Printers Row Discussion: Do characters have to be likable?
Published June 10th, 2008I spent last Saturday morning on a panel titled “Uncommon Women” for the Printers Row Book Fair in Chicago. Also on the panel, moderated by the wonderful Lauren Fox, were Laura Moriarty and Marisa de los Santos. One issue that came up during discussion of Ms. Moriarty’s book, The Rest of Her Life, was how some readers have found her narrator to be unsympathetic. Laura seemed distressed that readers didn’t like a character to whom she had a profound attachment.
It troubled me that book discussions at readings or at reading groups come down to “I didn’t like her!” “I was mad at the character.” Are writers supposed to create people who are “uniformly good or bad” (Flann O’Brien)? Is likability even important? Isn’t complexity of character far more interesting?
I’ve found that readers are often irritated by Anne-Marie, the mother in The Heroines, for making choices they would never make. Instead of being distressed by their condemnation of the character, I’m glad that the character’s actions stimulated an emotion. Sometimes readers assume that writers approve of everything their characters do. Not so. The best characters in literature are often the most infuriating. Half of my inspiration for writing The Heroines came from my frustration with Emma Bovary and Anna Karenina. But come on, that doesn’t mean the books are failures because I don’t “like” the characters. Who cares?
Literature should make us stretch, get out of our own worlds to inhabit new ones. If characters always behaved as we do, how do we grow as readers and people? Do we just read to have our view of the world confirmed? So, I say, carry on, Laura with your compelling character Leigh. I think it’s unfortunate that even book critics are concerned with likability, and I wonder, really wonder, if male characters are expected to be “nice and likable.”
Mary Beth Cooke on June 10, 2008
I don’t think I have to like the characters, I just have to CARE about them in some way. When I think about the movies/books I love, usually there was some “hook”…something I identified with in myself, even if it’s a character trait I don’t like in myself. But the kiss of death for a book/play/movie will always be “I just didn’t care what happened…I didn’t identify with anything..” I think most people love the flawed characters; hence the popularity of The Sopranos, Grey’s Anatomy, House, and most reality shows! As far as books, The Corrections comes to mind…what an entertaining, flawed bunch they were! I think I identified with every single one!
A.Martinez on June 12, 2008
Agreed. It’s like when I’m watching a movie and absolutely HATE a character. It’s good writing and good acting; I’m supposed to get this effect. This translates to writing as well - as you’ve mentioned, to evoke a feeling from a reader is the ultimate goal. Dislike or contempt for a character can really bring them to life. If someone can’t remember a character because that means they didn’t care about them. And it’s memorability over likability any day. Cheers!
Eileen Favorite on June 18, 2008
What about when the writer doesn’t intend for you to hate the character? Is that then a failure on the writer’s part? Or is it just subjectivity on the part of the reader?
How can we stop discussions about likability? Should we even try?