My husband and I had a Harry Potter mini-marathon today. We rented Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire and watched them straight through. Since we are both writers, we tried to figure out what makes Harry such an appealing hero. And we decided the rules must be different in children's stories than adult novels, because Harry breaks a lot of the rules for a good hero.
First and foremost, he's not very pro-active. He tries to keep a low profile and not make waves, and he's just buffeted along by events. I remember a Harlequin editor once telling me that romance heroes must make waves! They have to initiate action. They have to be leaders. In Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione is the one who figures everything out in the end and drags Harry along on the time-travel adventure. If I recall, Harry did absolutely nothing but watch.
Second, Harry doesn't have control of his emotions, especially his temper. He has unchecked fits of rage. He inflated his aunt and let her float into the stratosphere, then wasn't even sorry. A good Harlequin hero, on the other hand, always takes responsibility for his actions.
Third, Harry is hopeless with females. He can't even get a date for the dance. When he finally asks a girl he doesn't like just so he'll have a date, he doesn't treat her very nicely. A Harlequin hero would behave more honorably.
And yet, I love Harry and I'm rooting for him. It's partly because life has been so unfair to him. He's the ultimate underdog, always out-gunned and pushed to face the most hideous evil. He's not an Alpha male, that's for sure. But then, I'm not a big fan of Alpha males. (Anyone who's read my books can figure that out!)
So what do you think? Could Harry grow up to be a Harlequin Hero? Or does his nature preclude a future in category romance?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment