THE CAREER NOVELIST
Virtually all of them begin the universal story recipe with some ver-
sion of the following:
Take a sympathetic protagonist, and then...
Stop right there. I am interested in that phrase sympathetic protag-
onist. What exactly is meant by that? Many green writers want their
readers to like their main characters. While it is indeed pleasant to
enjoy the company of the character with whom you will journey for
four hundred pages, likability is not a primary reason for
identification. Indeed, characters who are merely nice can quickly
grow insipid.
Other writers often try to make their characters sympathetic by
causing the reader feel sorry for them. To be sure, evoking pity is
effective. Characters who are down on their luck, or who struggle
with inner demons, may win my good wishes. That is sympathy in the
ordinary sense, but not in the technical sense. Our type of sympa-
thy is something different.
Sympathy in the technical sense is the identification between
reader and character. It is the reason for their bonding. If I say that
I sympathize with Scarlett O'Hara, it means that I see in her some-
thing of myself. She is a reflection of me. I appreciate her qualities
and care about her fate since in a way she is me.
Now, you are probably wondering what I have in common with
the heroine of Gone with the Wind. Actually, apart from having been
born in Georgia, Scarlett and I have little in common. She is a
woman; I am not. She has a sharp tongue; I wish that I did. She
makes dramatic gestures; I generally just read about them.
Nevertheless, when lost in that classic novel I bond with Scarlett
O'Hara. I sympathize with her. We become one.
That happens because I project myself into her. She has qualities
that I would like to have: courage, willfulness, pride, ego, wit. One
word that can sum up all of that is strength. If nothing else, you have
to admit that Scarlett O'Hara is strong. Indeed, I believe it is most
often the strength of protagonists that draws us to them. Not nice-
ness, not vulnerability. Strength.
Dozens of objections doubtless leap to mind. But stop: think for
a minute. Strength is not only a physical quality, but an inner qual-
ity, too; thus frail, elderly Miss Marple is strong. Strength is also not