Little Dragon Girl - static character?

[Ken Cheng]

In fiction, there are two kinds of character: dynamic and static. Dynamic characters experience growth and change. At the end of the story, dynamic characters have had many experiences that have caused them to change and develop from the individuals they were at the beginning of the story. Main characters and major characters are typically dynamic. Static characters, on the other hand, experience little or no growth or change during the course of the story: they are the same at the end of the story as they are in the beginning. These are typically minor characters in stories, or stock characters who serve as plot devices rather than fully developed character.

Little Dragon Girl was the second main character of ROCH. Indeed, judging by the title of the book, she shares equal billing with Yeung Gor (and a certain Divine Condor).

Whereas Yeung Gor was definitely a dynamic character who experienced growth and change, Little Dragon Girl didn't really change much at all...and I don't mean just her appearance. In terms of personality and worldview, how different was she as of the final page of ROCH from how she was depicted in her first appearance? Hardly any at all. By not aging her and not altering her personality, Jin Yong was probably trying to emphasize her consistency, but that consistency can also be read as indicative of a static character, which is all right for minor characters but a huge flaw for a MAIN character.

[Yeung Gor]

Ken, this is one of those rare times where being static is a good thing. I love XLN that way. Her beauty and her character is meant to symbolize a heavenly creature, ever unchanging because it has reach it's truest and purest form. Notice she wore white, almost like a goddess. I believe JY had this in mind when he created XLN. She was meant to be the closest thing to an angel.

Although the world tried to corrupt her and defile her, she remains pure in character and only care about one thing, love. That is the purpose of XLN, to demonstrate love and forgiveness (not killing her rapist).

[Ken Cheng]

Ken, this is one of those rare times where being static is a good thing.

I don't think so. One of the things that bothered me the most about Little Dragon Girl was the lack of growth or change in her character.

[Yeung Gor]

I don't think so. One of the things that bothered me the most about Little Dragon Girl was the lack of growth or change in her character.

There is a deeper meaning behind her lack of change. I believe XLN is very enlighten considering her age. Even in her first appearance, she understood life and death is natural and wasn't trouble by deaths. Also when Yideng met XLN, he was very impress with her understanding. XLN lack of change in character is because she is born enlighten (buddhist perspective). And in Buddhism, the goal is to seek enlightenment, and we grow and change in respect of that goal. And once one has mature and reach enlightenment, they dont change anymore or very little that it isn't noticeable. And that is why XLN doesn't change, she is purity and enlightenment in a form of an angel. Although some misconstrue it as naiveness, but it isn't.

[Ken Cheng]

There is a deeper meaning behind her lack of change. I believe XLN is very enlighten considering her age. Even in her first appearance, she understood life and death is natural and wasn't trouble by deaths. Also when Yideng met XLN, he was very impress with her understanding. XLN lack of change in character is because she is born enlighten (buddhist perspective). And in Buddhism, the goal is to seek enlightenment, and we grow and change in respect of that goal. And once one has mature and reach enlightenment, they dont change anymore or very little that it isn't noticeable. And that is why XLN doesn't change, she is purity and enlightenment in a form of an angel. Although some misconstrue it as naiveness, but it isn't.

It doesn't make for a particularly interesting character to follow, unfortunately. She ends up more porcelain goddess on a pedestal rather than a living, breathing character.

I mean, if one takes the Deun Yu route and gets a fetish for porcelain goddesses, that's his business, but I'm more interested in flesh and blood people myself.

[Yeung Gor]

It doesn't make for a particularly interesting character to follow, unfortunately. She ends up more porcelain goddess on a pedestal rather than a living, breathing character.

I mean, if one takes the Deun Yu route and gets a fetish for porcelain goddesses, that's his business, but I'm more interested in flesh and blood people myself.

There are plenty of female characters like that. JY wanted something unique that deliver a more philosophical meaning, so XLN was created.

Ken, maybe that's why we disagree on everything. I love XLN for her unchanging character because she was already perfect, while YG wasn't perfect in the beginning, YG had flaws like the rest of us so he had to learn and grow, we watch him mature (from a wild teenager to a man that everyone in wulin respected).

You have every right to see XLN character as boring. Yes, she isn't dynamic nor complex. She is simple and I guess I am one of a few who appreciate that about her. I find her purity and innocence very cute. I also admire the fact she is quite enlighten for a young girl. I have study buddhist philosophy and I can relate to her views and her character. And I don't find that boring at all. In fact, if I meet a real life girl like that, I would find them interesting since they are so different than every girl. And of course the fact she is the world's most beautiful girl is a plus.

[duguxiaojing]

Whereas Yeung Gor was definitely a dynamic character who experienced growth and change, Little Dragon Girl didn't really change much at all

Im not so sure i agree with that , XLN at the beggining of ROCH did not care about her loved ones lives or even her own life. She did not even shed a tear when Granny Sun died. But...by mid ROCH XLN could not control her emotions and started crying when HR simply asked a question regarding her master who had passed away. Also early ROCH XLN could kill without blinking while XLN at the latter part of ROCH did not have the heart to kill even her enemies. Near the 16 year seperation XLN even felt sadness and pity towards her enemies. When the mongols burnt MT. ZN XLN felt sorrow for the QZ disciples as well as GF and her group. Both of whom severly injured her and left her seemingly terminally ill, she was even partly responsible for YG rescuing GF.

I think when we first see XLN she was cold and indiffent , while later on in the novel she seemed to be a very gentle, innocent girl. She was very emotional at times(she threw up blood because she believed YG did not truely love her,could you imagine that happening in early ROCH?), but for the most part she kept her emotions inside and tried to surpress them... which i guess gave her a apperance of being a "static character".

[JamesG]

After having spent her early life living in an unemotional manner she get tangled up with an impetuous, undisciplined ‘yard ape’ like YG. Then he sets about upsetting every thing she believed in and introduced her to the outside world which she didn’t understand. Happy times were brief and turmoils many so it’s no wonder she longed to be back in the Tomb of the Living Dead.
She spends 16 years alone at the bottom of the gorge in the Passionless Valley and her character remained relatively static. Then came the reunion with YG, followed by so much turmoil that she never had the chance to adapt to the outside world and probably didn’t want to.
Not much room for character development there.

[mawguy]

*eyes crossed* ooooooiiii, mr. cheng, i feel like i'm back in high school english. :P

well, here's a slightly different way of looking at it:

(1) if all characters were dynamic, they won't seem so interesting. having some consistent characters is not necessarily a bad thing. granted, dynamic characters are more "believable", but unless you want reality on the page, a story is nonetheless a story, so character prototypes do exist and are often comforting to read about -- re: escapism of books; and no matter how you look at it, wuxia is escapist literature. the whole good vs. evil thing is just too clear-cut to be realistic.

(2) if XLN was a dynamic character like YG and had experienced "growth" after leaving the ancient tomb, she may not have survived the 16 year isolation. think of what may have happened if YG & XLN switched places.

[PJ]

I don't think Guo Jing was very dynamic either, was he.

I think Both Guo Jing and Dragon Girl were simple people that belonged to a simple way of live, relatively speaking.

[Ken Cheng]

I don't think Guo Jing was very dynamic either, was he.

Actually, he was. His understanding of heroism at the beginning of LOCH was very different from the one he ended up with, and he had learned from Wong Yung and others that sometimes, heroism required a certain moral flexibility that he had not previously allowed himself.

[PJ]

Well, we can also say that Dragon Girl understood love more at the end of ROCH. At first she was incapable of loving anyone, whereas in the end she understood its value.

I don't think Guo Jing's principles changed much throughout the novels. Not many protagonists really did. Duan Yu, Xuzhu, Zhang Wuji, Shi Potian, all more or less remained static throughout the novel. Only Xiao Feng and Yang Guo underwent dramatic changes.

[Whsie]

Hm? What kind of growth did XF go through? For the most part, it was the same XF to me.

[PJ]

Xiao Feng used to be a brutal man with an ideal to serve the country, at the expense of making the other countries suffer. In the end he became a pacifist, a defender of the common people from every background. His love for life in general definitely showed a difference.

[Bangs]

I love XLN for being consistent all through out. She's actually dynamic in a sense, what made her static is the fact that she speaks less than everone else around her.

[Wu Wudi]

Actually, he was. His understanding of heroism at the beginning of LOCH was very different from the one he ended up with, and he had learned from Wong Yung and others that sometimes, heroism required a certain moral flexibility that he had not previously allowed himself.

Is it time to change the topic to "Little Dragon Girl, a poorly written character"? This thread would definitely become more popular.

[Ken Cheng]

Is it time to change the topic to "Little Dragon Girl, a poorly written character"? This thread would definitely become more popular.

Don't tempt me.

I don't want to rip off Laviathan's thread concept, though.

[yittz]

Ken, this is one of those rare times where being static is a good thing. I love XLN that way. Her beauty and her character is meant to symbolize a heavenly creature, ever unchanging because it has reach it's truest and purest form. Notice she wore white, almost like a goddess. I believe JY had this in mind when he created XLN. She was meant to be the closest thing to an angel.

Although the world tried to corrupt her and defile her, she remains pure in character and only care about one thing, love. That is the purpose of XLN, to demonstrate love and forgiveness (not killing her rapist).

This is one of the rare times that I agree with YG. I haven't read further on other ppl's posts. What more do you want from XLN? Yes she was boring, but she's angelic, pure and perfect in those respects. She never had the opportunity to develop - she spent very little time in the real world.

[Pacifian]

This is one of the rare times that I agree with YG. I haven't read further on other ppl's posts. What more do you want from XLN? Yes she was boring, but she's angelic, pure and perfect in those respects. She never had the opportunity to develop - she spent very little time in the real world.

It depends on how you want to define these bolded words, though.

She may be arguably pure and angelic, just because her heart is not tainted in affairs she doesn't bother to get herself involved in. Perfect? I think not, she cared only for herself and the ones she loved too much, but ignored the others as though they were inanimate objects. A good lover to be with for some who prefers to be in a world with only two people existing in it, enjoying each other comapny. For anybody else who prefers a different kind of love, she is far from perfect.

And I agee with duguxiaojing. XLn did develop throughout the story. She is not a dynamic character like the protagonists, but her character development was pretty evident. From a world of her own, she began accepting others and learnt forgiveness, friendship, sacrifice etc etc. Not a very obvious development, but she sure wasn't that static as many people here are thinking.

[Ken Cheng]

It depends on how you want to define these bolded words, though.

She may be arguably pure and angelic, just because her heart is not tainted in affairs she doesn't bother to get herself involved in. Perfect? I think not, she cared only for herself and the ones she loved too much, but ignored the others as though they were inanimate objects. A good lover to be with for some who prefers to be in a world with only two people existing in it, enjoying each other comapny. For anybody else who prefers a different kind of love, she is far from perfect.

That pretty much nails my distaste for the character. I find her standoffish, aloof, sanctimonious, and borderline selfish. Claims that this is "purity" ring false to me. I don't find this character much worth admiring.

Perhaps she can't be entirely blamed for being what she is, however; like all of her Ancient Tomb Sect brethren, she's a victim of Lam Chiu Ying's misandristic brainwashing.