Times Literary Characters Were Just As Messy As The Rest Of Us
Finding a connection to a character or a storyline in a book you're reading is often the reason that people continue to read. You might connect with a character whose love story is similar to yours, or the quirky best friend character that provides comic relief.
Other times, though, you could connect with a character because they don't have their life together and neither do you. Living vicariously through someone else's mistakes is just as fun as living vicariously through someone else's triumphs.
"No" Was Not An Option
Deciding whether or not you should commit avunculicide would usually be seen as a difficult decision to make, but for Hamlet, it maybe wasn't as difficult as it should have been.
The Messiest Of Them All Was William Himself
The reason that characters have messy plot lines is because of the author, therefore Shakespeare is the messiest person around. Just look at how many tragedies he managed to write so easily.
The Price Of Paris
Unless you want to be a grown adult who's still living in his parents' basement at 40, you have to find a place to live, and that's not cheap in a big city. Not every living situation is going to perfect, but who can say they've never cut a few corners to save some pennies?
No One Asked For Your Opinion, Darcy
Everyone knows that you're allowed to criticize your own family or partner as much as you want, but that doesn't mean it's an open invitation for others to toss their opinions out.
Skip The Logical Steps, They Just Get In The Way
Your friends may think that you're dramatic, but no one jumps to the worst-case scenario like Romeo. Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? He's somewhere else, busy jumping to conclusions.
Seems To Create More Problems Than It Solves
Faking your death may seem like a great idea, but think of the aftermath. Where do you go? How do you begin your new life? Will someone eventually recognize you as the thief who stole a loaf of bread all those years ago à la Jean Valjean?
And That's Self-Awareness
He may have been the reason for the plague, but taking responsibility and realizing that you were the problem? That's personal growth, and we always support a character who knows when to improve.
Texting Could've Been A Big Help
So many lives could've been saved and so many shenanigans could've been avoided if William had just written some of his characters to have actual communication skills or taught them to send a few more letters to each other.
Dropping Subtle Hints
It's like when you know a secret and you're desperate to tell someone, anyone, but you know you can't, so you have to start dropping hints and hope someone picks up on it.
The Friar Helped No One
Honestly, who was Friar Laurence actually trying to help? Rather than chalking their love up to silly teenage romance, this man jumped to helping them fake their own deaths, which led to their real deaths. Should someone check on the Friar?
Sometimes It's More Fun To Not Take The High Road
You know what you're supposed to do when faced with a difficult situation, but that doesn't mean you're always going to make the right decision, and neither are the characters you love to read about.
The Choice Is Simple
When given the choice between drawing 25 in a round of Uno or getting stuck marrying Mr. Collins, we too would choose to pick up half the deck, family legacy be damned.
The Queen Of The Dramatics
Sometimes, you need to bask in your melancholy and embrace the desperation of whatever situation you're in. You'll eventually come up with a logical solution, but it's fun to embrace the drama.
Where's The Greek Chorus To Give Their Opinion?
So many of these characters' bad decisions could've been avoided if only they had had the option to run their choices past strangers on the internet. All you need is one person to remind you of how ridiculous you're being.
Identify The Weak Link
If you're going to commit a murder or successfully get away with basically any operation, you need to identify the weakest link. They will be your downfall, so establish who that is and get ready to blame them.
It Didn't Take Much Convincing
They may have thought that Caesar was a traitor, and you could argue that he deserved what he got, but what Cassius should really be concerned about was how quickly Brutus was convinced.
It's All Self-Care
When it comes to self-care, only you know what you need most to cope with whatever it is you're going through. All's fair, even stabbing your potential future father-in-law, if it helps you find peace.
It's This Or LinkedIn
If we had the choice between scrolling through endless ambiguous LinkedIn profiles while companies say they're looking for a "young self-starter who is blooming with creativity" or listening to a group of witches, we'd take the spooky route too.
Haven't You Learned Your Lesson?
You never want to get too comfortable or too confident when it comes to the Greek gods. You get too confident and that's when you get struck down by Zeus or turned into an animal.
She Wanted You To Fight For Her
All a woman wants is for her to husband to put in a little effort and be willing to fight for her. Sometimes, that means buying a nice card on Valentine's Day that expresses your love for her, other times, that means committing murder.
