Everyone has a name, but most people have at least two: a first, or given name, and a family name. First names are usually chosen by the parents. Their choice is limited by guidelines imposed by the parent's culture. Guidelines have greatly varied between cultures and time periods but names easily travelled from country to country.
Because a name is a sequence of letters, it normally means something. In ancient cultures people had nicknames, that is their name was a word that reminded others of the bearer's appearance, character, occupation or social class. For example, Cameron (crooked nose), Paula (small), Dolores (sorrow), Taylor (Tailor), Patricia (noble), are such names. In the middle ages the names chosen were invariably connected with religion. At later times, names became associated with plants, animals, objects or ideas. It is also important to note that names also have connotations—they imply or suggest ideas through words or through the character of previous bearers of the name.
In literature, the names of the major characters in the story are carefully chosen by the author because they are a simple and direct method of characterization. This is usually not noticed by the reader unless there is a mismatch, purposeful or otherwise. Well chosen names help the reader to remember the characters and associate them with the story.
Each name represents three different ideas: its actual meaning, famous previous bearers and its connotation. Each of these ideas have a different relative importance for each name. For example George is a name of Greek origin that means 'farmer'. St George is the patron saint of England and we have the legend of St George and the dragon. There was a number of English kings named George, and across the Atlantic a George Washington in the United States. You can see therefore that George will resonate different feelings to a religious person, a royalist, an Englishman or an American. But if the reader had an uncle George who was short and stupid then George to this particular reader will invariably mean 'short and stupid'. Conotations resulting from personal experience have a far larger effect than anything else. A reader of mine once told me that “she really loved (my novel) Fantasy Land except for the protagonist's name. How could he be called Curtis?” she said. On the other hand, on my latest novel Bird of Prey the antagonist is a Russian oligarch named Braginsky. Another reader commented to me, “As the plot developed, and we found more and more about this guy, I said to myself 'By God, that's a Braginsky all right!' ”
When the author is writing a book, it is convenient for him/her to use the names of the actual persons he based his characters on. This will keep things straight in the author's mind. When he finishes his writing, it is wise to change the names to something that's as universal as possible. Names that are often used, usually have heavy general connotations and light personal ones. If I work with two different Georges in the office and play golf and tennis with two more, then no matter how much I see of my uncle George, it will be difficult to attach 'short and stupid' to the name. Not with four other Georges in my life. As a result, names like David, Michael, Mary etc inevitably monopolize the good guy names.
There is a variety of websites that cater to names that an author may use to help him choose, or make sure that the names chosen, match the appearance or character of the people in his story. Two books I have found useful are both published by Penguin: Choose Your Baby's Name (1987) and Dictionary of Surnames (1978).
Literature is characterized as being experience in the extreme. In their attempt to invent original and extreme characters, some authors have also invented names to make them memorable. This practice is more common than most people realize. In fact, some of these 'invented' names, after the success of the associated book, have also gone into general use and have become highly successful names themselves. Pamela for example, was invented by Sir Philip Sidney for his romance Arcadia (1590) by combining the Greek words for 'all' and 'honey'. Some names of characters however, because of their connotation, will never go mainstream. In the first paragraph of his novel Lolita (1955), Vladimir Nabokov tells us that “she is the light of my life”. Lolita is a masterpiece, the name sounds well, yet hardly anyone has ever used that name outside the novel. Would you name your daughter Lolita?
How about Pussy Galore?
No comments:
Post a Comment