Character biography

IN a prefatory essay to an English edition of Turgenieff, Henry James relates the Russian novelist's practice of composing an elaborate biography for each of his story characters. Very little of these biographies need appear in the story itself; their purpose was to acquaint the author with his own creations, so that, knowing them intimately, he was enabled to set them forth in natural and individual action when the story demanded. Of Ibsen much the same is told. He knew, it appears, more concerning his char¬acters than his plays revealed; they were to him real people. The advantages of so thorough¬going a method are apparent. Characters fully and clearly renlind by the author are sure to be convincing to the reader if the author is a com¬petent craftsman, one able to make his people reveal themselves. Yet these are, doubtless, ex¬treme instances of literary thoroughness; the majority of writers are not so painstaking. At the most they may nave imagined their creations so vividly that they could invent sound biog¬raphies at need. More often, I fancy, the peo¬ple of the story, nebulously conceived, grow into niteness as the author writes.

characters should be convincing; that is, they ld breathe the air of life, and be recognize- as individuals, however small their part in action; but it does not follow that they need (laborately conceived. In many stories char¬cr is of quite minor importance; action, or k the background before which the characters v d, may be chief. To Turgenieff character rev¬- ion was usually the object of the story, and devised the action to express the characters. many authors this is not the method nor The writer may wish to subordinate char- lest it intrude unduly upon the reader's -2rest. Thus in the story of adventure the ter cares only that the hero be brave and re¬rceful, and the heroine pretty and alluring.

are the conventional pieces of the game. main variations are, of course, possible, and clever writer contrives to trick out his stock racters with a semblance of freshness. But reality they are scarcely more than conven¬is, and the reader asks nothing more the action be sufficiently absorbing.