and constantly brought to his attention by the villainous (albeit misunderstood) Javert, - did nothing but selfless good. The beauty of  triumph over sin  was made even clearer after I recently saw the 25th Ann. touring production of Les Miz.  :goosebumps: 

Oh, I have to mention. Colm Wilkinson is the ONLY Valjean. Period. That guy's voice brings on the tears every time. . .

laurie lawrence 
I know your thinking, honestly, Laurie? Book-wise he has terrible character (though he DOES change,) movie-wise he's even worse. . .and in my mind no one, not any actor - will ever portray him properly. I'm using a picture of Christian Bale here simply for illustration. :P :P Ok, ok, so his portrayal is better then most. I mean, anyone compared to the guy in the 70's mini series is amazing. *ahem*

:sigh: Laurie is dreamy-ful. The book Laurie ONLY, that is. I don't think I'll ever, ever forgive Jo for turning the poor boy down. Not that they *needed* to get married. It would have been sooo romantic if perphas Laurie had died a tragic, heartbroken death, Jo sobbing at his side - or at least he might have lived to be a lonely, stern old hermit who, true to his pledge to Jo, would never love another. 

But no. NO. He had to go and marry Amy. Amy, my least favorite character in the whole of the novel. :sniffle: Its truly disheartening. Like Mr. Darcy, I could go in depth as to my reasons of *extreme* dislike. . .but I shall not. ;) It would be nice to keep at least SOME of my followers. heh

Ok, admit it. Laurie is awesome. He has the most adorable personality - just the right amount of passion, mischief, and bad-boyishness to warrant him one of my all-time-favorite literary "heroes". (Notice the "quotes". ;) )  Plus he's Italian. C'mon, how heroic can one possibly get? :P I adore Laurie so much that I modeled a dear character (Damien!) after him. Oh yes. You've heard of him before, and I'll probably be mentioning him again in a little bit. . . 

sir percy blakeney
Alrighty. I'll admit that I still don't know much about The Scarlet Pimpernel, though I've been told that he is the most incredible hero of them all (which I believe is debatable.) What? Where did those tomatoes come from? o.O

The Scarlet PimpernelAfter hearing so much about Percy and already knowing so much about the story, I decided to purchase the first book in TSP series. Right away I'm thinking, "whoa is this fellow unattractive!" - but I had to remind myself that things change. . .and well, I became so tempted to find out HOW Percy, the lazy, good-for-nothing Percy, became the Elusive Scarlet Pimpernel. . .I did a terrible thing . . .  I skipped to the end of the book.  o.O

I think I have to read more to decide whether or not he's the *ultimate* hero - or maybe watch the movie. However, for now, if you look deeper at the plot summary of TSP, you'll see a beautiful picture: Marguerite, (Percy's wife,) in her typically girly mind, thought of the valiant Scarlet Pimpernel as the perfect hero- the type of man that would sweep her off her feet, love her, protect her - something she didn't feel her husband could ever do. Then low and behold, in the end she finds out that the most unlikely source - her HUSBAND, was indeed the Scarlet Pimpernel! Very thought provoking if applied to real-life situations. :)

renè boudreaux and damien foster
You know you have serious problems when you feel that your characters are real, breathing, living people. Hm. Then my sister Anna and I are in very deep waters. We talk about our characters daily - so much in fact that we feel sorry for them in their trials, laugh with them when there happy. . . and through it all admit that we just aren't normal. :P But hey, being normal isn't fun. So. All that said, Renè and Damien are the most EPIC guys ever to leave the pen of amateur writers. 

Renè Boudreaux  is a 21 year old young man struggling through life as the father of an illegitimate child, his precious little Patria. Throughout the story (set in the 1830's,) we see him transform into a honorable man of God who would - and nearly does - give his very life for his daughter. :sob: His character is so complex, so deep, innocent, full of inward struggling - oy, he has to be the best character Anna and I have EVER created. Some time I'll have to write up a whole post just about him.  Oooh. . .plus Anna and I modeled him after Justin Scott Brown, the actor who played Marius when we saw Les Miz. You'll be meeting him soonishly - once I get my HUGE overview of the play up. ;)   

Damien Foster Then there's Damien. He's sort of our "pet" - his personality and even role has changed drastically since we first contrived the idea for our novel (which is currently in the making of a first draft. ;) ) "Wild", extremely boyish, somewhat spoiled, cheerful, happy-go-lucky, quick-temped, soft hearted, brave. . .Damien is a blend of several "heroes" in one. Rich and handsome, loved by everyone he meets, he tends to run away with his emotions. Yep. Remind you of Laurie at all? ;)  With a major twist, of course.
Wellllll . . . 
I doubt anyone will actually sit and read all these random ramblings. This post is NOT for the faint of heart! (or the Mr. Darcy addict. :P ) Mind you, this is not a complete list of moi favorite "heroes". . .  but for the sake of NOT boring you all to death with an ridiculously long post, I'll stop right here. 
 - Augustine St. Clare,  Sydney Carton, Raoul, Edmond Dantes (ok, the young Edmond is STILL epic,) and even Marius Pontmercy (can't believe I'm saying it, but seeing Les Miz has made me into a major Marius fan - Nick Jonas totally mis-portrays him,) are all in the "hero" category. Oh yes. 

Now. I will return to acting like an anti-fluff-head :P 
(just don't ask me to post on moi favorite literary heroins. I'm afraid there aren't many. ^_^ )

27 comments:

  1. Ooooooh, Reneè... I love that guy immensely. He just breaks my heart. <3

    And while I adore with every atom of my soul dark haired heroes, I firmly believe in handsome, dashing, GOLDEN-HAIRED heroes, too. You're wrong for having a "dark-hair-*ONLY*" affinity. So, so wrong.

    ^ who agrees with me?

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  2. Enjo is blonde in the book, so.... nothing bad has happened to his hair. =P

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  3. I haven't seen or read Les Miz (also ducks to miss the tomato throwers) So, while I can't speak of the hair.....

    I do love Jane Austen, but as I dislike some rather famous characters (eg. Ashley from Gone With the Wind and Jack from Titanic, I hate that movie!) I know how you feel!

    I love Flynn, he's cute, dashing, boyishly charming (yes, I can get a wee bit obsessed with cartoons.....Beauty and the Beast is my favorite movie of all time and I may have cried bitterly when I missed my chance to see the Broadway show when it came to Oregon.....) plus he can sing! The duet he sings with Rupenzal *sigh* I could listen to it all day!

    Laurie Lawernce how you dissapoint me, I still can't belive he ended up with Amy! She is Jo's opposite, you think if he really loved Jo like he said he did he wouldn't have even been atracted to Amy in the slightest! But, I do love Profesar Bear(sp?)

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  4. Blonde is good. :) I have a special place for the Golden-Haired heros - just something about them... ::faint::

    And I'm one of those people who think Enjo was a communist. *ducks*

    BUT...

    Having said that, I do love Enjolras. Just because Idon't like his politics doesn't mean I don't adore him! :)

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  5. Dark haired heroes are the best I think!!!
    Um...You forgot Gilbert Blythe in Anne of Green Gables..I rather liked his character!

    I kind of liked Laurie,I liked Christian Bale as 'Cowboy' in Newsies,but his friend David was a better hero in that movie! You MUST see that movie,I don't know why I like it so much,but I have a thing for historical musicals that involve dancing like in the Newsies!

    Oooo...the Scarlet Pimpernel,the guy who save his wife before she is beheaded by the evil french man who was once her friend and was betrayed! Who escapes from prison to save her by opening the side of his boot sole,to take out some little tiny tools! I haven't see the movie in a long time,but that's what I remember and its kind of cool don't you think?!

    Oh,I kind of want to see "Tangled" but since it kind of has magic in it I probably won't be able to!


    P.S. tell me if you ever take the time to watch the Newsies.

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  6. (steps forward)

    It was *I* who threw the tomatoes at the horrific insinuation that the fact that Sir Percy *IS* the most incredible hero is debatable. Yes, it was I! I am not afraid to admit it! Kill me if you want to! I don't care!!!

    (settles down)

    Interesting post! As nice as Laurie is, I hardly thought he was *epic* (ducks), but hey...to each his own. Nice, of course...but not epic. And yeah, he married Amy. What is this world coming to??? :-D I did think that he seriously should have died. Seriously!!!

    Anyhoo. Enjo, hm, yeah...Valjean, oh, yeahhh...Marius...of course...Flynn...despite the fact that ahem, he *is* a thief and in real life (ducks)...ya can't be "redeemed" by love other than Christ's love, and (ducks again), if a guy had that kind of attitude in real life I'd be sooooo annoyed...hahahaha. All that said, he *is* pretty great.

    Buuuuuuut.......Percy tops them all. I don't care what you say. I defy anyone who says differently. The end.

    And I'm really enjoying the heroism vs. reality discussion. :-)

    P.S. Percy is a golden-haired hero, too. So there, so there.

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  7. What??? Sir Percy NOT the greatest hero of all time- where are my tomatoes?? Just kidding. :)
    And I DO love Flynn... I am so glad I'm not the only one who has a thing for animated guys. You should talk to my sister- she always used to terrorize me because she thought Belle should have married Gaston. I almost disowned her :)
    I never really thought of Laurie, though as one of my favorites. I wasn't too happy he married Amy, either. It always just seemed really odd to me.

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  8. Flynn Rider: agreed, oh, so agreed.
    Willoughby: YES! Please do a post all about why you like him so I don't feel like such a terrible person for loving him.
    Enjolras: absolutely. I do love me a good blonde hero (high-five, Anna!), but I think *he* should definitely be dark.
    Valjean: Definitely an awesome hero. And Colm Wilkinson will be Valjean, always and forever.
    Laurie: I have always, always loved him. I did wish that he'd died or something (like Charlie in "Rose in Bloom", who I love, by the way, even though the book is not my favorite at all). OR challenge Behr to a duel.
    Percy: amazing guy, but not one of my favoritest heroes of all-time, for some reason.

    And your fictional heroes sound awesome. When will we get to meet them??

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  9. If you add Captain Ralph Percy, Aiden Errolson and Duncan Fenwick to your list it might be respectable. But I suppose it's not a total loss as Valjean and Sir Percy are featured.

    Hero? I believe that hero is a strong word and should be saved for someone truly deserving. Which would quickly toss out Flynn despite his amazing good looks, Enjolras and probably Laurie, though I cannot pass judgement on a character of which I know practically nothing.

    Willoughby should never disgrace the title in a thousand years.

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  10. I highly disagree with the idea of tossing out Flynn as being undeserving of the word "hero".

    I guess I can't give away the story for Michaela, BUT anyone who does what Flynn does at the end of "Tangled" is deserving of the term "hero" to me. Besides, I don't go for the characters that have it all together... it's so much better when they have something to struggle with or get over at the beginning (like Flynn) and change throughout the story and overcome it. Flynn is definitely a hero. ;-)


    Michaela-- Renee sounds like an awesome character. I can't wait to read your book!

    Some of my favorite heroes are characters I've met through my writing too. ;-) Isaac Blake and Mark Sayers in my novel... ahh! I love them. :-D (I've had a crush on both of them, alternately... which can be bad, because it tends to leave my other characters in the dust. :-P )

    Oh, and despite him being so associated with pop culture, I'd have to say another one of my favorite heroes is Luke Skywalker. ;-)

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  11. Oh my goodness! Your book that you are writing sounds awesome! Would you consider putting it on your blog? I haven't read any of the books (or watched any of the movies) you have talked about in this post except for Little Women! I think I will just have to add these to my reading list!

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  12. Unfortunately I just had to skim this post because I'm sleeeepy, but I may come back and read it because it's AWESOME.

    Flynn, Laurie and Percy are amazing. {I'm going to marry Flynn.}

    You have impeccable taste ;) We think alike, too. Your paragraph on Flynn pretty much sums up my exact feelings, down the "expressive eyebrows." I kid you not, I've used the very phrase before myself.

    ~Stephanie

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  13. just one comment on Flynn Rider. his eyebrows are incredibly expressive. he feels so real. but i love the actor who plays him too. :D not really, but he really kinda amuses me. :)

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  14. I would have to agree about Flynn Rider... I guess you're never too old to love an animated movie and its leading guy. He's quite a hero to me... in a funny, not-all-together kind of way. :)

    Laurie... don't get me started about why he should never have married Amy...

    Enjo and Valjean... yes, certainly. I like Marius a lot too (mostly, though, because I love listening to Michael Ball sing "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables"). :)

    There are several other "heroic" men I could mention that I like quite a bit... :) I don't want to dream too much though... its hardly fair to the non-fiction guys in my life. ;)

    Have a wonderful weekend!
    Rachel

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  15. Ooohhh... I haven't seen Tangled either, and I can't wait! Flynn promises to be a great hero - and there is definitely something wonderful about cartoon characters' great (haha) animated expressions. Oh... Flynn *does* have amazing boots. ;)

    This is such a fun post! The brave and heroic heros are infinitely better than any sappy and romantic ones (in my opinion ;) So this is a great list! Valjean and Sir Percy are great characters... and yes, you should read the Scarlet Pimpernel all the way through! It's a great book!

    Howweeeevvveeer, to meet the *most epic* heros *ever* (ducks again) I think you might enjoy some of Constance Savery's novels.... Enemy Brothers, Dark House on the Moss, and Emeralds for the King to name a few. Unfortunately they're difficult to get since they were last published in the 40s (interlibrary loan is the best way to get them).... but they are sooooo worth it! I think they'd give you a few more amazing heros to add to your list. :)

    Have a great Easter!
    ~Hadley

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  16. I am not very found of Mr. Darcy either. :P *ducks those tomatoes throwers*

    Sir Percy is definitely on my favorite heros list too! Also Mr. Edward Travilla (Elsie Dinsmore series) is one of the best heros ever! I mean, you can't get much better than him! He's a strong Christian, selfless in his love, a southern gentleman, and rescuing his love from fortune hunters! I could go on and on.... ;)

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  17. Well, I join the ranks of the tomato throwers! {if there are any left ;) } However, you were quite convincing in your dislike of Mr. Darcy, but I will forever have a "thing" for proud, passionate guys, who you can tease all you want... ;) And I was raised on him, so I kind of just love him. {I know, call me pathetic}
    About Laurie: WHAT??? You wanted him to die? *sob* that would have broken my heart. Besides, Amy is my favorite character EVER. She is so lovely and amazing. They were perfect together. *sigh* I do seem to be surrounded by people who do not like Amy though... why?
    AND blonde hair is just amazing. Really!
    Ooh, yes... and i would add Raoul to this list... he is just fantastic! Oh, and Mr. Thornton from North & South... even you have to admit that he is pretty epic, eh? haha(:
    Despite all of that, I LOVED this post! It is so fun to disagree :)

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  18. Hey. I *loved* Enjo's hair. Tomato-fy me if ye wish. ;)

    Jo couldn't marry Laurie, I mean they were too much alike! He's like the guy version of Jo March! Even though I did feel awful that she turned him down... not sure why. But they were just too similar.

    Oh my word, your Rene' DOES sound amazing!!! I think I like him already just from reading that paragraph... 0.o

    {P.S. Flynn Rider is awesome because Rapunzel conks him on the head with her frying pan. That right there is EPIC.}

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  19. I LOVE Flynn Rider! He's the BEST hero ever! but yeah, tall dark and handsome. ;) I also like Laurie and Willoughby to. :) As for Sir Percy Blakeney, I haven't read the books yet, yeah, I know, shocking. But from what I've heard he's pretty awesome. Though I'm sure he can't compare to Flynn. ;) BTW You TOTALLY NEED TO SEE TANGLED!!!! You will love it to death! I'm sure. ;)

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  20. Oh, wait, I have to second Gabrielle Renee! Edward Travilla totally deserves a hero award. I always liked Charles Landreth from the Mille Keith Series, too.
    I'm not seconding her on the Mr. Darcy, thing, though... :) He's not my favorite Austen hero, but he IS pretty awesome :)

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  21. I was brave enough to read the entire post...
    Even though I like Mr.Darcy. Although I like Mr.Knightley better. :)

    ~Stephanie

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  22. Personally, Sir Percy Blakeney is the best one up there. How wouldn't love an English lord who goes over to war torn France to rescue aristos from Madame Guillotine? He is a master of disguise. A master of strategy. Plus he loves his wife. Does he have character flaws? Sure. But he is pretty awesome! :D
    Read the book. Watch the movies (although neither the '82 version nor the A&E version are close to the book, they are still very good). Enjoy!
    The Scarlet Pimpernel all the way!

    PS How can you like Willoughby? Truly one of the most dastardly characters Austen ever made! Truly, if he were real, I would take him out. Breaking poor Marianne's heart like that. A cad to be sure. Even if he did ride up on a beautiful charger and quoted Shakespeare and was totally romantic...Oh well. :)

    ~Lindsey

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  23. This is awesome. Percy is the best of all the ones above mentioned. Flynn is pretty amazing too, I really don't mind when heroes are a little bit arrogant, after all they're HEROES what's the point in having a humble hero?
    I definitely agree with Anna, golden haired heroes are lovely, especially when they have British accents (not that there's anything wrong with dark hair either).
    I am not a great fan of Austen heroes either, some how or the other I always manage to fall in love with her BAD guys.
    ~Lolly~

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  24. You can't get rid of me *wicked laugh* and I have the terrible feeling that I just posted my last comment like ten times, or it didn't get posted at all.
    I like Laurie, but he is NOT a hero. He's just cute and lovable, and really why did he get over Jo? He's not heroic and stoic and all that at all.
    ~Lolly~
    ~Lolly~

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  25. I would have to say that Neil McNeil from "Christy" is one of my favorites. (I can't stand David!) Neil is soo intriguing, daring, full of concealed passion, knows how to treat Christy, and ends up converting to Christ. :)
    Among my other all-time favorite male characters are:
    Wynn Delaney from the "Canadian West Series" by Janette Oke, (if you haven't read the series, particularly the 1st book, you simply MUST!:)
    Drew Simpson, another one of Janette Oke's characters (mainly in "Love Finds A Home")
    Mr. Knightley from Emma :)
    Edward Travilla,
    And last but not least, the Prince in "Before you meet Prince Charming" :D

    ~Starlie

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  26. Michaela ~~ What a BEAUTIFUL post this was... I laughed at you. I truly did. {my confession for the day} I didn't think you'd mind though.

    At the top of my head, my favorite literary heroes would be Jean Valjean first--and then just lately... Sydney Carton, as I just finished 'A Tale of Two Cities' yesterday. *blissful sigh*

    I do have a couple favorite heroines as well. You may or may not have their acquaintance yet, but I'll list them here anyways. Emily Starr--a lovely girl who is a true writer! (there's 3 books by L.M. Montgomery)... and also Elsie Dinsmore (such a wonderful God-honoring series by Martha Finley).

    Now... after reading about all these characters you spoke of, I feel as if I have some reading to do...

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  27. Oooooooooohhh.

    I got back to this post through your linkwithin and I'm reminded again how delightfully happy your posts make me and how much they make me laugh.

    It's a pity that Edmond isn't that heroic.I liked him in the middle of Monte Cristo, but he got worse instead of better. A hero like him, but a million times better is Hector Sainte-Hermine from 'The Last Cavalier', also by Alexandre Dumas.

    I've always liked villians too. I've never forgiven Willoughby for not being 'good' enough for me to call him a hero. As to Flynn Rider, he's hardly a villian and (in my humble opinion) not quite a hero either.

    As to Laurie, I don't think I can forgive him for falling in love with Jo in the first place. Talk about not very romantic, especially since he falls 'out' of it so quickly. Although I do like Amy, so I suppose I can excuse that.

    As to Sir Percy Blakeney, I second everything Alexandra said. Him unattractive? I need a cartload of tomatoes quick, please! On second thought, you wrote that a while ago and you've changed your mind my now, I hope.

    Oh, and Sydney Carton. I haven't read 'A Tale of Two Cities' for so long, but when I read it a few months ago, he was my absolute superly-favorite literary hero.

    Loved this post!

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