Famous characters?

[ladyofastolat]

I just saw a reference to someone who is "undoubtedly the most famous character in literature." Who do you reckon they were talking about?

Comments

[phoebesmum.livejournal.com]

Hamlet?
Romeo?
MacBeth?
Don Quixote?
Heathcliff?
Mr Rochester?

- I think that disproves the 'undoubtedly', if nothing else.

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Sherlock Holmes?
Coundt Dracula?

[bunn.livejournal.com]

King Arthur!

[clarienne.livejournal.com]

Mr Darcey?

Please don't tell us they were talking about Jesus.

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

Bilbo Baggins?
Mr Darcy?

Go on spill the beans

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

I had wondered whether to suggest that ...

[phoebesmum.livejournal.com]

ETA: Possibly also Frankenstein's Monster, cheating and looking at some other people's ideas.

Of course *adopting snotty academic voice* we are only discussing the Western canon here ...

[bunn.livejournal.com]

... James Bond?

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Snow White?

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Indeed. And also, for the most part, being rather highbrow about the definition of "literature." ;-)

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

I'll wait a few hours, I think. I'm interested to see people's differing ideas on who counts as famous. It's kind of like Family Fortunes without the cheesy presenter... ;-)

[wellinghall.livejournal.com]

Timmy the dog!
Noddy?

[phoebesmum.livejournal.com]

That's probably because we get (or got, I don't know what happens now) taught Highbrow Stuff as English Literature at skule.

Winnie the Pooh, then.

[squonk79.livejournal.com]

I was going to go with something intelligent (like MacBeth and Mr Darcy), until you said it had a rather highbrow definition of literature.

So now i'll go for Harry Potter.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I'd like to say Hamlet, but I've a feeling it's Harry Potter.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Cinderella
Or
Hello Kitty

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

Well, my comment about the highbrow nature of the answers wasn't intended as a clue; I had just noticed that most of the answers were from the realms of English Literature with a capital L. The correct answer may or may not fall into this category. ;-)

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

My first thought was Jesus (out of interest, what exactly is the objection to that suggestion?). By extension, I suppose god, or yahoo-wahoo or whatever you want to call him. After that, I thought Romeo or Juliet or Hamlet or some such. Then maybe the Cat in the Hat. Or Helen of Troy even.

I hadn't thought of Harry Potter or King Arthur, but I can see the arguments.

Is it particularly ignorant of me to say that there is one character mentioned in this thread that I had never heard of? I'm guessing it's a character from some chick-lit doorstop, which I don't really do.

[purplecat]

Harry Potter sounds quite likely to me.

But it depends what they mean given terms like Scrooge get used out there by people who probably have little idea of their literary roots.

[muuranker.livejournal.com]

I was going to say Sherlock Holmes, too.

[inamac.livejournal.com]

And me.

Though, like Robin Hood and King Arthur, these days Holmes is regarded as more a mythological than Literary character.

[intertext.livejournal.com]

My guess is Harry Potter. Alas.

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

Is it particularly ignorant of me to say that there is one character mentioned in this thread that I had never heard of? I'm guessing it's a character from some chick-lit doorstop, which I don't really do.

Who? Bilbo Baggins?

[thecatsamuel.livejournal.com]

Yup. Was going to say this myself. Or something that's featured in Disney...

(In)famous

[themis1.livejournal.com]

My initial reaction was Sherlock Holmes. Or Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, perhaps.

But I suspect JKR has indeed got this one cornered now.

My late father would've voted for Jesus.

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

Heh heh...

[tovaglia.livejournal.com]

Ooh, this is a fun game.

I was going to say Jesus, too. Although I think Sherlock Holmes is more likely, as he has been on the TV more.

But I would *like* it to be the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland.

Is it the Very Hungry Caterpillar?

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

I don't think you're particularly ignorant. I haven't heard of Coundt Dracula, either. :-p

I'm wondering which one you actually mean, though. Mr Rochester?

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

You know, your comment caused me quite a few happy minutes this afternoon, spent imagining what sort of story would include both Mr Darcy and Bilbo Baggins. I'm not sure what has more potential: dropping Darcy in Middle Earth, or introducing Bilbo to Regency England.

[philmophlegm.livejournal.com]

Yup. I had to ask bunn. She knew, but she had to think about it.

[evilmissbecky.livejournal.com]

I certainly hope it's not Harry Potter. My guess is Sherlock Holmes. Or possibly Francis Crawford. ;-)

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

Dickens addicts might suggest Fagin, I suppose.

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

If you write it, they will enjoy ...

[sally_maria]

Well, I certainly would...

[jane-somebody.livejournal.com]

My thoughts, without reading the comments, were: Hamlet, Oliver Twist, or Harry Potter. Covering a fair range, though there must be many other candidates! I'll now look to see whether you reveal the answer later...