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Favourite character of Elantris


  

116 members have voted

  1. 1. Who is your favourite character of Elantris?

    • Sarene
      12
    • Raoden
      30
    • Hrathen
      46
    • Kiin
      4
    • Galladon
      15
    • Roial
      2
    • Shuden
      1
    • Ashe
      1
    • Karata
      1
    • Other
      4


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Raoden is just too sickeningly perfect for me. I actually think he's one of the less believable characters Brandon has created. Of the heroes of Elantris I really like Sarene. 

 

But my favourite character by leaps and bounds is Hrathen. I love the high priest who is still really trying to do the right thing as he sees it and genuinely save these people set up as the villain. Masterminds are always my favourite archetype anyway and he does it beautifully.

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But my favourite character by leaps and bounds is Hrathen. I love the high priest who is still really trying to do the right thing as he sees it and genuinely save these people set up as the villain. Masterminds are always my favourite archetype anyway and he does it beautifully.

 

I could not agree more. Hrathen is one of the most respectable characters in any of the novels Sanderson has written, in my opinion. He is my favorite character in Elantris mainly because he stands up for what he believes is right, despite that contradicting what he has dedicated his life to.

 

edit: Typo

Edited by Flywinged
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Hrathen is a brilliant character. His plot is also much more interesting than Sarene's, and he gives us some valuable glimpses into the wider world. He seems to almost be a proto-Sazed (my favourite character from Mistborn) with his focus on faith and questioning of his own beliefs.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I like Galladon because I love how his perpetual pessimism works to tear down Raoden's perfect optimism. I also thought Hrathen was an extremely well written character in the sense that he has actual, logical reasons for believing in his religion rather than simply the fact that he was raised believing it and nothing else. 

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I can see why some people don't like Raoden and feel like he's "too perfect," not complicated enough, etc.  But some people really are just genuine and pure, and Raoden managed to pull it off (for me) without being boring or unbelievable.  I wouldn't want all of Brandon's characters to be like him, but somehow he still manages to be my favorite in Elantris.

 

Hrathen is more interesting, yes. Better-written, probably. But not my favorite.

 

Second-favorite would have to be Galladon. I find "Eeyore" characters hilarious ... Galladon reminds me a lot of Puddleglum from The Silver Chair, who is my favorite character in the Narnia Chronicles by far.

 

I might not even have found Raoden interesting if Galladon hadn't been around. Raoden was interesting because of the philisophical nature of his optimism and faith in humanity, which would have been hard to see if he hadn't had a foil to explain it to.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Honestly all of them. Hrathen, Raoden, Sarene, Galadon, Karata, Saolin, Roial... All the people in Raoden's groups... If I had to choose only one though it would be Hrathen.

Roial and Raoden are tied for second, and they are the biggest characters I look up to. Both are so inherently good it's hard not to love them.

Edited by Seana
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  • 2 weeks later...

I often wonder about Raoden's "perfection", it's mentioned time and again by everyone, but I think his character works because of the situation he's in. He's really just a flat character who doesn't evolve (much) throughout the book, though, he does run into plenty of obstacles, these don't really change his key personality though he still takes time to overcome them and sometimes fails at doing so... Although his "heroic willpower" always works, it's like its invested! Seriously, sometimes I felt like he was somehow unconsciously using a very small amount of  investiture to convince the others in Elantris to follow his lead...subconsciously. That's neither here or there though. In other words, Raoden's just a static character, but that's not the same as a Gary Stu, it just means that development-wise, he's not that interesting. Though, I honestly think that he could've gotten some at certain points in the story (such as when Sarene causes his plans for Elantris to fail for awhile)...

 

Speaking of dynamic  characters though, ever since I read this book, I've loved Hrathen. His character development is amazing and he makes for probably the best "villain" in the Cosmere. He's awesome, but like any of my favorite characters in these books...well...yeah...sigh. :/

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Definitely Hrathen.  Everything about Hrathen's character worked on its own, and the interactions with others simply allowed for reinforcement of why he was so awesome.  Galladon, who was very enjoyable, would not have worked as well without the direct and constant contrast to Raoden, imo.  And, although I also liked Sarene, without Hrathen she would have been less interesting.

 

All of the characters worked, and worked well, but I just felt that Hrathen was the only one that worked well on his own, rather than due to the interactions with others.  And, he and I have similar thoughts and beliefs regarding faith, which I've rarely seen or found in others--whether in fiction or the real world; I'm sure that this helped to color my own perceptions quite a bit :P

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I loved Galladon. He was the perfect foil to Raoden's perpetual optimism and I thought his cynicism was hilarious. Hrathen was definitely a close second though, and I think he's among the most complex and sympathetic characters Brandon has ever written.

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  • 3 months later...

What about Shai, from the Emporer's Soul? She is my favorite character of all time. She's INCREDIBLY clever, and her ability to anticipate and discern is amazing. Her perception on morals is really interesting, and I love how different she is, and her perceptions are.

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