SPERRO

Sometimes, when we are studying certain individuals in history, I feel that we tend to look at the character as an object, rather than a human being who has all the traits of human nature.

for example, my pet subject is wars of the Roses, which literally has thousands of characters all with complex traits etc. I tend to overlook and forget that these historical characters (whoever they are), are subject to all of conditions of mind that we do.

For example, they possibly liked to get drunk, crack jokes, fall in love, get frightened, get jealous, get angry, suffer with aches and pains, this list is infinite. I have to admit that when I study someone from history, its as if Iam looking at a mental portrait of the character, stuck in 2 dimensions ( as in a painting), and I forget to take on board their human frailty.

Does the forum agree with this?

Lady_Cassandra

It's a really interesting point that your making. A lot of topics are determined by memory and the perspective of the subjects that we have on hand. What's important to remember and take into account is the bias these subjects may have and the lifestyle they led that may have led to a certain viewpoint. Nothing in history is black and white. To hold a historical person up as an abstract figure, in my opinion, is to give an incomplete picture of both the person and the events that they participated in.

SPERRO

That is exactly how I see it, I really just wondered if I was alone with this?.

yaclaus

When I think of jazz musicians now dead it is really weird to think that they used to live, get drunk/high, be A-holes (some of them were not the nicest of characters), experience ups and downs and having to eat every day. We all have biological conditions even so called geniuses

Tuthmosis III

I do.
It does take a stretch of the imagination to put flesh and blood back into a story when you read it. And we can never retrieve the full context in which an event takes place as it is.
Warts and all, there is some value in good on-screen dramatizations, eh?

SPERRO

Agreed, and to that end, I think this colours our perception of what these characters were really like. If we stop and think, (put myself in their shoes) what would I have done or how would I have percieved this situation etc?, it may make us see the individuals in a different light.

kbear

the war of the roses is one of my favorite time periods also--i would love to see a series like "the tudors" which really brought the characters to life. it would be a huge undertaking if done well...
anne bolyen has always been portayed as this scheming hussy who deserved what she got--after "the tudors" i would bet most people changed their opinion...
brad pitt could be edward IV

SPERRO

you are stretching my imagination now!!

unclefred

There is a tendency to distill everything down to a 'good guy' 'bad guy' scenario. That's not what life is, in actuality. It's not really profitable for discussion or reflection, but it sure is good for argument.

Brisieis

Great thread Sperro.

I feel exactly the same. When I read about different characters over history I like to try to empathise and put myself into their shoes, I like to understand why they acted how they did. This is very important to me, it can cause a rumpus using this mindset, when discussing people from history sometimes, people like to 'write off' historical figures as A or B and nothing inbetween. But as you rightly say, these people had feelings, they had reasons, they are people too, not just a symbol that one can use for postitive or negative reasons.