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HelpRe: Fictional twins
in reply to a message by RoxStar
Roxstar, I totally agree. I knew a Canadian woman, living in the UK with very little income, who wrote to the publishers of those cheap romantic novels that get sold in general dealers' rather than bookshops, offering to write for them. They replied that unless she liked their books, she shouldn't even bother because their readers would sense her lack of belief and feel slighted. They also sent her a checklist for character names: the heroine should never have a name like Brenda or Barbara, because those were mother-in-law names. There were also rules for the heroine and the bad girl, which I forget. All very ritualised. And, I suppose one can excuse it in a magical society, but what bugged me in the Harry Potter books was a man called Remus Lupin who was bitten by a werewolf and became one himself as a result. That is far too much of a coincidence, surely. Naming a child after traits that he won't have until he's of school-going age, and then only by accident? A werewolf seeking out a snack who just happens to have a lupine surname? Nope.
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And the werewolf who bit him was named Fenrir Greyback. Remus Lupin seems mild in comparison...he could have been Wolfgang Wilde or something, yikes... and the divination teacher could have been Crystal Ball instead of Sybil...
I think Harry Potter gets a pass for transparent (to adults) mythological/linguistic references because it's supposed to be a snarky and whimsical kid's book; word play and learning the references is part of the fun. Like it's not a coincidence that Harry's petty aunt is Petunia (and those symbolize resentment), that the house named after Godric Gryffindor is portrayed as self-righteous, that Dumbledore's name has dumb in it, that Cornelius Fudge is corny and fudges truth, that Malfoy means bad faith...it'd be less entertaining if they were Rose, George Smith, Professor Elliott...I can imagine that being true in a cheap romance novel, too - probably depends on the character and tone - but I do feel like Brenda and Barbara deserve romance.
I have read a book summary before and been completely put off by the names, though (in Cutting the Stone, with the title itself being a medical reference to pain and problem solving: the protagonist's surname is Stone, and he, as an abandoned child, is born in a mission hospital called Missing then named Marion after a famous surgeon and becomes a surgeon...meanwhile his twin is named Shiva, after a god who happens to be frequently symbolized with linga/stones which signify a transcendental concept of reality, because why not...and their father who they never knew and didn't name them is a surgeon with a name that means twin...yeah right).
I think Harry Potter gets a pass for transparent (to adults) mythological/linguistic references because it's supposed to be a snarky and whimsical kid's book; word play and learning the references is part of the fun. Like it's not a coincidence that Harry's petty aunt is Petunia (and those symbolize resentment), that the house named after Godric Gryffindor is portrayed as self-righteous, that Dumbledore's name has dumb in it, that Cornelius Fudge is corny and fudges truth, that Malfoy means bad faith...it'd be less entertaining if they were Rose, George Smith, Professor Elliott...I can imagine that being true in a cheap romance novel, too - probably depends on the character and tone - but I do feel like Brenda and Barbara deserve romance.
I have read a book summary before and been completely put off by the names, though (in Cutting the Stone, with the title itself being a medical reference to pain and problem solving: the protagonist's surname is Stone, and he, as an abandoned child, is born in a mission hospital called Missing then named Marion after a famous surgeon and becomes a surgeon...meanwhile his twin is named Shiva, after a god who happens to be frequently symbolized with linga/stones which signify a transcendental concept of reality, because why not...and their father who they never knew and didn't name them is a surgeon with a name that means twin...yeah right).
This message was edited 8/30/2023, 11:21 AM
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izzackly!
Or people who talk about how their baby has the most gorgeous red hair and they named him Russell because omg! it means red-haired! Not taking into account that babies' hair very often changes and little red-haired Russell is likely to end up a blond or a mousy-brown-haired guy.
Or people who talk about how their baby has the most gorgeous red hair and they named him Russell because omg! it means red-haired! Not taking into account that babies' hair very often changes and little red-haired Russell is likely to end up a blond or a mousy-brown-haired guy.
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