What makes the perfect romantic hero?
Maybe I’m biased … but, I quite like one of my own heroes, Jack Lindsey! So I thought I’d see how he shapes up next to my personal Top 5 Romantic heroes of all time (although I’m quite sure everyone’s Top 5 will look different).
I started out with a longer list including Mr Knightley (Emma, Jane Austen), Jasper, Lord Damerel (Venetia, Georgette Heyer), Mark Darcy (Bridget Jones’ Diary, Helen Fielding) and Lord Byron (the only real character to make it onto this list!). I eventually narrowed it down to these 5:
My Top 6 (5 plus Jack!) Romantic Heroes
Maybe I’m biased … but, I quite like one of my own heroes, Jack Lindsey! So I thought I’d see how he shapes up next to my personal Top 5 Romantic heroes of all time (although I’m quite sure everyone’s Top 5 will look different).
I started out with a longer list including Mr Knightley (Emma, Jane Austen), Jasper, Lord Damerel (Venetia, Georgette Heyer), Mark Darcy (Bridget Jones’ Diary, Helen Fielding) and Lord Byron (the only real character to make it onto this list!). I eventually narrowed it down to these 5:
My Top 6 (5 plus Jack!) Romantic Heroes
| Book Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Untitled by Jane Godman | Hero Rhett Butler Mr Darcy Heathcliff Maxim de Winter Mr Rochester Jack Lindsey | Heroine Scarlett O’Hara Elizabeth Bennett Catherine Earnshaw Unknown Jane Eyre Rosie Delacourt | Setting Atlanta 1860s-70s England late 18th/early 19th century Yorkshire approx. 1750-1802 Monte Carlo and England 1920s or 30s England early 19th century England and Scotland 1740s |
First of all, what are the characteristics of the perfect romantic hero? My hero would be some, and preferably all, of the following:
· Charismatic (he should dominate the page)
· Dangerous, rebellious or edgy (and it helps if he has a dark secret)
· Attractive (not necessarily handsome, but he must be sexy!)
· Confident (even arrogant, he should be an Alpha Male)
· Intelligent (he doesn’t have to have a degree in Quantum Physics, but he should be smart)
Just for fun, I devised a scoring system. I’m not suggesting there is a perfect formula. For example, one of my favourite romantic heroes is Georgette Heyer’s Freddy Standen (and he would end up with a negative score!).
But, bear with me and let’s just see how Jack compares to the all-time greats! The maximum score for each category is 5.
· Charismatic (he should dominate the page)
· Dangerous, rebellious or edgy (and it helps if he has a dark secret)
· Attractive (not necessarily handsome, but he must be sexy!)
· Confident (even arrogant, he should be an Alpha Male)
· Intelligent (he doesn’t have to have a degree in Quantum Physics, but he should be smart)
Just for fun, I devised a scoring system. I’m not suggesting there is a perfect formula. For example, one of my favourite romantic heroes is Georgette Heyer’s Freddy Standen (and he would end up with a negative score!).
But, bear with me and let’s just see how Jack compares to the all-time greats! The maximum score for each category is 5.
How old is he?
It was hard to decide on the ideal age for a romantic hero (and there are lots of
examples of great younger and older heroes). But I decided that a hero aged 28
should score the maximum 5 points. Then I took points away for every 2 years
above or below that.
It was hard to decide on the ideal age for a romantic hero (and there are lots of
examples of great younger and older heroes). But I decided that a hero aged 28
should score the maximum 5 points. Then I took points away for every 2 years
above or below that.
| Hero Rhett Mr Darcy Heathcliff Maxim Mr Rochester Jack | Age At the start of the novel Scarlett assumes he is about 35. He is actually 33 (because at the end of the book he is 45). 30 The book's timeline is from his childhood to his death. Cathy is 19 when she dies and he is a year or two older 42 Probably late 30s (he is 20 years older than Jane) 26 when the series begins | Score *** **** * 0 0 **** |
Is he attractive?
| Hero Rhett Mr Darcy Heathcliff Maxim Mr Rochester Jack | Looks He has dark, good looks and an expression of cynical amusement. He is a fine, tall person with handsome features and noble mien. He has thick, low brows, black hair and whiskers. He is athletic and energetic. He is cultured, handsome and mysterious He is not handsome. He is stern-featured, heavy-browed and craggy-faced He has finely-carved, aristocratic features, dark-blonde hair and incredibly blue eyes | Score ***** ***** *** ***** *** ***** |
Is he dangerous/edgy/arrogant/does he have a dark secret?
| Hero Rhett Mr Darcy Heathcliff Maxim Mr Rochester Jack | Edginess He is a charming rogue, a war hero who doesn’t scruple to engage in illegal activities. He is wealthy, proud and aloof. He is sinister, malevolent, dangerous and brooding. He is irascible and moody. He has a dark secret. He is rude, arrogant and moody. He has a dark secret. He is a swash-buckling rebel lord who is wanted for treason. He also keeps the London gossips busy with his scandalous behaviour. | Score ***** **** ***** ***** ***** ***** |
What is his most romantic line?
| Hero Rhett Mr Darcy Heathcliff Maxim Mr Rochester Jack | Line No, I don't think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly. That's what's wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how. You have bewitched me, body and soul. If he loved you with all the power of his soul for a whole lifetime, he couldn’t love you as much as I do in a single day. It's gone forever, that funny young, lost look I loved won't ever come back. I sometimes have a queer feeling with regard to you--especially when you are near me, as now: it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame. You are my addiction. I cannot get enough of you. Try as I will to forget you, you invade my dreams as well as my every waking thought. | Score **** **** ***** ** ***** *** |
How romantic was his proposal?
| Hero Rhett Mr Darcy Heathcliff Maxim Mr Rochester Jack | Proposal This is an honorable proposal of marriage made at what I consider a most opportune moment. I can't go all my life waiting to catch you between husbands. In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. None – he hears Cathy say it would degrade her to marry him. I’m asking you to marry me, you little fool. Jane, I want a wife. I want a wife, not a nursemaid to look after me. I want a wife to share my bed every night. All day if we wish. If I can't have that, I'd rather die. We're not the platonic sort, Jane. Rosie, my heart, my dearest love. I swear that, once I have secured the king’s pardon, I will come back for you and make you my wife. Will you wait for me? | Score ** *** 0 * ***** ** |
Final Scores!
| Hero Mr Darcy Rhett Butler Jack Lindsey Mr Rochester Heathcliff Maxim de Winter | Score (out of 25) 20 19 19 18 14 13 |
Hmm, not bad! I can live with Jack in a tie with Rhett Butler (who I think has some of the best romantic lines ever)! Although poor Heathcliff gets a raw deal on this scoring system (since he never actually gets a chance to propose to Cathy!). But then (and do feel free to disagree with me) I see Heathcliff as something of an 'anti-hero'!
I’d love to hear your comments! Are there any characteristics you would include that I’ve missed? What does your Top 5 look like?
I’d love to hear your comments! Are there any characteristics you would include that I’ve missed? What does your Top 5 look like?
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