Roxy's Sunday Six

Roxy is joining us again for the Sunday Six. Maybe we can get her to blog more often -- Hint.

Like last week when I could only think of one heroine, I can only come upwith one hero. And like last week, it made me think about my story so it was a good exercise.

My Hero is Don Quixote. Yes, that crazy old man tilting at windmills. (The rules were that we can look across genres) (I hope those were the rules! I may have bent them a little.) There are many versions of the story and it'sbeen many years since I read the original, but I'm thinking mostly of the Broadway musical version in "Man of LaMancha". You know, "dream the impossible dream" "you are my dulcinea" and all that. Why? I guess because he's the epitome of idealism, doing the right thing no matter how hard, seeing the beauty in others. Does he have a flaw? Sure, he's crazy.

What about romance? Don Quixote fell for Aldonza, a local prostitute, called her Dulcinea, beautiful and pure. By the end of the play, she believes him and sees herself as he does.

What about my hero? My protagonist is a young woman named Carolyn who iscrossing the Oregon Trail. Her romantic interest is a young man who is somewhat quiet and unassuming, but has a core of steel. Always does the right thing, never wavers. He sees the beauty in Carolyn and finally shesees herself as he does. I didn't see the parallel with Don Quixote/Aldonza until I thought about this. Now, does my hero have a flaw? Not yet. And he's not crazy. I'll have to figure out what makes him human.

Roxy