ZombieSquirrel

I was reminded of a discussion I had in a lit class many a year ago. A fellow student went on and on about how she "just hated" a character. For the life of me I cannot remember what character she despised or even what piece of literature we were reading at the time. I remember asking her in a class discussion if she actually hated the character or the way in which it was crafted. I do remember I didn't have a strong opinion of the character, so wasn't able to fully pursue an answer on my own. After a class discussion we all agreed that our fellow classmate enjoyed how the character was created, but not the character. Having no strong opinion either way, I could have argued that it wasn't well crafted. I can't even remember it. (It will bug me until my swiss cheese brain coughs up the info I need, but doubt that will happen. I think my classmate's intense reaction to the character was what burrowed into my brain.)

I think one of my favorite examples of this is Dolores Umbridge from HP Order of the Phoenix. I hated her. I hated her with a passion. I wanted to punch my book. I always said that HPOP was my least favorite book because I hated the character so much. Then I realized that Harry despised her and had a better reason to than I. Hated the actual being of the character, but looking back I can say I love how she was crafted. The fact that the antagonist could create such strong feelings for me is a wonderful sign of how well the part was written. I had to respect the character, not her role in the book though. This realization makes me want to reread the book again.

To another degree I will say I read some awful chick lit after college to dumb myself down a little. (worked pretty well) I remember a few characters in books bound in pink that were underdeveloped. I liked them and I wanted them to have their happy ending. I would have cared more I think if some of them were given more depth.

Can you think of any characters that were crafted so well, but you just despised? Also, were there any characters that you liked, but were poorly written and just don't care? Or does that really even exist? Can you truly like a character even though it was poorly written? I'm sure teenage girls and Twilight Moms could talk about that. (I kid. I kid.)

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Baraka_Guru

I think a poorly constructed character is difficult to like unless it's some kind of guilty pleasure. You brought up ChickLit. It's the same idea I suppose for other genres and subgenres. Sometimes we as readers delight in cliches, expectations, and shallowness. I mean, look at what happened to television with reality TV.

I tend to have a lot of ambivalence towards underdeveloped or poorly constructed characters, and so if they die or some other bad thing happens, it's a challenge to feel sympathy. Or I won't care much if they are victorious or something good happens. This can be a problem.

But sometimes you just want a plot-driven novel. You want action, excitement, and stuff to happen. However, if you can write something that does all of these things and you develop compelling characters, then it's much better than the poorly drawn.

This question reminds me of the timeless Madame Bovary problem. Can we get over what we dislike about her?

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

mixedmedia

Arturo in the Katherine Dunn novel 'Geek Love.'

There isn't a phrase in that book that isn't exquisite but he is a truly reprehensible, revolting character. And it's not because he has flippers. hmph.

Great book, though, if you have the stomach for it.

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Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

roachboy

i dont find myself in the mood for a plot-driven novel too often these days.
i'd rather just look at the schematic.
spelling it out seems redundant.

a book of maps that'd be a book of other books. that i'd buy.

anyway, loathsome is difficult. franz biberkopf from doblin's berlin alexanderplatz is loathsome---he's stupid and violent and trapped in this violent stupid world and there's no way out and it gets worse and worse in a way that can only happen if you're not just watching a diagram get restated but feel like you're up inside the characters head---which is a matter of voice----which is a matter of craft.

everyone in elias canetti's auto-da-fe is loathesome. but the book is among the most powerful explorations of dissociation i've ever read. you just get to explore it in the company of people who suck.

emma bovary---obviously another voice function. flaubert is awesome. great lists. lots of motion inside the sentences, like a crane shot.

but i digress.

actually, if i'm going to read a diagram, i like noir fiction. stuff like jim thompson. population 1280. damn.

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spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

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Redlemon

Holden Caulfield, Catcher in the Rye. I can't stand the bastard. He must be a well written and constructed character, because the book is required reading in many english classes. But, I just think he's a dick. I just wanted to shake him and tell him to stop moping around and complaining.

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CinnamonGirl

Ugh. Holden Caulfield is my absolute most hated fictional character ever, for pretty much the same reasons. I even read the book a second time (four years in between readings) to see if I'd missed something...nope. Still couldn't stand the whiny bastard.


Back to the OP...Cersei Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire. I seriously loathe her, but as Eden likes to point out, she plays the part she's meant to. The fact that I feel so strongly about her, though, means I have to admit that she's very well-written, and even...not understandable exactly, but...hmmm. Consistent. Her actions are very consistent with her character.

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"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

Willravel

Are we talking about characters we're supposed to hate, as in they're written to be hated? Or are we talking about characters that are clearly not intended to be hated, but are hated just the same?

I hated Baron Vladimir Harkonnen from Dune, but he was a wonderfully loathsome character. I was supposed to hate him.

I hated the living shit out of John Galt from Atlas Shrugged, but that was because Ayn Rand is a raving narcissistic moron.

ganon

I just finished reading Mr. Peanut, a murder/drama/relationship all in one book. I hated the main female character; it was entirely the author's fault. He had a good idea and could not develop his female characters, especially her. There were hints and circumstances but not the fruition needed to invest. Another character I hated, new versus old, was the clone of Baron Harkonnen in Sandworms of Dune. Too fake.

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