Character Meme

I stole this from Erin. She didn't tag me or anything, because our meeting was done through comments in Sarah's blog. But I like her Character Meme. I will state categorically, however, that trying to pick just one is almost impossible. I will do my best. But if I have to pick two, that's just the way it is. Okey-dokey? Now that we've got that established, on to the meme:

Character you'd most like to have over for tea? Jane Rochester, nee Eyre, I think. I'd love to have a nice long tete-a-tete with her, see if Mr. Rochester is really as pompous as he comes across at times ("Young lady, I am disposed to be gregarious and communicative tonight."). I'd like to see if she's still happy with the choices and decisions she made in life. And, while most definitely NOT at the same tea, I'd also like to have tea with Bertha Mason one day. Preferably before she went completely off the deep end. It would be interesting to compare notes, you know?

Character you'd most like to have as a sibling? Mr. Darcy. I think it would be nice to have an intelligent, protective older brother to look out for me. And if he were my brother, then I would have Elizabeth Bennett for a sister. See? "Though this be madness, yet there is method in it."

Character you'd most like to be friends with? You won't know her, because I think only one or two people have bought the book. But her name is Celia Pryce, and she's a major character in The Treehouse, a book my sister and I wrote together. Celia was originally supposed to be a not-very-nice girl. But she actually is extremely nice, and extremely cool, and just exactly the sort of person you'd want to be friends with if you're into books and drama, and into not fitting in. Not fitting in has been my theme through much of my life, so it was really fun to help create this person who, on the surface, fits in beautifully, but who really feels as much a misfit in her life as the rest of us tend to do. I know it may seem a little vain to pick one of my own characters, but I don't care. One of the best bits of writing I've ever done was for Celia, and she's very dear to my heart.

Character you'd most like to have as a cousin? Fred and George Weasley. It's been fascinating to watch them grow and develop. They started off wise-cracking funny guys, with a tinge of mean-spiritedness. They are still wise-cracking funny guys, but they've carved out a really respectable niche in the jokes industry, as well as providing a very valuable array of support equipment for the good guys. They'd be fun to hang around with from time to time, most definitely.

Character you'd most like to have an adventure with? Charles Wallace Murry. He has good adventures. And he is another character who just gets more and more interesting as he grows up. I particularly enjoyed him in A Swiftly Tilting Planet.

Favorite quirky character? I'm with Erin. Luna Lovegood. She is either wholly unaware or serenely indifferent to what everyone around her thinks of her. I personally think it's the latter, and admire her indifference. It's something I could never have done as a teenager, and am only now beginning to learn. She has shown herself to be exceptionally quick-witted and a true friend. I was very touched at the end of Half-Blood Prince to learn that she and Neville were the only members of the DADA to show up when called, because they were the ones presumably to whom it had meant the most, and were therefore the ones who would have been paying attention to their fake galleon that Hermione charmed. And now that I've mentioned Neville Longbottom, I have to add that he is one of my very favorite characters in the Potterverse. I've been delighted to see him bloom so beautifully, and continue to look to greatness from him. I'm firmly convinced he will one day be head of Gryffindor House!

Favorite love-to-hate character? Y'know, I think I'm going to have to go with Erin on this one as well, and select the former Hogwarts High Inquisitor, Dolores Jane Umbridge.

Favorite bad guy? Right now it's Reason's grandfather, whatever his real name may be, from Justine Larbalestier's Magic or Madness series. He seems to be thoroughly Iago-like, in that I have not yet seen any reedeming features in him. I assume that, at one point, he must have had some. But his greed for magic and survival has at least hidden those thoroughly beneath the surface, if indeed they are still there at all.

And I'll add one more category of my own:

Character to whom you've most often been compared? And this, my friends, is Hermione Granger. My husband, when Hermione groaned at the announcement that end-of-year exams were canceled at the end of the second movie, said, "That'd be you." Huh! Shows how well he knows me! I've been known to carelessly walk into the crosswalk at the university and with a defiant eye just dare someone to run over me, when it was time for finals. Okay, this teeny little part of me loves taking exams. So I guess the comparison is somewhat justifiable.

TAGGING TIME: I tag Izzybella and Trista. And, of course, anyone else who feels like doing it. (And you should, because it's fun!)