I’m linking up to The Broke and the Bookish‘s feature, Top Ten Tuesday, for the first time today.
I’ve thought about joining for a while, but I knew this had to be the week I started when I saw this week’s theme: Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters. I often find myself growing inexplicably fond of secondary characters. Probably because I suspect I would be one if I were in a book. Or possibly because authors have more freedom to make secondary characters more eccentric or quirky because readers don’t have relate to them throughout an entire book or even put up with them the whole time.
I felt that I needed a definition of what a secondary character is, so maybe you do, too. A secondary character, though not the main character, does make actions that affect the plot of a story. A minor character, however, does not.
So here are my favorite/most memorable secondary characters:
1. Eowyn in The Two Towers and The Return of the King
I went through a period in high school when I wanted to be Eowyn. It was not one of my finer stages. No, I didn’t dress up as Eowyn for geek costume parties or anything like that (I wasn’t invited). I just wanted to be that noble and brave. While I like a more traditional woman for a roll model these days, I still think she’s one of the best female character in literature. And definitely the best girl turned battle hero. I’d take her over Katniss or any other girl hero any day.
2. Miss Havisham in Great Expectations
She gets my vote, hands down, for creepiest memorable secondary character (that’s a mouthful). Really, this whole list could be made up of Dickens characters. Uriah Heep comes to mind.
3. Dickon in The Secret Garden
When I was a little girl, I wanted a big brother. And I wanted that big brother to be Dickon. Or maybe Frederick from The Sound of Music. Dickon was such a good friend to Mary, who didn’t really deserve a friend but desperately needed one. It wasn’t until Mary found a friend in Dickon that she was able to befriend Colin. Also, Dickon was a boy who was good with animals and plants. I found that to be important, somehow, in boys when I was a child.
4. Reepicheep in Prince Caspian
Reepicheep cracks me up. Besides his humor, he is so valiant and useful and loyal. His faith in Caspian and in Aslan is unshakable. Another Narnian secondary character I’ll never forget is Mr. Beaver. I’ve always wanted to visit the inside of his and Mrs. Beaver’s house/beaver dam. It sounds so quaint and cozy.
5. Rachel Lynde in Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea, etc.
Or any number of secondary characters in that series. I love Miss Lavender, too, but I suspect she’s more of a minor character.
6. Honey in the Trixie Belden series
This is probably where I get my sidekick complex. When I was a kid and I was reading the Trixie Belden mysteries with a friend, my friend told me, “you’re definitely Honey and I’m more Trixie.” Ouch. Honey was the rich, girly, tag-along. Oh well. It was pretty true. Except for the rich part.
7. Isla in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Yes, I’m mentioning Guernsey AGAIN on my blog. But Isla was awesome. She was so strange, yet someone with whom everyone felt comfortable. Also, I would put Kit in this list, too, but I feel bad about two characters from the same book. I fell in love with Kit. She is adorable.
8. Rudy Steiner in The Book Thief
I will probably never recover (okay, exaggerating) from the boy Rudy in this book. He is the most likable character I’ve come across in years. And that’s not a slight to all the other characters in books I’ve read and loved. I just mean he is that awesome.
9. Hagrid from The Harry Potter series
Who can forget Hagrid? He could probably be number one on this list; he is that memorable. I’ll never forget his weeping over various and terrifying pets.
10. Lady Catherine from Pride and Prejudice
Her snobbery without anything but money to back it up is legendary. Her lines in P&P are some of the most memorable. “Are the shades of Pemberly to be thus polluted,” and “If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient.” etc.
Who are your favorite secondary characters in books?