The Heroes!
In her last post Nalini mentioned that the hero in a novel she read made her mad. That got me thinking about some of the leading man types we see in romantic novels today.
Disclaimer: tongue firmly in cheek.
Ilona’s Compendium To Leading Men
The Aristocrat.
He’s urbane and smooth. He knows the right things to say, he has the right connections, and he is well respected by his peers: men see him as a strong ally and women view him as a desirable match.
He typically seeks a partner rather than an arm candy and he is secretly a passionate ball of raging lust underneath a cool exterior. He may infuriate you with his wit but he would never embarrass you in public and his manners are always flawless. There is no circumstance under which he would fail to afford a lady the courtesy she is entitled to.
To ensnare the Aristocrat, a lady must be, well, a lady, if not in birth than in spirit and manners, because nothing is more off-putting to this type than vulgarity and tackiness.
*******
The Rake
The Rake is an enigma. He can be a cowboy, a British Lord, a pirate, or an Italian gazillionaire, but he is always charming, clever, and handsome as sin. He may pretend to be brainless, but he never is. He pursues women passionately and abandons them the moment after they succumb to his charms. Strangely, despite this cruel treatment, he is usually well liked, perhaps because he’s quite entertaining and because he makes a dangerous enemy.
The Rake is usually damaged by a deep childhood trauma. He has definite trust issues and taming him requires kindness and a great deal of patience rather than sharp wit and beauty. However, once properly tamed, he makes the most faithful of husbands.
*******
The Madman
The Madman is driven. He tramples over the established rules. He’s a tempest of violent emotions: rage, pain, loneliness, suffering, he feels it all with the volume cranked up to 100%. He is often a product of a lifetime of abuse or hardship and he often feels that he’s cursed. Unlike the Rake, who masks his pain behind a harmless facade, the Madman carries his darkness like a banner. He doesn’t live, he battles life and revels in his hurt.
He doesn’t engage women, because he knows he’s bad for them, and when he does need a physical release, he would be the most likely of all types to seek release among prostitutes. The Madman is one of the hardest types to tame, because he is afraid of being happy. Should a lady aspire to tame one, she must be quick to react and be gentle, strong, or angry, as occasion demands.
*******
The Hero
The Hero never fails to put himself between the lady and danger. He has moments of wickedness, but they’re are mostly harmless. He’s relatively well adjusted, he never hesitates, and while he may have doubts, in the end he will do the right thing every time. He’ll hit the bad guy with a chair, run across the molten lava, and rescue everyone against impossible odds. He’s dependable, manly, and kind, and women instinctively know that he will make an excellent father. Children like him, dogs follow him, and men view him as a born leader.
The Hero isn’t as tortured, conflicted, or complicated, but every woman wants one. His work is never done, so the lady who manages to snag one, has to be prepared for constant adventure.
*******
The Victim
The Victim is angst personified. He’s in deep need of rescuing. The world is out to get him, and he lashes out against it. He is dangerous, because he always expects the worst and he tends to overreact to danger, perceived or otherwise. He’s suffers from attacks of melancholy and he’s prone to overkill, not because he’s enraged, but because he doesn’t want his enemies coming back to fight him again. His glass is always half empty. He feels the world has given up on him and he may whine about it. Despite all of his failings, the victim is basically good. He’s kind to the weak, he’ll stand up to the strong, and when push comes to shove, he’ll demonstrate surprising inner strength and willingness to shield others from danger.
He’s a creature of remarkable beauty and sensitivity and he will always tend to lady’s needs. Should a lady find herself in love with one, she should approach him equipped with an ample supply of Kleenex.
*******
The Mercenary
The Mercenary always looks out for himself. He’s motivated only by personal gain. Of all the leading men, he’s the quickest on his feet. If he sees an opportunity, he grabs it. He’s a risk taker and rules and laws mean nothing to him. He’s a scoundrel, who will steal a lady’s virtue and her jewels. If you injure him, he will get even. He’s smart, fearless, ruthless, and he often sees humor in misery he creates.
Getting a Mercenary of your own is a tricky business. Kindness, patience, and virtue leaves this type cold. A lady would do much better with defiance and being ready to give as good as she gets. The Mercenary can’t resist a challenge and he’s greedy – once he gets a taste, he wants the whole thing.
*******
The Genius
The Genius has talent, whether it is incredible intelligence, a gift of music, or the unusual sensitivity to fluctuations of the market. He’s a workaholic, so absorbed in his work that he is often oblivious to the world around him. While alert and competent within his chosen sphere of expertise, he’s often naive or at least exceptionally dense when it comes to the matters of the heart. He’s craves acceptance. He’s gentle to those he loves and kind, but his relationships, romantic and otherwise, will always take a second seat to his work.
A lady eager to catch attention of the Genius has to familiarize herself with the nature of his work, because the Genius values intellectual discourse even more than pleasures of intimate nature. Subtle hints and clever flirting do not work well with this type. A lady would do much better for herself if she hit him over the head with it.
********
The humble author sincerely hopes you’ve enjoyed this guide. If you would do her the kindness of leaving your leading man preference in the comments, it would be much appreciated.
I’m all over the aristocrat actually. The partner thing as opposed to muse-object is the key point there…
Mmmmmmm. Hero plz! And not only because of the picture of O’Connor.
The word “well adjusted” apparentky work better on me than flowers or chocolates.
The Hero’s picture is Brendan Fraser of “The Mummy” fame. He’s my hero.
I’m going with mercenary, lol. With maybe a dash of hero thrown in there
How horrble is it that I love the Madman? Or maybe it’s just the picture beside it? I love you Batman.
Great post! I am totally stuck on the aristocrat types (love the Mr. Darcy types) with a dash of the mercenary mixed in…
How about instead of those I’d choose, those I wouldn’t choose. I’m open to all types except Victim & Genius.Waht can I say patience isn’t a virture of mine, and of all the type those two would require the most patience.
I have used a process of elimination
The Aristocrat – I am in no way a lady
The Rake – I just dont have that much patience
The Madman – I could do – quick to react and be gentle, strong, or angry, as occasion demands.
The Hero – while drawn to the hero I am not one for CONSTANT adventure, I like downtime.
The Victim – Kleenex is to expensive
The Mercenary- While probably fun in the sack I would doubt his faithfulness
The Genius – if I have to hit him over the head with my flirting I would prefer to send him back to harvard for another degree.
So Madman it is for me
thank Ilona, I had fun LOL!!!!
I married a “dark poet” – not a victim, but it can definitely be him against the world. Nonetheless, he’s fabulous and I adore him.
I would have to say I choose “the victim”. I have always been a sucker for the tortured soul. Or as my friends would say the whiney cry baby.
The aristocrat appeals to me, but I think I’d be smothered acting the lady all the while. So now, I’m torn between the rake and the madman. I simply don’t trust people that haven’t had terrible things happen to them, because you never know how they’ll react when it comes down to basic survival. Where are the limits for you? How far can you go? They just don’t know. The rake and the madman do. Madman with a twist of rake and a few years of therapy will do me fine~
I’ve always been attracted to the victim. Something about their sad puppy dog eyes I think!
Thanks Ilona for the quiz!
The Rake! Definitly! There is something about such a devil-may-care sinner who doesn’t really care for any women in high respect…but fall for one and loves her more than anything!
Thanks for this great post Ilona! Loved it!
Wow- it’s a tough choice because each of these has at least one characteristic that I’m drawn to but since you asked us to choose- I would have to choose The Aristrocrat, someone who wants a partner and has hidden raging lust!
I’m partial to the aristocrat with a dash of rake and genius…
I have to go with the madman, because everything is more fun when you are a little crazy.
Eeny-meeny-miney-mo….
Okay, I’d have to say the madman, the hero, or the genius, though the others do have traits that can be attractive. Aristocrats are out because I need someone who’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. I’ve been cheated on, so a rake would be too likely to end up wearing his guts for a necktie. And I made the mistake of marrying a dedicated victim and will now run like H if approached by one.
I picked The Genius as a husband and he’s wonderful but I like to read or watch for entertainment all of them EXCEPT the Victim. I want to smack angsty types upside the head.
I always love the aristocrats ^^
but the funniest persons are ALWAYS the rakes, I love them for their flippant comments that so often hit the dead center of the problem that other people don’t want to hear about. They always make me laugh out loud xD
mercenaries are just badass, and the geniusses (?) I often find very sweet
Well… I married the Genius, so I’m definitely drawn to that.
I’m also drawn to the Rake and Mercenary, as long as it’s not over-the-top. They both can be characters I love to hate, but once it gets past a certain point, I just want to smack them and fling the book away.
I would love a mix of all but the victim. 25% Aristocrat because I’m 25% lady lol; 10% Rake for a dash of lustiness, but not so much that the eye starts wandering; 15% Mad Man because I like a challenge; 30% Hero for some solid manliness and because he’ll be a good baby daddy; 10% Mercenary because I like a little competiveness and one-up-manship; 10% genius because I like smarts in a man, but not so much that they have no social skills.
Hmmm, is that really too much to ask? 
Nice!
I’m just reading essays on Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series in the book “Ardeur” and there are some fascinating analyses of Romance novels, character types/motivations, gender roles, cutlure, drama, etc.
Definitely the Hero for me! Although that is really no surprise! Problem is, I also have a tendency to want to be the hero, and always seem to trying to save things… so there are elements that I am drawn to in the victim (though I couldn’t handle too much pessimism I don’t think) and the madman, because I want to help them! I also love Mr. Darcy!
Haha, seeing them described like this shows how stereotypical a lot of heroes in books and movies are!
haha! Great article. I’ve always shyed away from every type except rakes and mercenaries – the rest scares me;)) but the hubby is part rake/part mercenary with the hint of a hero – yum
They are such great fun!
Heh — very nice!
I would’ve gone Colin Firth for the Aristo — but aside from that — every picture chosen was my immediate ‘thought’ for a match to the description!
Wonderfully done!
Oh — I think I own books & movies that have every one of those types!
I have to say — for pure ‘romance’ books — I love the regencies. That way you get the Aristo & the rake depending on the cast of characters.
Great article, made me laugh a lot. Thanks for the characterisations, Ilona!!
As a hero to read about, I prefer the mercenary. Mwahaha!
I like many of the types, but since my boyfriend seems to fit the hero description with a dash of genius at times, I guess that is what I’m drawn toward. He puts himself between me and the busy street for the first bit, and I have examples of everything on the list, except for nonstop action/adventure…that’s where the genius fits in. Oh, and the dog thing. He’s more of a cat person.
Love the post!
I lean toward the rake with a bit of the madman, the mercenary, and the hero thrown in. But if I had to choose one, definitely the rake. They’re often the most fun!
I’m liking the rake a lot
I’ve always liked the genius type. After flirting with and trying to get the attention of my now husband for about 6 months (and getting all of my girlfriends and his roommates to help throw us together), he didn’t have a clue until I just flat out told him that I wanted him to ask me out.
I like heroes, too.
It’s always been the genius for me – I don’t mind being ‘direct’, I’m a New Yorker.
A dash of hero would be nice, but absolutely NO victims or madmen need apply. Life has enough drama without them!
Hmmm…I ended up with a Rake with a strong streak of Mercenery. He’s also got a touch of Genius (although he likes to hide it as he doesn’t think it’s very cool to flaunt his inner geek). It’s a challenging mix but soooo worth it.
I love my guy!
I married a mercenary/victim, but with just a dash of genius and aristocrat would make him perfection. Yet again, perfection would be so boring!
I’ve always been a fan of Mr Darcy (especially when he’s played by Colin Firth) and mix in a hero (played by Keanu Reeves) and I’m one happy girl!
The Madman and the Mercenary. I have loved Han Solo since I was 5.
I Feel like such the Character Slut. I have to say that I love them all depending on the story. I find it hard to choose and sometimes love both men in a story and want the female to have her cake and eat it too. Lol
What about the tough as nails (soldier, lawman, knight, detective)? Dedicated to duty, his love is not easily obtained, but once given it is steadfast.
He believes in abiding to Law or some overarching moral/philosophical principle. He is often a tragic hero, without his belief he would be The Madman. His belief in principle may blindside him to the abuses of power in the system he serves.
He is not given to love easily, often avoids it, but when he does fall into love it is integrated into his definition of duty.
The woman he ultimately loves is defined by some aspect of “virtue”… innocence, goodness, strength of will, dedication to a divine or personally appointed mission.
In some of the stories, his love causes him to see clearly and reassess the system he enforces.
I love this post! I just have one problem. Why is the picture of the aristocrat from that absolutely horrid P&P movie when it could have been collin firth in a wet shirt?? BBC Mr Darcy for the win always and forever.
[...] To view Ilona Andrews’ article, go here. [...]
Great post!
My preference is the Aristocrat, the Mercenary or the Hero.
that is a difficult choice… but…. I don’t see myself as a match to any of the gentlemen…. I guess I could do with a combination of Madman – Hero or Aristocrat – Victim…. well something like that… not too patient and not very trusting… that’s me…