Yesterday was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 150th birthday and Conan Doyle’s greatest creation, Sherlock Holmes, is nearly as popular today as he was in the 19th century.
Conan Doyle was a master at character creation. Although readers became extremely affectionate towards Holmes, there was nothing innately loveable about him. He was frequently described as cold (although he became very passionate when on a case.) He was a habitual user of both cocaine and morphine. He was rude and arrogant. But he was gifted, and continually amazed readers with his powers of observation and deduction.
Conan Doyle eventually tired of his famous detective and decided to kill him off to work on his historical novels. Holmes and his arch enemy, Professor Moriarty, fall to their deaths over a waterfall in “The Final Problem.” The public would hear nothing of it. First Conan Doyle tried to satisfy the public by producing The Hounds of the Baskervilles, set before Holmes’ death. Readers, however, weren’t happy with this solution and Conan Doyle eventually brought Holmes back (as many soap operas today bring back popular characters from death.) Conan Doyle’s publishers were, of course, delighted.
I’m a big Sherlock fan myself and enjoy reading Conan Doyle as well as watching adaptations on television. I love that Holmes is so popular despite his shortcomings…and maybe because of them. I write a character that also has plenty of failings, but try to balance them out with positive traits. I enjoy brusque characters with hearts of gold. Or characters that are tough on the outside but who stand beside their friends through thick and thin.
Do you enjoy reading about protagonists that have obvious faults? Do you write these protagonists? How do you make them interesting without making them unsympathetic to the reader?
You bring up a really good point. We sometimes focus on making sure the antagonist has something about him that is positive or sympathetic so he’s more than one dimension, but we sometimes forget about the protagonist.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Well the main character in my last novel, Owen Fiddler, is one completely and totally GREAT BIG fault. Yet in spite of his many faults he is the protagonist, you somehow relate to him and his problems and hope he “gets it” before it’s too late. But that’s a sort of different situation.
This is a good subject. In a typical “good guy” protagonist, yes, I like to see some quirky or less than perfect characteristics, it makes the character seem real. But I do SO tire of the arch-typical cop or sleuth who has a drinking problem and has a bad relationship with his ex, yadayadayada – enough already.
The Old Silly from Free Spirit Blog
Gosh, creating characters is one of those things I need to work on! Since I always write true stories, I’m thinking about characters in terms of who they actually are, not who I can make them become. But I think even in memoir it’s helpful sometimes to think of a character as a protagonist — would make me develop that personality even more. Thanks!
I’m also tired of the ex-alcoholic PI or cop with a whole slew of depressing problems. I do think the protagonists need to at least have a few bad habits or hangups to make them real. And I love quirky elders who drive the younger characters crazy.
Patricia
I think that flawed characters are easier for the readers to identify with. I like ’em! Face it, no one is perfect and while we may not dwell on the imperfections, sometimes its what intrigues us about the character.
Nancy
http://nasharpe.blogspot.com
Somehow I got to thinking about tv and House. That guy has many of Holmes’s traits. Some things seem to stand the test of time.
Dear darling daughter,
Does North Carolina public television currently rerun the wonderful Sherlock Holmes series from years ago–the one starring the late Jeremy Brett? You can catch it on South Carolina public TV most Saturday nights at 8:00. Your mother and I have been enjoying it. Brett is the quintessential Holmes–much like Sean Connery’s James Bond–and each show opens with wonderful music and a London street scene.
Love,
Your old man
Hi Daddy!
They were running Sherlock Holmes for a little while on NC public TV, but then I think they shifted to other programming. I’ll have to catch it on SCETV….Brett is great. His face pops up in my head when I think of Holmes.
I like the intro, too, with the street kids mugging in front of the shop window.
Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder