Description of(3) CHARACTERS

SECTION SECTION III. CHARACTER.
The character of men is generally reflected in a narrative of their lives, but, considered as a complete growth, character may be described. Several peculiar¬ities belong to the description of character. Some of
•	these may be mentioned.
1. Individuality.
Only marked characters are worth describing. The distinctive traits of a man are necessary to a successful description. Those shared in common with most men of the same class may be sufficiently indicated by re¬ferring the character to that class. The power to
seize upon what is purely individual is the secret of all great character painting. It was possessed pre-emi¬nently by Shakespeare. His female characters are very numerous, and generally among the most exquisite creations in literature. "And these Shakespearian women," says Whipple, "though all radiations from one great ideal of womanhood, are at the same time in¬tensely individualized. Each has a separate soul, and the processes of intellect as well as emotions are differ¬.ent in each." *
2. Inward Principles.
Specific acts are important only as suggestive of internal principles. These make up the character. External acts are helpful to the portraiture of charac¬ter, but this carries us beyond the region of mere de¬scription, and invades the territory of narration, in which the growth of character is exhibited. The pro¬cess of investigating character should be inductive. From isolated manifestations we infer the actuating motives, and thus arrive at the dominant qualities of mind and heart. The description of character should be deductive. The ruling principles should be stated first, and exemplified if necessary by illustrative in¬stances. Thus every item will have the force of a confirmation, instead of being a mere datum from which to infer the principle.
3. Concrete Form,
No mere sum of abstractions, however, can truth¬fully represent a character. "A man is not an abstract
passion," says Take. "He stamps the vices and vir¬tues which he possesses with his individual mark. These vices and virtues receive, on entering into him, a bent and form which they have not in others. No one is unmixed sensuality. Take a thousand sensual¬ists, and you will find a thousand different modes of sensuality; for there are a thousand paths, a thousand circumstances and degrees in sensuality." * Portrait¬ures of men which represent them as incarnations of a single vice or virtue are evidently untrue. No man is without redeeming virtues, and no man is absolutely free from faults or inconsistencies. Even an ideal character should not be perfect, if designed to represent any possible human being.
4. Environment.
A character is a product, and must be studied in its environment. Apart from his circumstances in life, a man excites little genuine interest. Vir tues and vices are wonderful or common-place, ac¬cording to the soil in which they grow. Piety is an essential and natural element in the life of a great divine, and hence would be much more striking in the life of a common sailor. Vices which would seem natural to the seaman would seem to be foul blots upon the character of the divine. Hence consistency re¬quires that character be described in connection with its atmosphere.
Category:Character