Characters in literature have been the source of very colorful words in the English language, some of them in common use and others more obscure.
Labeling
someone a Pollyanna lets readers know that we have an irritatingly cheerful
character. Pollyanna is taken from the name of the heroine of a novel of the same
name by Eleanor Porter, published in 1913. Pollyanna's philosophy of life
centers on what she calls "The Glad Game,” an optimistic and positive attitude she learned
from her father. The game consists of finding something to be glad about in
every situation, no matter how bleak it may be.
Wilkins Micawber was an eternally optimistic and frequently impoverished character from Charles Dickens's “David Copperfield,” published as a serial novel in 1849 and 1850. A Micawber is an improvident person who lives in unrealistic expectation of an upturn in his fortunes, which is usually very poor indeed.
Perhaps less commonly
invoked is Pangloss, the pedantic and unfailingly optimistic tutor to Candide,
who is the protagonist of Voltaire’s masterpiece “Candide.” This is a 1759
novel that is a satire on philosophical optimism. Calling someone a Pangloss
accuses them of being a foolhardy optimist.
Also from Charles Dickens’ work, “Pickwick Papers,” is Mr. Pickwick, an especially jovial, plump, and generous character who wishes to avoid giving offense at all costs. Pickwickian has come to indicate words or epithets, usually of a derogatory or insulting nature, that are not to be taken as having the same force or implication they ordinarily would have.
They can be misunderstood or misused and are not literally meant. This is used especially to avoid offense when the statement is apparently insulting.
English
author Oscar Wilde coined the term “Bunburying” in his play “The Importance of
Being Earnest.” It evokes a character named Bunbury. Although Bunbury is
discussed in the play, he never appears onstage — Bunbury is a fictitious character
to whom another character refers to create excuses that get him out of
situations he wants to leave quickly. As a humorous verb, “Bunburying” means
inventing a made-up appointment with a fictitious person in order to avoid
responsibilities.
Closer to home we have milquetoast. This is from the name of Caspar Milquetoast, a character created in 1924 by the American cartoonist Harold Tucker Webster in The Timid Soul, and named after milk toast, an American-English term denoting a bland concoction of buttered toast served in a dish of warm milk. A milquetoast denotes a timid, submissive, or ineffectual person, especially a man.
Sir
Walter Raleigh Scott can be considered the inventor of the historical novel.
“Ivanhoe” opens with a dedicatory epistle to the Rev. Dr. Dryasdust, an
intensely dull but knowledgeable book antiquarian. (Try using a similar opening
with today’s readers!) Jonas Dryasdust is presented as a scholar and a friend
of the “Editor,” Sir Walter Scott, with whom he discusses the intents and uses
of history in his work.
The
present-day meaning of the word dryasdust, used as both a noun and an
adjective, is quite obvious.
Can
you think of other words that have evolved from literary characters?
Sources:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-from-characters-in-books
Britannica, The Editors
of Encyclopaedia.
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/
https://worddaily.com/words/
https://www.wordgenius.com/words
In a much less positive light, we have Dickens to thank for the term scrooge, as in a horrible grump, especially someone who hates Christmas. This is named after the main character in A Christmas Carol.
ReplyDeleteIn a similar vein, we get a grinch, from Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
It's interesting to see which terms have staying power. My bet is Mark's scrooge and grinch will make the list another generation from now.
ReplyDeleteCaspar Milquetoast! My mother used to brand certain individuals as "milquetoasts." I never understood (or thought to ask) what it meant.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Mark on Scrooge and the Grinch.
Margaret, I heard that in my house when I was growing up too. Interesting post, Kathleen.
ReplyDeleteMilquetoast was one of my mother's phrases. She also called dreamers Blandings from Mr. Blanding Builds his Dream House. Interesting post.
ReplyDeleteI recently learned through pub trivia that "pandemonium" came from John Milton's "Paradise Lost." So amazing to see how authors can help shape language.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if any of us will have a character who coins a word for all to use.
ReplyDelete