Heroes

Tara's blog entry a while ago about heroes & antiheroes has had me thinking. What is the defintion of a hero? What qualities does a hero have? Who are some of my favorite heroes? The dictionary source for these defintions is my Random House College Dictionary.

Hero, noun- A man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for brave deeds & noble qualities.

Heroic, adjective- Of,pertaining to or characteristic of heroes. Suitable to the characteristic of a hero: daring, noble, bold, altruistic, determined etc.

Hamartia, noun- An error in judgement,especially resulting from a defect in the character of a tragic hero, leading to his downfall. That last phrase added from here.

Somehow, lost in the mists of time, the archtype (noun- original pattern or mold after which a thing is made) for heroes in Romanceland has been the 'Alpha hero', often otherwise termed a jerk. Usually controlling, arrogant, cold, emotionally damaged, may have addiction or anger control issues, jealous, possessive. May have a criminal past or be considered a criminal (pirates for example). Many of theese character traits could actually be instances of the tragic flaw or hamartia that ordinarily would bring about the doom of the character.

In Romanceland though, these are desirable traits. Many women, myself included, like alpha heroes. We are asked to believe that the act of falling in love with a 'vituous woman' will be enough to bring about the complete & total redemption of an alpha hero. Somehow.

I freely admit I like alphas (as long as there's no abuse). What I want to know is- how did we women get sucked into this ridiculous belief? What woman in her right mind would actually marry some of these men? I agree, they're more interesting, sexy & what have you, but still. Yes, I realize romance, like all fiction, is exactly that- fiction. I would like a teensy drop of likeability or realism though.

If the heroine could actually see some of these men without their rose colored, hormone framed glasses, they'd run for the hills. Most heroines are in their early twenties & naive, both emotionally & sexually, yet we are asked to believe that their very naivete is one of the reasons the hero changes. But would a 'real' alpha man be attracted tosuch a naive, innocent womanchild in the first place?

Some of my favorite heroes- Jamie in Outlander (don't ask about Clare), Nicholas in Splendor, Niall in Son of the Morning, Damien in Lord of Ice & Simon in Lord of Danger. Who are some of your favorite heroes? Hero peeves?

BTW~ beta heroes & heroines are another discussion entirely!