Literary First Names

[Tabac]

Do you share a first name with a character in a work that just might happen to make you fond of that work?

No need to mention the first name - just the work.

For me, it's Of Human Bondage.

[Arteum]

:-) I have just finished reading "Of Human Bindage", and although I have a different name, I was thoroughly associating myself with the main hero. Did you too? Do you really have a lot in common with him? I, for example, have had my Mildred in my life.

[Eloise]

Eloise by Kay Thompson. No prizes for guessing what the name is! I was given a copy when I was little and have always loved it. Also The Family Book of Mary Claire by Eleanor Spence.

[redrum]

i wish... the closest i've found is either in children's books or in michael ondaatje's the english patient. and it's not even spelled the same.

[Helen]

I may be being thick, are there any great Helens in literature (that aren’t ancient)

;)

[Eloise]

Helen Burns in Jane Eyre?

[Scheherazade]

The OP:
Do you share a first name with a character in a work that just might happen to make you fond of that work?

No need to mention the first name - just the work.

For me, it's Of Human Bondage.

[papayahed]

No.:frown5:

[Veho]

Me neither. It is just plain depressing.

[Scheherazade]

Mine is taken from mythology.

[Veho]

Mine is taken from mythology.

*jealous*

[OrphanPip]

I'm either named after a NBA star or a pop star pedophile, so I have mixed feelings about my name.

Or maybe I'm named after some angel from the Bible or something.

[LMK]

Arther Miller's play Death of a Salesman, is the only thing I can think of that uses my first name.

[OrphanPip]

Arther Miller's play Death of a Salesman, is the only thing I can think of that uses my first name.

For your sake, I hope it's not Biff.

[LMK]

Ha ha...no, it's not Biff.

[Lokasenna]

I may be being thick, are there any great Helens in literature (that aren’t ancient)

;)

What about the most famous speech from Doctor Faustus?

"Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships,
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?--
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.--
''[kisses her]''
Her lips suck forth my soul: see, where it flies!--
Come, Helen, come, give me my soul again.
Here will I dwell, for heaven is in these lips,
And all is dross that is not Helena.
I will be Paris, and for love of thee,
Instead of Troy, shall Wittenberg be sack'd;
And I will combat with weak Menelaus,
And wear thy colours on my plumed crest;
Yea, I will wound Achilles in the heel,
And then return to Helen for a kiss.
O, thou art fairer than the evening air
Clad in the beauty of a thousand stars;
Brighter art thou than flaming Jupiter
When he appear'd to hapless Semele;
More lovely than the monarch of the sky
In wanton Arethusa's azur'd arms;
And none but thou shalt be my paramour!"

As for myself, I can't think of any famous Davids, excepting the Biblical king of course.

[Genocide]

The hecking Bible! No... it did not make me like it. In fact, I think it makes me loath it more. Plus there's a band, skin creme, and a video game system too... I'm changing my name to "Sam." It can't be misspelled and it doesn't remind me of la biblia. Huzzah!

^And you just put me in the mood to read some Marlowe. :D

[kasie]

Confusingly, my name is given to male characters in literature: King Arthur's foster-brother - I used to fancy being a loyal and true knight - and the little boy in Masefield's Box of Delights. I've never met a boy with my name though I've seen it with a slightly different spelling in Germany but it's a not uncommon girl's name in UK.

[Helga]

there are many versions of the Cinderella story but in Icelandic it just so happens that in old folk tales similar to Cinderella the sister that is left out always has my name. for some reason the sisters always have the same three names but Helga is the one left out but in the end marries a prince or a man of a higher class.

I always hated it in school when we where reading these stories but I like it today.

[qimissung]

Bridge to Terebithia, the girl. I would be fond of the book anyway, it's really good.

[Wilde woman]

My first name is Pamela, and my friends used to give me new copies of the Richardson novel every year for my birthday. Needless to say, it got old fast, and I'm no fan of the book either.:rolleyes:

[Niamh]

Mine is taken from mythology.

Mines from Irish Mythology.

[qimissung]

My first name is Pamela, and my friends used to give me new copies of the Richardson novel every year for my birthday. Needless to say, it got old fast, and I'm no fan of the book either.:rolleyes:

I'll keep that in mind, Wilde Woman. :)

[Maximilianus]

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion features Beleg Cúthalion. Beleg is a close Sindarin equivalent to my first name. Though this is not my only reason to like The Silmarillion :)