Good Boyfriends, Bad Boyfriends
Recently I was chatting with my friend and fellow writer Daphne Grab about Madeleine L’Engle and the book A Ring of Endless Light.
It was one of my absolute favorites growing up, and hers, too. We sighed about how romantic Adam Eddington is (or was. I haven’t read this book in ages, so I don’t know if I’d be as adoring of him now as I was when I was twelve). I’ve been thinking about the name Adam, and how to me, it suggests a winner of a boyfriend. Adam: as in, the first man ever. The one, the true original. I also love Adam from Gayle Forman’s lovely If I Stay. He is a hero.
Now, given the obvious—that writers choose the names of their characters, and that you can have a reasonable amount of confidence there’s a connection with the name and how the characters are shaped—what do the names of literary boyfriends suggest to you? It’s pretty clear, for example, that Vicky’s boyfriend Zachary in Ring is a bad boy. His name says it all!
By the way, I have to call an end to the Chinese stickers contest (previous post)…I’ll be sending a copy to RachelJ, because it seems like her two children are very into visualizing aspects of the novel. Thanks, all, for your sticker suggestions!
Fewmets!
I have nothing substantial to say, other than that I got a kick out of this. I LOVE choosing names, and I know that names can influence how I perceive a character. Just took a look at my bookshelf and laughed. I think part of the reason I preferred Zane to David in Scott Westerfeld’s UGLIES trilogy was his name. And doesn’t Ender in ENDER’S GAME have the best name ever? And what about Lord Asriel? And my love for Lord Peter Wimsey is not hurt by his full name being Peter Death Bredon Wimsey.
(Also, ahem Spike)
Mordicai: All of literary criticism is about fewmets.
Kristin: I saw your post about Peeta’s silly name! V. funny. Gale clearly has the sexier name of the two. Hmm, shall I choose a storm, or pita bread? Though I am also biased towards feminine-sounding names (Gayle) for masculine characters.
I loved Zane. I always love characters who strive to be better than they are, and his story became so poignant. That kiss between him and Tally, after she became a Special, is one of my favorite YA kisses ever.
Yes to Peter Death Bredon Whimsey! I must reread Gaudy Night.
One thing I never understood: how did Mr. Darcy, whose yummy last name suggests sublimated passion (the hidden French D’Arcy) end up with the first name Fitzwilliam????? Ugh!
I think Wes (from The Truth About Forever) signals good boyfriend. It’s so close to West, and a cardinal direction where the sun sets is nice, very nice.
Oh, Spike….Also, I always liked that his real name is William. Not that I’m particularly fond of that name, but one of the most appealing things about Spike is that he’s so close to the human he was.
Marie, I’ve got the feminine-sounding male-name fever, too! It’s one of the reasons I love Jayne in Firefly. And you reminded me of a male lead that I love in Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart. His name is Joscelin. Perhaps that only sounds feminine to Americans or English-speakers… but, well, that’s what I am, and the author is, too, so I wonder what went into the decision.
Re: Mr. Darcy—seriously! OTOH, I always thought Mr. Bingley was perfectly named. Not his first name (which I’m actually blanking on—Charles?), but his last name. BINGLEY. It’s such a bouncy name, and he’s always seemed like a bouncy, cheerful type.
Couldn’t agree more about Spike. And OH! This reminds me that I like Angel’s name a whole lot, too. I like his name more than I like him, actually
I don’t know The Truth about Forever. I’ll have to put it on my list.
I love Jayne, too, Kristin, though I’m going to have to put him in the “bad boyfriend” category! Mmm…I like the name Joscelin—will I like Kushiel’s Dart too? Great title.
By the way, what I really like about Po’s name is that it’s a nickname, and as such has a real function in Graceling, because it causes Katsa to consider Po as someone loved by his family, and to think about how that changes him, gives him both strengths and vulnerabilities.
Honestly? I liked Angel all right—didn’t love him—in S1-3 in Buffy, but watching the series Angel just set my opinion of him as a dummy. A high-handed, pompous one, too.
The Truth about Forever is straight-up, real-world YA romance, and Sarah Dessen does it really well. The thing about S. Dessen’s writing is that it’s very quiet in the way that it is strong. She’s also got a great gift for atmosphere—she really conveys what it’s like to hear cheers from a faraway stadium in the night, or how it feels to sit on the hood of a car. And I found the truth-telling dialogue in TTAF to be compulsive reading.
Oh, HA, yes, Jayne would not make a good boyfriend! But this raises the question of MAL. Which we all knows means “bad,” from the Latin.
What kind of boyfriend would be make, especially with a name like that?
Kushiel’s Dart is fantasy (not YA) and takes place a in world that doesn’t have the taboos about sex that our world has. An entire class of people live as prostitutes are are respected for it. The MC’s specialty is BDSM. It’s unusual and I recommend it. And I’ve just put The Truth about Forever on hold.
A smart friend of mine hypothesizes that the reason Spike is so much more compelling as a vampire than Angel is that Spike was more compelling when he was a man. William was a way better man than Liam! With Angel, some Liam-ness shines through, IMO, even though he has, of course, learned a lot of important lessons. I think you have to be born knowing how not to be a bonehead, though; that’s a lesson you can’t learn; so Angel is destined to always be one. (Thank God he dropped that dreadfully-executed Irish accent over the centuries!)
The thing I like about Po’s name is that it means “butt” in German. (Okay, sorry, I can’t help it, that joke never gets old for me…) Thanks for what you said. I’m so glad that came across for you. You know what name I love? Astrophil.
I guess, with the question of Mal’s name, we’d have to decide whether we’re supposed to take it straight or if it’s supposed to make us consider how, if he’s bad in some ways, he’s not bad in others. I’ve just been reading East of Eden (excellent), and Cal Trask’s name probably alludes to callousness, though what comes clear through the reading of the book is that Cal actually feels things very deeply, and the ways in which he can be callous are not what you’d expect (it’s more that he inures himself).
I’m kind of obsessed with Cal Trask. I think he’s a forerunner to a YA MC.
But back to Mal: when he’s bad, it also makes him good. He’s bad for the (what is that? The Federation? The dystopian rulers) people in charge while he’s being good for his crew. Not sure if that would make him a good or bad boyfriend. I sort of think not…
Oh, another good Adam! Adam from Before I Die—which you MUST read. Gorgeous, heart-breaking book.
RE: Angel. The only time I liked his Irishness was when, in Angel the series, everyone took a potion that made them act like teenagers. That was a funnny episode.
I’m glad you like Astrophil’s name. It means “star-lover,” and comes from a Renaissance sonnet sequence called “Astrophil and Stella” (geeky Renaissance obscurity alert!). Astrophil’s a character pining over Stella (the “star”). I have lots to say about his name, but I’ll just say now that Astrophil would make a GREAT boyfriend. Sometimes I think about him and Charlotte (from Charlotte’s Web) having a beautiful and tragic romance (tragic because he would outlive her, as a machine).
Sometimes I think about him and Charlotte (from Charlotte’s Web) having a beautiful and tragic romance (tragic because he would outlive her, as a machine).
This actually made me APPLAUD.
Thanks!