(Sorry for posting so late today, but today ended up being much busier than I expected. Without further ado, the post)
Some people crush on actors. Some people crush on people in real life (psh...that's overrated). Me? I crush on characters from books. When I was in middle school, my love darted between Jacen Solo and Wedge Antilles, both from the Star Wars universe. But in high school and beyond, my crush lies with one fictional man, Mat Cauthon.
Mat Cauthon from the Wheel of Time. General of the Band of the Red Hand. The player of the Horn of Valere. Prince of Ravens. Pretty much awesome. Unless of course, you've never made it past the first three books of the Wheel of Time. Then you're thinking "What? She likes that dagger-crazed freak?"
Yes, Mat gets off to a rough start in the Wheel of Time, but when I first started reading it the first 8 books were already out. I read them all in a relatively short period of time so I watched Mat develop from the possessed, treasure obsessed boy into the man who leads hundreds of men in battle (and wins).
Mat has many qualities that I actually do prize in a man. He's laid back, has a sense of humor, and a strong sense of responsibility (though his sense doesn't always line up with the other characters in the book). He is loyal to his friends and to his men.
However, there are a lot of qualities that Mat has that I would not appreciate in other men.
For one, he's such a player. And he's a gambler (though to be fair--is it really gambling if you know you're going to win?). He's a troublemaker and he curses a lot. None of these things are what I prize in a guy.
But I think they work very well as qualities of Mat, and they make me love him more. Probably this is because I am in his head. I know exactly what he's thinking when he does these things I don't like. However, its possible its a little bit of a bad boy complex. I have never liked real bad boys (honestly, badness is just unattractive), but Mat is mischievous, and a troublemaker/mischievous boy is my equivalent of a bad boy.
So there you have it. My confession. I adore Mat Cauthon of the Wheel of Time.
How about you guys? Anyone out there have a book crush?
I have all sorts of book character crushes. My latest new one was Kvothe, from The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss. Have you read it? I think it is fantastic writing, perhaps even better than The Wheel of Time (only in style, though). No one can surpass Robert Jordan in plot, characters, and sheer epic-ness. Anyway, from the Wheel of Time, I definitely crushed on Mat through most of the later books. However, ever since Rand had his moment on Dragonmount... well, he is my new WoT crush. He is like a God, and perfect in every way (I say, but I am a bit blinded by love). Not to mention, I find knowledge really attractive, and Rand melded with Lews Therin is a fount of knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI have read The Name of the Wind (and The Wise Man's Fear) and I love Kvothe! He doesn't supplant Mat in my heart, but he's a pretty adorable guy.
DeleteI do love how Rand changed into sheer awesomeness by the end of the Wheel of Time, but there were too many days of dark Rand. Plus, I don't want to have to share with his three ladies. lol
I like your post, it pretty much sums up my thoughts about and my feelings for Mat <3 ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks!