Subtext and Characterization

I know I've spoken about subtext sometime in the past, but I've slept since then and can't remember much of that particular blog. The blog on Monday made me realize how much subtext plays into characterization.  Here is the definition of subtext and one of characterization:

sub·text  (sbtkst)

n.

1. The implicit meaning or theme of a literary text.

2. The underlying personality of a dramatic character as implied or indicated by a script or text and interpreted by an actor in performance.

char·ac·ter·i·za·tion  (krk-tr--zshn) n. 1. The act or an instance of characterizing. 2. A description of qualities or peculiarities: a list of places of interest, with brief characterizations of each. 3. Representation of a character or characters on the stage or in writing, especially by imitating or describing actions, gestures, or speeches.

So how do subtext and characterization collide?

Subtext aids characterization.  There is nothing more boring to read than a list of a character's traits, physical. emotional, or whatever.  After The DaVinci Code became HUGE, I picked up the book to see what all the hubbub was about, and promptly threw it across the room when the main character described himself when he was shaving (somewhere around pg. 6).  That's lazy, amateurish writing, IMO.

There are so many more ways to draw the reader into caring for the character without describing the character TO the reader. Subtext is part of it.  Subtext defines a character by how they react to a situation, or their thoughts while observing a scene, or the way they string their words together in dialogue or in there internal narrative.

Many times an avid reader can tell which character is speaking without a dialogue tag simply because of the way that particular character speaks.

Start the story with THIS story, but meld the characterization within the subtext of the first sentence. Here's an except from a book sitting on my desk, waiting to be read.

For example:

The two-block walk from the bus stop on Broadway to her apartment was a terrifying ordeal late at night.

The reader doesn't even know the character's name, but they already know something about the character from this first sentence.

• it's a female (her apartment)
• she doesn't have a lot of money if she's riding the bus
• it's a creepy part of town, maybe rife with dubious characters--from winos to gang bangers to addicts or dealers.
• she probably works a swing shift if she's coming home this late OR could have been at a library studying

Reluctantly she left the small island of light cast by the streetlamp and started the treacherous journey into the darkness.

• the second sentence enhances the atmosphere--upping the tension.  the reader knows something will happen, but what??

At least it had stopped raining.

• rain-slick street--slippery, can cause a distortion or double image on the pavement
• provides atmosphere

She clamped her purse tightly to her side and clutched her keys the way she had been taught in the two-hour self-defense class the hospital offered to its staff.

• she works in a hospital--could be any type of job from nurse aide to cafeteria worker to respiratory therapist to lab tech. Hospitals don't shut down. typical shifts: 3-11 or 4-12
• time--probably around midnight, give or take an hour
• she knew a few self-defense moves and was prepared to use them though she was frightened out of her wits

The small jagged bits of metal protruded between her fingers like claws.

• adding 'color' to the paragraph.
• she would jab/scratch like nobody's business, though terrified--increased tension.

The reader has a ton of information about this character from this first paragraph, without knowing her name, her height, background, or color of her eyes or hair. At this point in the story, it isn't needed. The reader is immediately immersed in the story--AND cares about the character--as the writer sets the stage, amps up the tension and sets it loose.
This is what subtext and characterization are all about.

Oh, the writer and story?

Jayne Ann Krentz's FIRED UP

Later, Peeps!