It’s a simple question that I’m finding nearly impossible to answer:
Who is your all-time favorite character in a novel?
Sherlock Holmes? Quentin Compson? Jay Gatsby? Zaphod Beeblebrox? Willy Wonka? Leopold Bloom? Ahab? The whale?
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Huckleberry Finn: “All right, then, I’ll go to hell.”
Pierre Glendinning, from Melville’s “Pierre: or, the Ambiguities”
Hands down, without reading anyone else’s comments …
Harry Crewe. From Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword.
Atticus Finch
Elizabeth Bennett
Anne Shirley
Peekay
Elea from La Nuit des Temps (English translation: The Ice People) by Rene Barjavel. Long out of print, I’m afraid.
A little late I know, but just found this blog via Twitter.
I didn’t see the best narrator in literary fiction of all time in the comments: Scout (hands down).
Scarlett O’Hara. I love to hate her. And Melanie Hamilton. (GWTW)
Don Quixote–I love things that are heartbreakingly ridiculous.
Theo Lindheim.
Buck, in “The Call of the Wild”.
First one who came to mind was Aragorn, though I think Faramir is the more approachable (and noble) character.
I’d have to say Felicity from Julian May’s Saga of the Exiles.
Grace Poole. What a terrible occupation that was.
Oh, and Atticus Finch.
and Clarissa Dalloway.
Really enjoyed Wilkie, from the recent “Drood.” Wonderfully unreliable narrator.
Well, I’ve never read the book, but I loved Westley from The Princess Bride movie.
From an actual book, Reepicheep in The Chronicles of Narnia
Indiana Jones is the best character ever.
Then Hamlet,
Strange bedfellows.
I’ve never forgotten Harold from HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON. I have also made a point in introducing him to both my children. Now HBO features a cartoon about him. What fun!
Jean Valjean
The Little Prince
Don Quixote, because by comparison, I might seem more sane and my life more ordered….
Puddleglum from the Narnia books.
Aslan
There’s no one in fiction I would want to meet more than him.
Honestly? Bridget Jones. Is it lame to pick a chick lit character? B/c I could lie and say that it’s Anna Karenina to sound more intellectual (it’s so not her….so not).
Here are some different ones:
1) Cory Mackerson from Boy’s Life by Robert R. McCammon
2) Druss from Legend by David Gemmell, is tied with Jon Shannow from Wolf in Shadows by David Gemmell
3) Thomas of Hookton from Archer’s Tale, Vagabond and Heretic by Bernard Cornwell who is tied with Robert E. Howard’s Conan4) Harry Keogh from the Necroscope series
5) Salvatore Guiliano from The Sicilian by Mario Puzo.
6) Jillseponie (Pony) from the Demon Wars books by R. A. Salvatore
7) Jason Bourne from the Bourne Identity and the sequels by Robert Ludlum
8) Sleel and Sister Clamp from The Man WHo Never Missed by Steve Perry
9) Duncan Idaho from the Dune series
10) FitzChivarly Farseer from Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice and the five books that followed
11) Kvothe from The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
12) Simon Templar from The Saint13) Horatio Hornblower from C. S. Forester’s Hornblower series
14) Richard Sharpe from Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe Adventure Series15) Anyanwu from Octavia E. Butler’s Wild Seed(There IS a difinitive #1 in there.)
I’d have to say Arithon S’Fallen from the Wars of Light and Shadow by Janny Wurts.
Fuchsia, or just about any character, from the Gormenghast books.
Auntie Mame, from Patrick Dennis’s novels Auntie Mame and Around the World with Auntie Mame.
Second runner up for favorite character: Patrick Dennis himself. Just read great bio about him, Uncle Mame.
Mildred Lathbury in Barbara Pym’s Excellent Women:
“I suppose an unmarried woman just over thirty, who lives alone, and has no apparent ties, must expect to find herself involved or interested in other people’s business, and if she is also a clergyman’s daughter then one might really say there is no hope for her.”
Silk from David Eddings’ series The Belgariad and The Mallorean.
Alanna, Pounce, and Gareth of Naxen from Tamora Pierce’s series Song of the Lioness.
Elizabeth Bennett.
Thursday Next from Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series.
Beatrice from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.
Yossarian.
I already mentioned Puddlegum, who I love because he’s so loyal and brave and humorous while not even realizing it (another such character is Pumpkin from the May Bird books if anyone is looking for something new). I felt I had to come back and mention one other though: Augustus McRae from Lonesome Dove. Woodrow Call is prety good too. In fact I think they could be counted together as one character.
So sorry. Can’t stand my typos…Augustus McCrae; and pretty good, not prety good. Probably others, but…
I can’t decide on just one, but I will narrow it down to the ones I keep returning to:
Archie Goodwin (Nero Wolfe novels)
Aslan (Narnia)
Will Stanton (from The Dark is Rising)
Huck Finn
Tom Sawyer/ the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Philip Marlowe
Realizing I am repeating to some extent here:
Bartimaeus from Jonathon Stroud’s trilogy
Eugenides from Megan Whalen Turner’s Thief series,
Flauvic Merindar from Sherwood Smith’s Crown Duel – esp from his short story in Firebirds
Applauding everyone who mentioned Jane Austin characters, Sherlock Holmes, the March sisters, Puck…just so many!
Nabokov in his autobiography "Speak, Memory," a cheatin-sounding comment but I love him. A friend says Stout's "Olive Kittridge" reminds him of his wife, and that McEwan's "On Chesil Beach" reminds him of his honeymoon. They've been married a long time. My friend tells his wife, "Honey, you're always my favorite!"
I'm late, but I have to throw in Scout Finch.
Oooh…And Valentine Wiggin
Cinderella-From Cinderella (Just such a famous young fictional woman)
Eliza Doolittle-Pygmalion
George and Lenny-Of Mice and Men
Oh, wow. I almost forgot
The Bauldelaire Orphans-A Series Of Unfortunate Events
Plus, a classic that no one could forget…
Lord Of the Flies-classic tale of what happens when some spunky little boys are deserted on a desaerted island.
And to Megan, on her note about Wicked… That's why I'm looking up these books. It's all for a contest to see Wicked for free, lol.
Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov