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Most unforgettable character ever created in fiction? (Whether symphatetic or not)
Initial post:
4 Sep 2009 08:41 BST
Mrs. V. F. R. Niekerk says:
For me has to be Hannibal Lecter from Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs et al by Thomas Harris.
Of course, Anthony Hopkins's stellar performance only cemented him more in your mind and not a day goes by that his razor-sharp intellect and wit flit at least momentarily across my mind. If ever I wanted to be a villain......
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 09:42 BST
Gordon Dent says:
Augustus Melmotte in Anthony Trollope's "The Way We Live Now" has to be right at the top of the list, especially for anybody who remembers Robert Maxwell, who bore a seriously uncanny resemblance to Melmotte.
Other unforgettable characters would include Kenneth Widmerpool in Anthony Powell's "A Dance to the Music of Time", Owen Meany in John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and, of course, Sherlock Homes.
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 09:47 BST
sass says:
Heathcliff!! and he definitely blurs the 'sympathetic or not' line.
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 10:57 BST
Book Scout says:
Satan in Paradise Lost and Iago in Macbeth. The baddies are always the best.
In reply to an earlier post on
4 Sep 2009 11:47 BST
Gordon Dent says:
Iago is in "Othello", but I know you knew that. I haven't read the play but I thought Kenneth Branagh's Iago in his film version with Laurence Fishburn was wonderful.
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 12:38 BST
L. Orbell says:
Dorian Gray for his joie de vivre, pithy one liners and obsessive vanity that triggers his downfall. Oscar Wilde at his best.
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 12:47 BST
Book Scout says:
Ooops sorry Gordon! - got Macbeth on my mind for some reason. Saw Ken Stott play Iago in a small theatre up north - he was incredible. Being in a small theatre, practically sat next to him as he paced around like a splendid bull. Iago may be naughty but he's very funny too. The darkest characters tend to be the most complex, contradictory and therefore the most unforgettable, in my opinion.
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 12:58 BST
Gordon Dent says:
Book Scout - I agree that villains tend to be more memorable characters than heroes. The most interesting, though, are those who can't be placed neatly in either group. In Shakespeare, I think the most intriguing character is Prospero (in "The Tempest"): he is presented as a wronged man gaining clever revenge, but he has also enslaved Caliban (the island's aboriginal occupant) and ensnared Ariel.
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 13:18 BST
Book Scout says:
Yes, or even Othello, Macbeth or Heathcliff as mentioned by sass.
Sometimes the use of a first-person narrative voice helps make a character more memorable; Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird; Holden in Catcher in the Rye or Alex in A Clockwork Orange.
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 13:44 BST
Blackbeard says:
Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment, Prince Myshkin from The Idiot, the fat boy in The Pickwick Papers (can't remember his name), N-word Jim in Huckleberry Finn, and several from Catch-22, most notably Orr, are the first who come to mind.
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 14:23 BST
Last edited by the author on 4 Sep 2009 14:24 BST
I Readalot says:
Has to be Miss Havisham from Great Expectations. Although her appearance in Jasper Ffordes Thursday Next novel (driving a sports car quite erratically) is pretty memorable too.
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 15:36 BST
Blackbeard says:
I can't believe I forgot to mention Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadillo!
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 15:53 BST
Y. Tilan says:
I personally think "Salander" out of the Stieg Larsonn books is pretty memorable!!
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 16:15 BST
Lil' Miss Big says:
My personal favourite would have to be Jack Reacher from the Lee Child books; "Every man wants to be him, every woman wants to be with him." (Or something like that!).
Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird is a good one, definitely agree with that one Book Scout. As a kid I remember reading Matilda by Roald Dahl who had all those 'magical powers!' That was soooo cool, I wanted that to be me! Michael Corleone from The Godfather books also, I love the films so I definitely love the character! ('',)
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 21:12 BST
monica says:
Raskolnikov, Bartleby (the scrivener) and Ignatius J. O'Reilly were the first ones that popped into mind when I read the question.
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 21:40 BST
Isobel Parker says:
Got to say....Edward Cullen. Me and pretty much most of my office who I've introduced to Twilight, books and film, are agreed on this. What a perfect man (kind of!!!)
Posted on
4 Sep 2009 21:42 BST
Karl Hayes says:
Gollum (LOTR)
Owen Meany (A Prayer for Owen Meaney) Thomas Covenant (Stephen Donaldson's series..excellent) Morn Hyland (Donaldson's Gap series..Sci-fi but like no other)
In reply to an earlier post on
4 Sep 2009 22:44 BST
Last edited by the author on 4 Sep 2009 22:45 BST
Lil' Miss Big says:
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Posted on
6 Sep 2009 16:18 BST
Purple Penguin says:
Some of my favourites, that stick in my memory:
Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby) Tyler Durden (Fight Club) Hamlet Holden Caulfield (Catcher in the Rye)
Posted on
6 Sep 2009 16:50 BST
BookJumper says:
There's so many... they include:
Miss Havisham, as reimagined by Jasper Fforde in his Thursday Next series (he wrote her so well I'm actually afraid of reading Dickens's Great Expectations in case it lets me down! If that's not praise I don't know what is) Death, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series Ford Prefect (alien from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Belteguse), Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles
In reply to an earlier post on
6 Sep 2009 19:43 BST
G. Vaughan says:
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Posted on
6 Sep 2009 20:06 BST
N. Hobbs says:
Niall Griffiths' Ianto, not a good guy but ''unforgettable''. Anyone agree?
Posted on
6 Sep 2009 21:48 BST
Last edited by the author on 6 Sep 2009 21:49 BST
Andrew Fry says:
George Smiley springs to mind even without Alec Guinness' portrayal on TV but going back to the original premise James Bond
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