On Reasons for 'Liking' a Character

[Kittykatknits]

My personal fave is Sansa, followed closely by Cat, Davos, and Edmure.

I tend to the 'interesting read priority' part of the spectrum. A character has to be both reasonably plausible/realistic as a person/undead person ( :drunk: ) and be thrust into an interesting situation, while being interesting in and of him/herself (and, to me, the best way of making a character interesting is by making her/him plausible and reasonably complex*; see Edmure, who at first glance is just a poor clueless plot device/fellow, but is actually quite smart, somewhat snarky, and unfortunately shallow; also sexy redhead :bowdown: ).

Character's personality would ideally be very marked and strong.

I can't say for sure wether I find it necessary for characters to be 'competent' in order for me to like them, or to be 'good'. That said, I usually gravitate more towards people not as crazy as Ramsay Snow or Gregor Clegane :drunk: . Still, all stories need a variety of characters, good and bad, competent and incompetent, and whatnot, and I can like antagonistic characters, like Roose Bolton.

Identifying with a character is a bonus, but not a top priority - for example, feeling some sort of similarities made me like Edmure and Sansa more. But I also find people like Davos and Catelyn extremely attractive as characters, even if they are nothing like me (strong personality, savvy, smarts and sexy redheadedness :bowdown: in Catelyn's case; moral code and unyielding loyalty, as well as an appretiation/longing for family life in Davos').

That being said:

What constitutes an 'interesting' read?

For me, it tends to be something in which the conflict is personal (and emotionally loaded, preferably not only with rage or thirst for revenge), and characters have to make choices that compromise their views and notions of what is right and wrong, and at a certain point are left just wanting out.

That's the reason I found Catelyn's arch so appealing: you could feel her getting gradually more depressed and exhausted, just wanting to be in Ned's arms again :crying:

And then she died :frown5:

That is a very compelling character (and character arch) type for me. Of course, not everyone can have such a story (some people have to live :drunk: ).

Sansa won me over with her goodness and stern attitude when facing life as hostage during ACoK and ASoS, not even once wishing death or suffering on her captors; and that was quite interesting considering that most people (myself included) would be a lot more resentful. So that is a rather particular example of character goodness translating into interesting read and a demonstration of a strong personality.

*Of course, competence can be appealing, and can spice up an already interesting character greatly; see Roose Bolton, who in addition to not being one-dimensional, is too cool to live, even if slightly... cold?

Loved your post. I really like Edmure too. He's not the big hero of the story but he's funny and is one of the very few lords we see who actually seems to care about his small folk. I really want to see a RW2 and then Edmure back in Riverrun by the end of the series. I'll be really disappointed if he stays as a Lannister hostage for the rest of his life.

[Edmure Floppy-Fish Tully]

Thanks ^_^

As a captain of Gondor once said, the praise of the praiseworthy is above all rewards.

[Lady Aislinn]

There are so many reasons to like a character. It could be for their contribution to the story, their development, their story arc, how they voice their POV, as well as other people see in the story.

I like Sansa, Arya and Jon not just because they're painted as protagonists in the story but I can relate to them.

Sansa, at first, is so easy to hate but later on, I have grown to love her character. She might not have Arya's fire but she's tough in her own way. Arya is just so heartbreaking. I feel for her story early on. That misunderstood, hotheaded, I-don't-want-to-be-a-princess vibe gets to me. And Jon? Solid POV. Lots of angst, uncertainty, daddy issues, mommy issues, girl issues -- you name every negative issues and he most likely have it and yet, I like his character. He's just likable. The way his brothers and sisters and other people remember him is endearing. I mean, he gave Bran his fish for god sake. He figures well in the eyes of other people, most especially Tyrion.

There are "good guys" that never appealed to me though. People like Ned Stark. He's honest, honorable but to me he seems out of touch of reality. I just didn't get some of his decisions. Rob is another character as well. Although that's maybe because he's not a POV but still...

Catelyn Stark, ugh. Her decisions throughout the book are just :bang: . Dany, I'm on the fence still. I don't know why. :dunno:

Cersei, I like very much. As bad as she is and power hungry, I can actually understand where she's coming from. Sandor, yup, another standout for me and of course Tyrion. Wicked smart and his POVs are really, really enjoyable and he's a wildcard. You'll never know what he will do next.

[Jon's Queen Consort]

I like a character if he/she reach my standards.

Women:

strong, powerful, warrior, forces of nature, not waiting anyone to save them but take their life into their own hands, don’t blame innocents about other people mistakes but blame and punish the one who wronged them, proud and honorable. An alpha female not a lady

Men:

smart, self- driven and self disciplined, strong, brave, witty,passionate, maybe a little bossy, high moral principles and values, a natural leader, cunning, someone who sex is the second think in his mind the first being the *hunting*, using mind games and emotional welfare and being merciless. An alpha male and not a gentleman

edit: I had misunderstood it.I fixed it

[Kairi]

I think the reason why I love the characters in ASOIAF that I do is because they either possess traits that I would like to possess or that I do possess, sometimes to my detriment. For instance:

Arya - I can be Sam's sister when it comes to cowardice but here is an 11 year old who manages to survive on her own in hostile circumstances after a privileged upbringing. She is brave, adaptable and resourceful, all personality traits that I admire.

Tyrion - The odd one out in the family, a book worm, curious, intelligent, adaptable and a smart mouth.

Petyr Baelish - Intelligent, good with finances, a master political player, he would probably be a grandmaster if chess was played in Westeros.

Cersei - It is easy to dismiss Cersei as just a nutcase, but this is a woman who as a mother is determined to secure the future of her children even though she is fully aware of the fact that they do not have a true claim to the throne, personally she is a fustrated leader who feels constrained in exercising and manipulating whatever power her role affords her by her sex. I say this because I recall her lamenting the fact that she was born a woman in one of the books.

They are all flawed and I do not love all the things that they do but what I admire the most is that they are characters that to me try to make the most of the hand that they were dealt with.

Just to be clear I do not think that they are the only characters to have done so, but rather they are the ones that I admire, that I enjoy reading the most. Dany has done quite alot but reading her POV is not as satisfying to me as those I listed above. I fall in the interesting read category.

[Summer Storm]

This is a really interesting thread, I've enjoyed reading everybodies posts :)

I would say I probably fall into the interesting read category, if a character has an enthralling POV they tend to ascend up my list. It also helps if I can see myself in the character and relate to them in some way.

Some of my favourites:

Cersei: Maybe not an incredibly popular choice, but I love Cersei as a character. She is absolutely cruel and horrible but I enjoy seeing things from her point of view and trying to understand why she sees the world the way she does / why she does the things she does. I think I also enjoy her because the world in her mind is just so at odds with how others percieve it, I almost have the same reaction to her as I did with Ned where I was sitting there going 'No Ned! What are you doing?'

Brienne: I just have a really soft spot for Brienne, whenever I read about her I get a strong sense of how awkward and uncomfortable she feels and the isolation of growing up so outside the norms and what is expected of her. Even if she wanted to she couldn't fit in with that society because everything about her singles her out. I also really like that she is brave, strong, honest and loyal.

Jaime: At first I kind of enjoyed Jaime for the simple fact that I didn't like him, but still found him funny. He started off as one of those characters you love to hate (I hate that term, but I can't think of any other way to say it). I've really enjoyed his redemption arc and I'm also a pretty shameless Brienne / Jaime shipper so that probably has something to do with it!