The Most Romantic Character in Literature

After a month long (and very scientific) poll on this blog, the most romantic character in literature is (drum roll please) JAMIE FRASER of the Outlander Series. This poll was conducted in response to Entertainment Weekly’s Shelf Life Blog on the topic of the results of a British poll in the Daily Telegraph. Confused? I did not believe in the results from the poll (as seen in this post) so I created my own poll and added Jamie Fraser, Edward Cullen, Captain Wentworth, and Colonel Brandon to the original 10 romantic characters. The top romantic heroes are as follows:

1. Jamie Fraser, Outlander (22%)

2. Edward Rochester, Jane Eyre (18%)

3. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Pride and Prejudice (13%)

4. Captain Wentworth, Persuasion (11%)

5. Rhett Butler, Gone With the Wind (10%)

6. Edward Cullen, Twilight (7%)

7. Mark Darcy, Bridget Jones Diary (5%)

8. Colonel Brandon, Sense & Sensibility (5%)

9. Henry DeTamble, The Time Traveler’s Wife (5%)

10. Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights (2%)

11. Richard Sharpe of Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series (1%)

12. Gabriel Oak, Far From the Madding Crowd (1%)

Captain Corelli of Louis de Berniere’s Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and Rupert Campbell Black of Jilly Cooper’s The Rutshire Chronicles received zero votes.

Jamie Fraser had a run for his money with Mr. Rochester, but won in the end. I thought it was very interesting that Captain Wentworth came in a close fourth to Mr. Darcy. It seems that readers of this blog esteem him as highly as I do. Persuasion ties with Pride and Prejudice as my favorite Austen novel. The letter that Captain Wentworth writes to Anne is one of the most romantic moments in literature. I was also glad to see Heathcliff so far down on the list, although I did agree with one comment that although he is not a likeable character, one must admit that he does pursue Cathy with his full passion. I still know nothing about Richard Sharpe, but I saw that he will be in a couple of episodes of Masterpiece Classic this spring so I will have a chance to learn more about him.

I agree with my readers that Jamie Fraser is the most romantic character in literature. He is a handsome Scot that runs around in a kilt in Outlander, but he is much more than that. He is a man with deep passions and loyalty that inspires love in not only his soul mate Claire, but in a wide variety of people. His love for Claire grows through the years through trials and tribulations and still remains passionate when they are in their 50’s.

I dream of a day when I will be able to see Jamie Fraser in a movie or even better, an HBO mini-series. The photos I have on here were gleaned from other blogs that suggest that Gabriel Aubry or Gerard Butler would make a good Jamie. I’m not convinced, but I don’t have any good suggestions besides picking an unknown actor. What are your thoughts on an actor to play Jamie?

Still not convinced that Jamie is the most romantic character in literature? Here is one of my favorite quotes from him to Claire (in Dragonfly in Amber). If this does not convince you, I don’t know what will!

I will find you,” he whispered in my ear, “I promise. If I must endure two hundred years of purgatory – two hundred years without you – then that is my punishment, which I have earned for my crimes. For I have lied, and killed, and stolen; betrayed and broken trust. But there is one thing that shall lie in the balance. When I stand before God, I shall have one thing to say, to weight against the rest. Lord, ye gave me a rare woman, and God! I loved her well.”