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This week I’m going to be discussing various themes and emotions that are within the next book Legends of Windemere: Curse of the Dark Wind. As The Compass Key proved, delays seem to happen and I’d rather be clean than quick when it comes to this. If anything, this gives people a taste of what’s to come.
A complaint had been made several times over the course of the series. This was in regards to Luke Callindor and his ‘strength’. Many people see him as the only central character, so they get annoyed when he is overshadowed by the others in terms of power. This I’ll touch on in another post, but it leads into another complaint that always seems to turn up alongside it: a crying hero.
Luke demonstrates that he isn’t a cold-hearted warrior and is still rather immature as far as our traditional heroes go. If he loses a friend or fails, he gets depressed and has even cried on a few occasions. This seems to be a big ‘no-no’ for some reason, which has me curious as to why. Nyx and Sari have been brought to tears just as often and nobody bats an eye. Luke bawls after a heart-breaking event or needs to be consoled and he’s suddenly labeled as a ‘weak hero’. This has led to him becoming a more emotionally open character, which makes him even more susceptible to getting hurt.
So, what does this have to do with the next book? Well, Luke isn’t going to be at his emotional best here. Events will push him to points where he’ll have childish outbursts and the truth is that this seems more natural for him. He puts on this strong, brave front for most of the series, but imagine how hard it is to maintain that when you’re losing friends and feeling like you’re failing. Then to get hit with something where you’re made to feel like you’re a burden?
The thing here is that something like this could make Luke come out stronger and that’s what I think people fail to realize. The fact that he cries isn’t a sign that he’s weak, but that he’s human. Our hardest moments are what make us grow as long as we don’t let them devour us. Personally, I think it should be the same for fictional heroes. Villains are routinely attacking a hero’s emotions because those are so fragile and no amount of armor or powers can really defend them. That’s why the accusation that Luke is weak because he cries, mopes, whines, and shows that he’s upset is rather strange. Would he be stronger if he was emotionally numb, perpetually angry, or let everything fester in his heart to explode later?
So, what do you think about heroes who cry and show emotion? Do you think they’re weak?
Legends of Windemere 
I’m totally with you! I don’t like my heroes being super-heroes. I like the human touch in them and I think that eventually, readers relate better to normal heroes. It’s a good question which I think I should ask my readers. Most of heroes are not really impressive and I have made them make mistakes and saying the wrong things at some point. Food for thought… Thanks for sharing!
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Funny thing is that even super-heroes cry. The ‘crying hero’ isn’t really rare since I’ve seen Spider-Man, Wolverine, and even Batman get weepy throughout their existence. Yet, it seems like some people just get triggered by it as if it’s unnatural.
Hero mistakes are another mystery to me. Many readers are quick to point out a character making a mistake and claim it ruins the story. Yet, the story would end if that mistake wasn’t make. Furthermore, a reader has the luxury of knowing everything about the scenario and not being in the thick of the action. There’s no pressure and stress to cause a mistake like with the characters.
Both of these criticisms reminds me that you can’t please everyone. Yet there are some issues that simply baffle me.
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Sigh. I know some people have the view that tears are a sign of weakness. I don’t happen to share that view. Some tears are well earned, especially if someone has been through countless battles and is reunited with a friend whom he or she believed was dead. I can’t imagine someone standing their stoic at such a moment. At the death of Boromir in The Fellowship of the Rings, no one stood around stoically while saying the funeral rites.
Srong warriors aren’t afraid to show emotion. Weaker ones hide their emotions behind their bluster. But no one is fooled.
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Boromir is a good example. Back then, it wasn’t a bad thing for heroes to cry over lose. Maybe it’s a more modern thing that fictional male heroes have to keep their emotions in check. Most times they do a release it’s for joy, but loss always ends up being pushed to the dry-eyed rage and focus.
Might be cultural too. I can think of a bunch of anime/manga where the male hero cries. Edward Elric comes to mind right away. I think even the all-mighty Goku got weepy a few times.
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I wrote that last comment without the post in front of me, so I totally forgot Edward was in there.
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Um by “their,” I mean “there.” 🙂
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I prefer well rounded heroes. I’ve seen many a good guy smash a water cooler with his bat, or throw a helmet. Why should our fictional ones be any different?
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I know. It’s a really strange rule that we want realism in our fiction, but god forbid the hero cries.
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It almost feels like a challenge, hmmm…
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I wouldn’t so much say a challenge. Only because I’m pretty sure most heroes cry. Though I do wonder what would happen if you make a hero who refuses to cry and simply shows no emotion. Don’t even give a reason for it.
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You wind up with The Tick, or some monolithic hero type.
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I so wish ‘The Tick’ would come back to TV. He was so over the top it was great.
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I remember a decade ago when they promised us a Pinky & The Brain movie. I’m still waiting.
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I heard someone that the live-action Tick might be revived by Amazon or Netflix. Pinky & The Brain really deserved their own movie. The best they got was part of the Animaniacs movie.
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For me, emotions makes the story. Otherwise you end up with cardboard characters who have no depth.
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Yeah. Those are so boring. Though, I do see female characters having more emotional leeway than males. I guess a trade-off there is they come under scrutiny more often too.
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I think a touch of humanity and human emotion makes them all the more real. Why should tears be a sign of weakness, I don’t think that they are, but instead a sign of a hero with a heart.
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I agree. Honestly, there are days where I think it’s braver to cry than hold it in.
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I think Heroes that cry show a side which is part of being part of an emotional world. They allow the reader to empathize with them and as a result seem more real even if they are an Elf or Half Elf.
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Great point. The emotions make them relatable. That’s something an author should shoot for.
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This, to me, is like heroes who kill — again, crossing a line of what’s “heroic.” If it’s established for this character that he weeps when under great stress, I think you should keep that. Or, certainly, a character might mature over several books, so perhaps plan an arc where Luke might express his emotions in different ways, but as part of his growth and not because some reader moaned about it.
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The arc would definitely be needed. Though I’m not sure I want him to be the hero who never cries. I’ve felt that the only way to get him there is to break him, which would fundamentally change him. It would probably wipe out all emotions from him. Of course then I could have an arc about him trying to regain his humanity.
The killing thing is interesting. We seem to do it without a second thought in fantasy because there’s this idea that they are always brutal worlds. Yet once you sit down and think about it, the act of killing in a bar fight and not getting arrested makes no sense at all.
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