Women across the world love a hero – a man capable of making a girl go weak in the knees, sigh dreamily and grin like an idiot. These heroes come in all different types, as each girl is different.
What is my idea of a hero? I’ll give you some examples.
Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice played by the delectable Colin Firth in 1995’s stunning BBC adaptation. Why do I like him? Besides the obvious good looks it’s the awesome sarcasm and how he’s determined to not love Elizabeth but he still can’t help himself! To make him a real hero though, he’s got to fail. He does this in spectacular fashion when he proposes to Lizzie at Kent. I still cringe when I see that scene and can’t believe anyone would actually say those words and expect a positive response from a girl! Like all good heroes who fail; he is redeemed in the end. What makes him a true hero to me is his willingness to ask for her hand one more time. Now most guys would really struggle to do that, especially after the dressing down he received from Lizzie. 
Captain Frederick Wentworth from 2007’s Persuasion played by Rupert Penry-Jones. I’ve wrestled with why he is a hero to me for some time. The simple truth is that he loves Anne and has always loved Anne. Even when anger and wounded pride colour his decisions, it’s plain he still cares for her. No one looks that intently at a woman without having any feelings! Again, he’s man enough to ask her a second time for her hand in marriage. I love these gutsy guys! My final hero actually comes from a book – about time huh? It’s Grady McKenzie from Denise Hunter’s Sweetwater Gap. He’s the one you might recall from my previous MMM post, Old Friends, in which I declared I’d marry him if I got to live in a fictional world. He tops my hero list. He’s a strong capable man who lives by truth and integrity. Josie can’t intimate him but loves that she’ll challenge him all the same. He’s tough when it counts and gentle when he needs to be.
I can’t get enough of watching Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion or reading Sweetwater Gap. I go weak in the knees, sigh dreamily and grin like an idiot when I’ve spent time with any one of these literary heroes.
Note: I also love Darcy and Captain Wentworth in the books Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice. They are my literary heroes. They were just played so wonderfully by Firth and Penry-Jones.
Stay tuned next week when Helen shares who her heroes are!
Who are your heroes? Tell us why – we’d love to know!
Jess is a mum of two children and married to the calmest man alive. She loves to bake and go for walks. A writer of contemporary romance, Jess write stories about the heart and where love is worth the journey.
So even though Jane Austen remained a spinster aunt to her dying day, she knew how to concoct perfect fictional guys of any girls' dreams, who'd still be raved over a few hundred years later. That's really interesting and I'll bet she'd never have dreamed that would happen.
Oh, wonderful post, Jess! Heroic posts are my (and reader) favorites. I agree with all of your heroes here and am so intrigued by Grady – I need to read that book!
For this dreamy American girl, I'm head over heels with John Thornton in North&South. Everyone else paled for me when he came in. I first watched N&S last fall and haven't been the same since. He has all the broodiness and dark handsomeness of Austen and Bronte's heroes and more. Hope you and Helen are smitten as well when you watch;)
Hi Paula,
It's funny how she wrote such legendary men and women. I doubt she would have ever believed the success she found!
Hi Laura,
Thanks and you really need to read Sweetwater Gap. It's one of the best romance novels I've ever read!
I know so many of my friends tell me to watch North and South and if it is anything like Gaskell's Wives and Daughter's I know I'll love it.
We both want to watch it!
Paula – it is amazing isn't it? I wonder if someone else will create such great heroes that will be talked about a hundred years later?
Maybe it's not surprising she never married. If she was using Mr Darcy as her yard stick, few men would make the grade! 😛
Laura – that is high praise indeed for John Thornton! I can't wait to see this North & South now – I'm already looking for the best price on the internet to order it 🙂