Changed my mind about the main character in our current read

I was listening to the 'If Books Could Kill' podcast episode on 'The Alchemist' and the host said something like 'this isn't a hero's journey, it's a guy being told he's special and then everything works out for him'... and it clicked for me. I'd been defending Santiago's quest in our club's debate last week, but now I see the passivity they were talking about. Has anyone else had a podcast or review completely flip their view on a book character?

3 comments

3 Comments

matthewp523mo ago

Totally get that. Had a similar thing happen with a book club pick a while back. A critic pointed out how the "strong female lead" never actually made a choice for herself, she just reacted to what men did. Once you see it, you can't unsee it, and it ruined the book for me.

richard_shah3mo ago

That's such a good point. It makes the character feel like a prop instead of a person. I had that happen with a movie where the "tough" heroine's whole story was just getting revenge for her boyfriend. Felt so hollow after I noticed.

cameron7631mo ago

And it's not just in movies or books either. See this pattern all the time in real life conversations too. Watch how people ask a woman "so what does your husband do" but never ask a man the same thing about his wife. Or how a guy gets called "ambitious" for chasing his goals while a woman doing the same thing gets called "bossy" or "cold." It's like society can't help but turn people into supporting roles in someone else's story. Makes you wonder how much of our own lives we're actually living versus just reacting to what everyone else expects from us.