Mary-Sues

[Sebias of Redwall]

Honestly, I have to agree with a lot of the other people who have said that Redwall has a healthy spoonful of Mary/Gary Sue characters. But that's only using certain peoples' charts. But besides a selected few (Boy, Triss comes to mind. *Shudders*) I don't really mind them. I think it really depends on the context of the story.

Teer is a Mary Sue......

Er, what? I don't think so.

[Booklover]

Real people can't be Mary Sues, because if they could be that perfect, Mary Sues wouldn't be as much of a problem.

[Sebias of Redwall]

What about you, Bookie? Do you feel like any of the Redwall characters were Mary Sues?

Real people can't be Mary Sues, because if they could be that perfect, Mary Sues wouldn't be as much of a problem.

Exactly.

[shisteer of nothing much]

Honestly, I hadn't even heard about the concept of Mary-Sues until about a year ago, and I've never really dwelt on it. There are characters that are too perfect and other characters that are written in such a way that they're not too perfect at all, despite their flawlessness.

Teer is a Mary Sue......

I'm honoured that you think me so flawless. Unfortunately, it's not true.

[clunylooney]

How about I mention the worst mary-sue of all time? Trisscar gosh darn Swordmaid. Who else hates her?

[shisteer of nothing much]

No need to add expletives there. I haven't read Triss yet but I'm pretty sure 'gosh darn' was not part of her name. Just because she wasn't perfect (or was perfect, as the case may be) doesn't mean you need to be rude.

[clunylooney]

No need to add expletives there. I haven't read Triss yet but I'm pretty sure 'gosh darn' was not part of her name. Just because she wasn't perfect (or was perfect, as the case may be) doesn't mean you need to be rude.

Yeah sorry. Just talking about Trisscar gets on my nerves. It's not even that she's great at everything, she's just so boring! And you are correct in saying 'gosh darn' was not part of her name.

[Wylder Treejumper]

I hold with my previous statement, that Redwall, by its particular genre conventions, generates a lot of characters which in other settings would be called 'Mary-Sues' and would be poor characters, but in context are not badly used. Redwall is not written to explore moral dynamics, it is a simple good vs. evil legendary-type tale in which the two sides are visibly separated (vermin vs. woodlanders)- not as any sort of statement, but as a simplifying convention that allows you to focus on other aspects of the story. Having large moral flaws in the protagonists (and even most of the supporting cast) would undermine one of the main enjoyments of the series, which is simply in contemplating the joy of the Redwall community. Feasts, friendship, good will, bravery in defense of friend and kin, a beautiful natural setting and the inevitable triumph of good over evil are the point of the series, and not the window dressing.