Author, Charles French, asks “which 2 or 3 fictional characters I would like to sit down with over coffee, tea, or beer and with whom I would like to have a conversation.”
You can read Charles choices here: https://charlesfrenchonwordsreadingandwriting.com/2021/05/05/conversations-with-characters/
Upon reflection, I would not choose a mythical character from a fantasy novel to invite around for tea and a chat. My choices would be characters who have gone through personal trauma and experience growth and personal development as a result. I think my choices would reflect the elements of fictional novels that interest me the most: What makes the character tick? Why did the character make the choices or decisions he/she made? Were their choices and attitudes influenced by their background?
The first character I would like to chat to would be Van Helsing from Dracula. I would want to know more about his background and his Catholic faith and how his respect for the ancient customs and belief in superstitions and folk remedies fitted with his enthusiasm for modern medicine and understanding of the importance of science for the future of mankind. I would also want to know what he knew about vampires and how he came by this information.
My second choice of character would be Oom Schalk Lourens from Herman Charles Bosman’s The Complete Voorkamer Stories. Given the difficulties I experienced with researching certain aspects of the lives of the Boers before, during, and after the Second Anglo Boer War in South Africa, I would love to chat to Oom Schalk and learn more about his life, especially during this war.
One of the most moving concepts for me in this book related to Oom Schalk’s comments about his wife going into a concentration camp with their two children and coming out alone. I would like to learn more about both of their experiences, living conditions, and emotions. I would be interested in the small details relating to their lives that are so difficult to discover through research.
You can learn more about Herman Charles Bosman and his books here: https://www.amazon.com/Herman-Charles-Bosman/e/B001JS25GO
My thoughts about chatting to characters are that if the author has done a good job of showing the emotions of the characters and explaining the circumstances of the story and how the entire story lines comes together, there isn’t that much I would need to chat to the characters about.
Having tea with an author now, well that is something entirely different. There are dozens of authors I would love to talk to about their ideas and delve into the greater meanings of their storylines and underlying messages and meanings.
Do you have any characters you would like to chat to? Why? Let me know in the comments.
roberta-writes.com 
You picked awesome characters. I would choose Eleanor from The Haunting of Hill House. I’d like to know how much of the events in the house were her doing. I’d bring a hard hat, though, in case she sends a rock shower down on me!
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Ooooh, I don’t know this book. Thanks Priscilla, I shall be finding out more about it right away.
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I’d like to have a chat with Don Quixote as well as Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo…
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Two great choices, Jim.
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👍
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Robbie, these are wonderful choices, and I would love to hear the conversation!
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Thank you, Charles. I thought about this for quite a while. I actually should have included Alexander from A Gentleman in Moscow. I would love to learn more about Russian.
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Reblogged this on charles french words reading and writing and commented:
Here is a wonderful post from Roberta Eaton Cheadle about have a chat with characters!
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Thanks for sharing, Charles.
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You picked some good characters, Robbie. I don’t know who I’d pick, but I’m I will be thinking about;)
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Hi Denise, I had to think about this for a few days before I wrote this post. I’m glad this topic interested you.
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I would love to chat with Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Scout as a grownup (Go Set a Watchman)! What a chat that will be!
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I would, too!
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Hi Bette, yes, Scout is a great choice. I haven’t read the second book (Go Set a Watchman), but I have read To Kill a Mockingbird a few times.
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I read Go Set a Watchman when it came out. To me, it read like an early draft of To Kill a Mockingbird, in quite a fascinating way, actually.
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I must read it too, Liz. I have a few amazing books on my classics list.
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This was a thoughtful and very interesting post, Robbie. Your choices are terrific, especially Oom. I need to read the book. I like how you clarified dining with a character vs a conversation with a character. You make an excellent point. I replied on Charles’ blog, and I’d like to clarify that Teddy the dog is not a childish character. He is quite serious, on the level of an adult.
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Hi Jennie, thank you, I’m pleased you enjoyed this post. I’ll pop in to Charles’ and read your comment. I remember Teddy the do as I read that splendid book on your recommendation.
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You’re welcome, Robbie. I’m glad you remember Teddy!
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That’s a difficult question Robbie, but your choices are well thought-out. I like the suggestion of Don Quixote. But I would need more than a few days to come up with a definitive answer. (K)
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Hi Kerfe, I had to think about it for a few days too. Don Quixote is a good one.
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I think I’d like to chat with Da Vinci and Einstein……..maybe God as well.
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HI Wayne, all three of those choices would be very good conversations.
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I would be interested in having a conversation with Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye to see if he turned into as big a phony as the adults he abhorred as a teen.
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I love this. There are many characters I would love to have a conversation with. Like Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. She would be delightful to chat with. And Jo March from Little Women, Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice and Anne Frank. The list could go on and on.
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Hi Darlene, these are all great characters to chat with. I also thought of Anne Frank, but decided it would be to heartbreaking. I just couldn’t bring myself to consider it.
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I know. I hesitated but she was so optimistic, it would probably be inspiring.
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I like that you would choose characters to further your research. You are right that we could learn more from such conversations than through many research resources.
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Hi Norah, I find it easy to research facts but some everyday things are quite difficult. For example, I found it difficult to discover exactly what the Boer women wore when they trekked. I actually found this information on a board at the Voortrekker monument museum we visited recently and I took pictures of everything available. PS Your books have arrived at last.
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Our mobile phones make it so easy to record information, don’t they? It’s great to make use of the functions.
I’m pleased the books have made their way to you. The anthology is on its way too. I hope it is not far behind.
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Great choices, Robbie! I especially like your suggestion of Herman Charles Bosman’s work now you have me hooked on the events of the Second Boer War.
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Hi Chris, I just love his books. I have a few vintage copies of his books and was hoping to find them on audible, but, sadly, no success.
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I guess that’s the same with a lot of older books unless there’s a huge demand. I shall see what our local second-hand book stores have to offer.
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Robbie, great, thought-provoking posts by you and Charles French! Your choices are very interesting and explained well. One of the characters I’d like to converse with is Jane Eyre — smart, brave, stoic, resilient, principled, and feminist (for her time).
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Hi Dave, Jane Eyre is definitely a good choice. It would interesting to find out what she thought about Rochester being blinded and becoming fairly dependent on her. I would also want to know if she thought he really tried to save his wife given how he felt about her and that he was tricked into marrying her [through his eyes].
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Robbie, it would indeed be interesting to find out Jane’s thoughts on Rochester being grievously hurt. I suppose the “silver lining” in that situation was that it put the relationship between him and Jane on a more equal footing. Also a legitimate question about whether Rochester — not the most altruistic, self-sacrificing of men — 100% tried to save his wife. (As you know, Jean Rhys’ “Jane Eyre” prequel “Wide Sargasso Sea” got into the dynamics of that relationship quite a bit.)
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I have not read Wide Sargasso Sea, another book for my pile. It’s going to fall over and rush me soon [smile]. Jane Eyre was a book that just captured my imagination – the idea of the mad wild women locked up in the attic. It was the same with She, the scene at the end when the magic reverses haunted me – it still does.
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I know what you mean about to-read piles that are threatening to topple over! 🙂 😦
Yes, amid the coming-of-age, romantic, and other elements of “Jane Eyre,” it was kind of an eerie Gothic novel, too. And that “She” scene was indeed amazing!
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