Poldark Character Review: Caroline Enys

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about Poldark, both the books and the television series. Read at your own risk.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using Winston Graham’s series of novels, Poldark and the subsequent television series to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

In the previous posts, I wrote about the title character, Ross Poldark , his wife, Demelza, Ross’s cousin, Francis, Francis’s wife, Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s second husband, George Warleggan, Ross’s cousin, Verity Blamey and Ross’s best friend, Dr. Dwight Enys. In this last post talking about the characters within the Poldark universe, I will be writing about Caroline Enys (nee Penvenen).

Caroline is introduced in book 3 and series 2 as the typical rich girl, a la Maria Bertram from  Mansfield Park. An orphan, she was raised by her uncle. At the age when she is eligible to marry, she comes with unwanted baggage: her potential fiance, Unwin Trevaunance.  Unwin makes Maria’s fiance, Mr. Rushworth look like Clark Gable, which is not saying much. A happy marriage, this is not destined to be.

Then Caroline falls for Dwight Enys, a doctor who chooses to practice medicine in Cornwall  among the lower classes instead of in fashionable Bath or London. While Caroline may appear to be the spoiled rich girl, she has a heart. She secretly pays off Ross’s debts and pays for the food that keeps the poorer denizens of Cornwall from dying of scurvy. She also marries Dwight, knowing full well that he is a step down and that her marriage will be frowned upon by some people.

Caroline could have easily been a paint by numbers character: the spoiled rich girl, the character who chooses to live by society’s rules instead of by their own rules. But because she takes a stand for what she wants out of life and gives back to others without expecting anything in return, she is revealed to be a character who surprises the audience.

To sum it up: The writer needs every now and again to surprise their audience. Just when the audience thinks that they know the character, throwing them a curve ball is another incentive to keep the audience engaged and involved. Dull and predictable characters will not hold your audience. Interesting and different characters will hold your audience.

On a personal note, I want to thank the readers who have allowed me to  experiment with a new series of blog posts. It has been a pleasure to examine how writers can create engaging and fully formed characters that keep the audience on their toes. In the next few weeks, I will be examining the characters from the original Star Wars trilogy. I’m looking forward to it.

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Poldark Character Review: Dr. Dwight Enys

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about Poldark, both the books and the television series. Read at your own risk.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using Winston Graham’s series of novels, Poldark and the subsequent television series to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

In the previous posts, I wrote about the title character, Ross Poldark , his wife, Demelza, Ross’s cousin, Francis, Francis’s wife, Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s second husband, George Warleggan and Ross’s cousin, Verity Blamey. Today’s post will focus on Ross’s best friend, Dr. Dwight Enys.

In any good story, the hero or heroine needs another character to create an emotional balance.  It could be a romantic partner or it could be a close friend. In the world of Poldark, the character of Dr. Dwight Enys creates that balance. Dwight is the Oscar to Ross’s Felix. A doctor by profession, he could have easily chosen to practice among the well heeled ton of London or Bath. Instead he chose to live and work in Cornwall, an area where the majority of the residents are far from wealthy. Where Ross is temperamental and impulsive,  Dwight is practical and level headed. A generous soul, Dwight is known to treat patients for free who unable to pay. But no one is perfect, not even Dwight.

His affair with a miners wife that ended tragically  in both book 2 and series 1 allowed the specter of guilt and doubt to enter his life. That guilt and doubt plagued him until he met Caroline Penvenen, the heiress who he would later marry. Torn between his job and his heart in book 4 and series 2, Dwight nearly walks away from Caroline.

 

The thing that strikes me about Dwight is that in a universe where characters are temperamental, emotional and dramatic, Dwight is the opposite. He creates a balance that allows the characters on the other side of the emotional spectrum to be out there emotionally while he remains calm and collected.

To sum it up: There has to be a balance on the emotional spectrum when it comes to characters. For every Marianne Dashwood, there has to be an Elinor Dashwood. While one character rages on and explodes, the other is sitting there quietly, responding with a cool and level head. In the world of Poldark, Ross is Marianne and Dwight is Elinor. Without that contrast, the reader may find the characters to be monotone, predictable and the book unreadable. The worst thing a writer wants to hear is the p word. It has sounded the death knell for the many books that have been returned to the library or the bookstore unfinished and un-liked.

Poldark Character Review: Verity Blamey

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about Poldark, both the books and the television series. Read at your own risk.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using Winston Graham’s series of novels, Poldark and the subsequent television series to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

In the previous posts, I wrote about the title character, Ross Poldark , his wife, Demelza, Ross’s cousin, Francis, Francis’s wife, Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s second husband, George Warleggan. Today’s post will focus on Ross’s cousin, Verity Blamey (nee Poldark).

Three of the standard character tropes for women are the love interest, the ex-girlfriend and the girl next door. In the world of Poldark, Demelza is the love interest, Elizabeth is the ex-girlfriend and Verity is the girl next door. Winston Graham’s answer to Anne Elliot from Persuasion, Verity is Francis’s sister. Unmarried and dangerously near the age of spinsterhood, she is the put upon daughter that is seen, but unappreciated by both her father and brother.

Like Anne Elliot, Verity’s choice of a husband is not exactly what the family had in mind for her. Captain Andrew Blamey is a Navy Captain who is whispered to have ill-treated his  wife. A widower with growing children, Captain Blamey and Verity are mutually attracted to one another, but her family’s objections to him will force her to choose between the man she loves and the family she was born into.

In creating a character like Verity, Winston Graham created a universal character. There are so many who feel like Verity. They are the ones that are not spectacularly handsome or beautiful, but they keep hoping to find a partner. They are the ones that stay within the familiar circle of family and friends out of loyalty and respect, even if they are unhappy.  When they do find happiness, they take that bold step, even if it means moving out of the comfortable circle of home and family.

Out of all of the characters within the Poldark universe, Verity is my favorite. She followed her heart, knowing full well that she would be estranged from most of her family. She is brave and bold and even if she is not as physically beautiful as Elizabeth or Demelza, her bravery stands out and makes her beautiful.

To sum it up: While Verity might not be the most obvious choice to be a heroine, Winston Graham clearly created a heroine. When one is bold enough to follow their heart and their gut, despite the objections of well-meaning family and friends, they become a heroine who can be admired and appreciated long after the writer has finished telling their story.

 

 

 

Poldark Character Review: George Warleggan

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about Poldark, both the books and the television series. Read at your own risk.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using Winston Graham’s series of novels, Poldark and the subsequent television series to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

In the previous posts, I wrote about the title character, Ross Poldark , his wife, Demelza, Ross’s cousin, Francis and Francis’s wife, Elizabeth. In this post, I will be writing about Poldark’s resident villain, George Warleggan. 

Any good hero needs a villain. Without that villain and the challenge that the villain presents to the hero, the hero is denied the chance to face up to that challenge.

George Warleggan represents both the standard villain and the overall change that was starting to affect England in the late 18th century. At that time, the middle class was rising and opportunities for societal and financial growth were ripe for the taking, if one was bold enough. The grandson of a blacksmith,  George has risen well above his familial roots to run the local bank.While he is well dressed and speaks like a gentleman, the George that is presented in polite society is not the George who takes off the mask in private.

He is not above breaking the moral code or using his financial assets to bribe someone to reach his goals, whether those goals would be to knock Ross down or marry Elizabeth.

No one person is wholly good or wholly bad. We all have the tendencies already inside of us to be good and bad. It is what we do with them that defines our character and the path we take in life. One could say that due to the very rigid class structure in England at the time, the reader and the audience understands George, especially from an American perspective. In that world at that time, the super wealthy and the aristocrats ruled England. While there was some acceptance of these self-made men who inherited neither titles, exorbitant fortunes or large tracts of property from their forebears, there was still a barrier to overall acceptance. George Warleggan is new money and new money is not  quite as welcome as old money. At the end of the day, George is fighting for that acceptance. This is the crux of George Warleggan.

To sum it up: Every hero needs a villain and visa versa. But to keep the audience and the reader interested, the villain needs to be interesting. Instead of creating the early regency version of Snidley Whiplash, Winston Graham created a multi faceted villain whose actions, while not entirely honorable or ethical, keep both the hero and the audience on their feet.

Poldark Character Review: Elizabeth Poldark

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about Poldark, both the books and the television series. Read at your own risk.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using Winston Graham’s series of novels, Poldark and the subsequent television series to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

In the previous posts, I wrote about the title character, Ross Poldark , his wife, Demelza and Ross’s cousin, Francis. In this post, I will be examining Elizabeth Warleggan (nee Chynoweth), Ross’s first love who first marries his cousin Francis and then after Francis’s death, marries George Warleggan.

We are told that Elizabeth is born to be admired. The daughter of the upper classes, Elizabeth is very much a woman of her age. From birth, she knows what her path in life will be. At the age when she is old enough to be married, she will marry a man whose status and income is appropriate. She will bring children into the world (i.e. sons) and spend the rest of her days in the lap of luxury.

But life, as we all know, is never that simple. While she is dutiful wife to Francis and a good mother to their son, Elizabeth still carries the torch for Ross. In series 2 and books 3 and 4, the flame of Ross and Elizabeth’s former relationship flicks back to life after appearing to be dormant. It grows stronger after Francis’s death. Relying on on Ross for both emotional support and financial support, their bond becomes too close for comfort for Demelza.

Knowing that she needs to marry, if only to provide a comfortable home for her son, Elizabeth agrees to marry George Warleggan. Upon hearing the news, Ross makes a beeline for Elizabeth, nearly destroying his own marriage in the process. In the end, Elizabeth does what she believes is the right thing by marrying George. But is it?

Elizabeth is very much a woman of her era and her class. On one hand, looking back at the period and how women were viewed, her journey and the choices she makes along the way feel appropriate. But, if we look at her from a modern perspective, it’s not hard to see a woman who is making choices that a modern woman today might not have to make.

To sum it up: Characters like Elizabeth are meant to make us think. A good book makes the reader think. Whether it is about the choices we make because of the world we live in or because of the opportunities that was not available to previous generations, we all have choices. It’s what we do with those choices that has the final say on how we will end up living our lives.

 

Poldark Character Review: Francis Poldark

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about Poldark, both the books and the television series. Read at your own risk.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using Winston Graham’s series of novels, Poldark and the subsequent television series to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

In the previous two posts, I wrote about the title character, Ross Poldark and his wife, Demelza. This post will be focusing on Francis Poldark, Ross’s cousin.

Francis and Ross grew up as brothers. In England at that time, the law of primogeniture ruled. Primogeniture basically means that the first-born son inherits the lion-share of the family assets. Francis is the first-born son of the first born son. He is born into a life of privilege and wealth. But money does not always buy happiness.

At the beginning of the series, we meet Francis when both the audience and Ross learn that he is engaged to Ross’s first love, Elizabeth (to be discussed next week). With Ross home, Francis begins to question if Elizabeth still wants to go on with marriage.  Even after they Francis and Elizabeth marry and bring their son into the world, he is still consumed by jealousy and low self-esteem. He becomes good friends with George Warleggan even though he is aware of the bad blood between George and Ross.

By the time we reach book 4 and series 2, Francis has become a new man. His relationship with Ross has mended, his marriage is flourishing, he has broken with George and he has developed a healthy self-esteem.

Then he is killed in mining accident.

Some people are not meant to live to see old age. Some people unfortunately, find themselves and then die before they can truly live. These are the characters that truly break the reader’s heart and remind them of the fragility of life.

To sum it up: Francis is the type of character that unfortunately meets a tragic and unexpected ending. He grapples with so many issues for so long and when he finally decides to be happy and grab life by the balls, he is gone.  Francis’s death not only breaks the heart of the characters and the readers, but also forces the fate of those around him into unforeseen territory.

When a writer creates a character like Francis, they are challenging the audience. They are challenging the audience to not only appreciate life, but to also look at the character as a whole, not just his or her problems.