Weekly Reader: Circe by Madeleine Miller; Homer's Odyssey Femme Fatale Gets Modern Makeover

Weekly Reader: Circe by Madeleine Miller; Homer's Odyssey Femme Fatale Gets Modern Makeover

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews


Spoilers: There are many colorful female characters in Greek Mythology: Athena Goddess of Wisdom, Aphrodite Goddess of Love and Beauty, Artemis Goddess of Moon and the Hunt, Hera Goddess of Marriage and Zeus’s eternally jealous wife, The Muses Goddesses of the Arts, Atalanta the fastest mortal woman and the lone female of Jason and the Argonauts, Medea the beguiling witch that helped Jason get the golden fleece, Helen the “face that launched a thousand ships” and inspired the Trojan War, Cassandra who was given the gift of prophecy but was never to be believed, and many many others.

One of the most interesting is Circe, one of the fascinating female characters found in Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey. During his twenty year voyage home, Odysseus and his men become stranded on Aeaea the island of Circe, the beautiful beguiling witch. With a wave of her wand, Circe turns Odysseus's men into pigs but Odysseus remains pig free and forces her to change them back. She restores his men with the proviso that Odysseus remain and become her lover. After one year, Odysseus and his crew leave Aeaea and head to the sea for more adventures.

Madeleine Miller's novel, Circe tells the story of the seductive sorceress making her more than a byword for glamorous treachery. In Miller's capable hands, Circe becomes a fully formed three-dimensional woman of deep thought and feeling.

One way that Miller develops Circe's character is to insert her into myths in which she was absent. Since the Greek deities family ties are large, that is an easy thing to do. In fact, Circe's book becomes a veritable Who's Who Among The Greek Pantheon.

Circe is the fourth child of Helios, the Titan God of the Sun and Perse, the Naiad guardian of streams and fountains. Because of her yellow eyes and thin screechy voice, Circe is often bullied by her family particularly her older siblings, Pasiphae and Perses. She states that there wasn't a name for what she is, so everyone derides her as strange, ugly, and stupid. Circe is the outsider in her family.


Of course her families are marginalized as well. As Titans, they were the gods that Zeus defeated to win his position as the king of the Olympians. With the Titans considered outcasts, it's unfortunately natural that Circe's family would take their frustrations out on the family member who is stranger than the rest: Circe.

Because of Circe's outsider status within her family, she feels an affinity for others who are equally marginalized. She delivers nectar to an imprisoned Prometheus and bonds with Aeetes, her younger brother who is even more derided than she is.

When she falls in love with Glaucos, a sailor, Circe discovers her hidden power. The ill and injured Glaucos longs to be a god so despite family objection, Circe is able to use flowers created from the spilled blood of Kronos, the defeated Titan, to transform the man of her dreams into the god of his.

Unfortunately, Glaucos’s godification gives him a swelled head and he dumps Circe for Scylla, a doting nymph/fan girl. Using her brand new abilities, a jealous Circe transforms Scylla into a hideous sea monster. Scylla retreats to a strait across from the Charybdis whirlpool which both are traps for unwary sea travelers. (There is a reason why the Greek version of getting caught between a rock and a hard place is called “getting caught between Scylla and Charybdis.”)


After this incident, Circe reveals her abilities to her family and is exiled to Aeaea. It is apparent that Helios exiled her not because of concern for what she did to Glaucos and Scylla. He could care less about them. He is intimidated by his daughter having a power that he doesn't understand or know about. Once she is exiled, Circe learns for the first time that there is a name for what she is: pharmakis, witch.


Circe is a character of great emotion and intellect. Her emotions such as her jealousy towards Scylla causes her to do things that she later regrets. However, she has the intelligence to study sorcery and herbalism and use her abilities to turn others into their true selves. While getting exiled may seem like torture, for her it gives her a chance to be independent and explore her personal power. The exile actually makes her more powerful than if she stayed with the Titans.


While on the island, Circe has a very active love life. First, she gets involved with Hermes, the Trickster/Messenger God. When their relationship ends badly, they become sworn enemies.

Another lover is Daedalus, the architect and inventor. The two's mixture of art and invention, science and sorcery compliment each other. She is moved by the widowed Daedalus's devotion to his son, Icarus and is left desolate when the boy dies after flying too close to the sun and his remorseful father succumbs to grief shortly thereafter.

These relationships show Circe as someone who is receptive to the idea of love but is not ready to surrender the independence that she has fought for. In her exile, she has grown to love her studies of magic and how it provides with her own strength, power, and significance.


Circe also gets involved in the affairs of her siblings and watches as her sister, Pasiphae and brother, Aeetes become drunk with power. They use everyone even their children to get and remain on top. Circe watches as Pasiphae, Queen of Crete and wife of King Minos, gives birth to the Minotaur and explains the circumstances to the creature's conception. (“I f$#@-d a bull!”, Pasiphae declares plainly.)

The Minotaur is sentenced to the Labyrinth where he is neglected by everyone except his half-sister, Ariadne who later also rejects him to side with her lover, Theseus. Pasiphae uses the Minotaur as a killing machine. He is her means to gain control over gods and mortals, including her husband.

Aeetes also uses his daughter, Medea in a ruthless power grab. As King of Colchis, he is the holder of the Golden Fleece and is as cruel and neglectful of his daughter, Medea, as their father, Helios was to him and Circe. It's not a surprise that Medea would leave that toxic environment to join her lover, Jason. However, the younger witch, Medea is blind to her paramour’s flaws as they hide out on Aunt Circe's island (figuring fellow witch Circe would understand.). However, Circe recognizes Jason's vanity and how he dismissed Medea and realizes that he does not truly love the girl. Circe sees Medea will be miserable with him. Of course the myths of Jason and the Argonauts and the play, Medea prove her right when Jason dumps her to marry a princess leaving her to kill their children rather than letting them be exiled or sold to slavery.


Circe contrasts with her siblings because her power is internal. She doesn't seek out the trappings of wealth and privilege that Aeetes and Pasiphae have. She has her powers and her island and she is pleased with that. Unlike them, she is not in fear of an avenging enemy, a thieving hero, or a disloyal spouse. Circe is her own person.

Of course the emotional crux is provided during Circe's fatal meeting with Odysseus. Right before he arrives, Circe practices on a fleet of sailors, some which intend to rape her, by turning them into pigs. As for what happened to them, let's just say that Circe develops a fondness for ham of the sea.


Odysseus and Circe go through their typical meeting and dalliance, but Odysseus is hardly the hero of Homer's epic story. This is Circe's tale and Odysseus is much more sinister than is usually portrayed. When he tells of his adventures, it's clear that he loves the sound of his own voice. There is also a ruthlessness and deception in his manner which suggests instability and that he enjoyed killing and mind games far more than he admitted.

The book offers the theory that Odysseus isn't exactly in a hurry to go home and his 20 year exile might be more by choice than by the ruling of the gods.


This potential instability in Odysseus's character is confirmed when he returns to his home of Ithaca. When Odysseus's wife, Penelope and son, Telemachus visit Aeaea after Odysseus's death, they reveal how rocky his return was.

Since he spent so much time away, Odysseus was often restless and neglectful of his kingdom. He had PTSD from his voyages and often attacked his family in a frenzied state. He spent more time looking out at the sea in longing.

Instead of hero, Miller's writing subverts Odysseus's character and turns him into maladjusted sociopath.


Telemachus and Penelope aren't the only ones that Odysseus screws over. Before he leaves Aeaea, Odysseus gets Circe pregnant. She gives birth to a son, Telegonus and strives to protect him from the wrath of the gods particularly an irate Athena who was Odysseus's protector.

Circe builds a magical barrier around Aeaea to keep anyone from coming in but it also keeps anyone from going out.

Circe's protection does not sit well with Telegonus. His and Circe's relationship is strained because he longs for adventure and travel, things that his mother denies. While Circe is worried about her son, there is also an underlying desperation as if Circe wants to hold onto Telegonus because she feels the need for someone to love and respect her.

However, the more Circe tries to keep Telegonus near her, the more he pushes away. Circe then has to confront Telegonus, Odysseus's family, and her own past sins in some heady magical confrontations that require all of her abilities and strength.

Madeleine Miller wrote Circe as a very complex character, one of great feeling, longing, regret, and passion. She saw more femme than fatale, more soul than seductress, and more of an independent woman of great strength and power than the beautiful deadly witch of Homer.

Our Sides of the Stories: Favorite Books Told From Another Point of View

Our Sides of The Stories: Favorite Books Told From Alternate Points of View

By Julie Sara Porter, Bookworm

Have you ever read a book and thought to yourself, “This can’t be it; this can’t be the whole story?” Did you ever root for the antagonist more than the so-called hero? Did you ever wonder what was going through the heads of the secondary characters when this entire daring do was taking place? Well this countdown is made for you.

Call them “Postmodern Literature.” Call them “Parallel Stories.” Call them “Perspective Flip.” Call them “Really Well-Written Fan Fiction.” I just prefer to call them alternate points of view. The criteria is that the story has to be told from another character rather than the original protagonist, whether it is the antagonist or another character. There is one exception in this countdown but the protagonist is portrayed so differently that it counts. In one case, the story is told from a character that did not meet the other character in canon, but is unquestionably an inspiration. These include plays, short stories, and novels. The list is arranged in descending order to my favorite alternate point of view.

15. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard- Original tale: Hamlet by William Shakespeare- In Shakespeare’s play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Hamlet’s two money-hungry sometimes comic relief friends hired to spy on the Danish prince for his uncle/stepfather. In Stoppard’s witty and dark play, the duo took center stage as they get involved in Elsinore’s politics almost against their own will.

Stoppard’s play is full of wit and clever byplay as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern turn many of their verbal sparring into an almost tennis match. They play clever games such as when they flip a coin and count which side up, or where they engage in conversation by asking only questions. Their intelligence shows in these dialogues.

Stoppard’s Absurdist take of Hamlet turned around the idea of plays and fiction in general. The duo question their involvement in the conspiracies that surround Hamlet, wonder if they ever really knew him at all, and wonder if they are characters in someone else’s design.

14. Grendel by John Gardner-Original tale: Beowulf- This is probably one of the works that popularized the concept of alternate points of view. Instead of the Anglo-Saxon hero, Gardner’s main character is the monstrous creature that haunts Hrothgar’s castle. Instead of being a giant ogre-like beast, Grendel is furious at these humans who built their kingdom over his lands and his attacks seem almost reasonable. He thinks Beowulf is a monster. (Indeed Grendel doesn’t call him by name. He refers to him as a “brute” and a “beast”)

In Gardner’s clever almost subversive retelling, Grendel becomes almost a symbol of nature or early civilization fighting their conquerors. He is also an existentialist character deeply wondering about his own existence in a world of monsters, human and otherwise.

13.  Fagin the Jew by Will Eisner-Original tale: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens-Like Shakespeare’s Shylock, many consider Charles Dickens’ Fagin to be a victim of Anti-Semitism. Eisner’s graphic novel took this idea and gave it a story of his own. Fagin becomes a truly tragic character as he recounts his life story to Charles Dickens himself before he is led to the gallows.

His background is moving as Fagin recounts his childhood in the Ashkenazic Jewish community of London and his separation from his family because of a pogrom. He survives the only way he can in Victorian London by becoming a pickpocket and then training younger pickpockets as he ages.

12. “The Case of the Impecunious Chevalier” by Richard Lopoff-Original works “A Study in Scarlet” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle/”Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe-In Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes story, “A Study in Scarlet,” Watson compares his friend’s detection to Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin. Far from flattered, Holmes’ is offended. He calls Dupin a “very inferior fellow,” and ridicules Dupin’s ratiocination example of guessing his friend’s thought process as the work of a show off. In Lopoff’s interesting meeting of minds, Dupin reads Holmes’ insults and is rather offended especially since he trained Holmes in one of his earliest cases. Lopoff not only cleverly repaid the debt that Holmes and Doyle owe Dupin and Poe, but the story becomes a challenge between the two mental giants.

This short story is actually from an anthology book, My Sherlock Holmes, which tells of Holmes and Watson through other eyes such as Moriarty, Mrs. Hudson, Wiggins of the Baker Street Irregulars, various clients, Irene “The Woman” Adler, and the two Mrs. Watsons.

11. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley- Original tale: King Lear by William Shakespeare-Smiley does many of the other authors on this list one better. Instead of simply revising the story of King Lear through the eyes of his eldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, she transplanted the story to modern day. Instead of two greedy princesses fighting their senile father for control of his kingdom, the novel instead is the story of two women fighting for control of the family farm from their abusive alcoholic father.

The two protagonists, Ginny and Rose, the modern equivalent of Goneril and Regan, become strong-willed sympathetic characters trying to survive in a man’s world of farming and remembering the incest from their father when they were younger. The plot moves from their rejection of their father and their betrayal from a man who seduces both sisters to its inevitable conclusion with the two sisters’ lives ruined forever.

10. Rebecca’s Tale by Sally Beauman- Original tale: Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier-If any character on this list needed their story told more, it is certainly Rebecca De Winter, Maxim De Winter’s first wife from Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca. We learned about her from De Winter, Mrs. Danvers, and Rebecca’s cousin, Jack Favell. Heck even the second Mrs. DeWinter got a say and she never knew Rebecca in life. Beauman cleared up that oversight by providing the reader with Rebecca’s journal.

Through her own eyes, Rebecca is hardly the paragon of beauty and social grace that Mrs. Danvers, Favell, or Mrs. De Winter see or the scheming harpy in Maxim’s version. Instead she is a troubled strong-willed woman with attitudes and affections that counter her upbringing of the times. Rebecca adds to Du Maurier’s tale and Rebecca’s actions towards her marriage to Maxim and her decisions leading to their final encounter become less arbitrary and more understandable through Beauman’s writing.

9. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire-Original tale: Cinderella-The first of two Gregory Maguire novels on this list. Maguire certainly has a history of telling stories from other points of view and this one is no exception. This recounts the story of Cinderella largely from her two stepsisters, the possibly mentally disabled Ruth and the aspiring artist Iris.

The stepsisters are fascinating as they try to survive accusations of witchcraft that cause them to flee England, their eccentric domineering mother, and their beautiful agoraphobic stepsister, Clara. Iris is effective as she tries to please her mother and make her mark as an artist studying under the Dutch Masters. Ruth’s story is particularly heartbreaking as she survives to hear their story become a legend which bears little resemblance to the facts.

8. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire-Original tale: The Wonderful Wizard of OZ by L. Frank Baum-Maguire’s second book on this list is probably the most famous work on here mostly because of the well-known musical. In the equally fascinating book, Maguire tells of the Witch of the West’s (called Elphaba) ostracism from Munchkinland because of her green skin, school days at Shiz University where she meets Glinda, studies of magic, and her activism for the rights of sentient Animals.

Elphaba becomes a unique character branded wicked because of her inability to follow the status quo and rejections of the manipulations of the Wizard and Madame Morrible, her devious former schoolmistress. Her journey from naïve schoolgirl to OZ’s Public Enemy #1 is a fascinating one.

Warning: While I like this story, I did not like the sequel Son of a Witch near as much and never read the other books in the series, A Lion Among Men or Out of OZ, so I don’t have a high or much of an opinion about the rest of the OZ Quartet series.

7. The Merlin Trilogy/The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart-Original tale: The Legends of King Arthur/La Morte D’Artur by Sir Thomas Malory- If a bookstore stocked up on only the various books, movies, plays and what not about the legends of King Arthur, there would not be room for anything else. Indeed this list has two in the major countdown and two more in honorable mention. Stewart’s Arthurian books tells the legends from two characters: Merlin in the beginning and Mordred in the final book.

In the Merlin Trilogy, Merlin recounts his childhood under Aurelius Ambrosious, his training in divination, his relationship with Arthur, and his love affair with Nimue, his young protégée. The final book The Last Enchantment is particularly moving as Merlin recounts the final days of Camelot, his faltering relationships with Arthur and Nimue, and his feelings that there is no longer a place for him in a world that moves ever so closer to progress.

Mordred’s book, The Wicked Day, tells of his life with his four half-brothers and his encounters with his father/uncle, Arthur, leading up to their inevitable confrontation. Mordred tells his story not with the world-weary detachment of Merlin, but instead with bitter cynicism and sarcastic one-liners such as when he ridicules his brothers, Gawain, Gareth, and Gaheris as pretentious social climbers using their relationship to “their Uncle the High King” to their advantage. He is also rebellious towards his upbringing by his mother and stepfather as a tool of vengeance against Arthur. His tender side is shown as he grows to respect and care for the King and is reluctant to bring about his downfall.

6. “The End of Little Nell “by Robert Barnard Original tale: The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens-This is the exception to the rule in this list of telling the story from the original protagonist’s point of view. Many may know of the tragic ingénue of Dickens’ book The Old Curiosity Shop whose death caused many a reader to cry or they may sympathize with Oscar Wilde that “One must have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing.” Barnard’s version of the Dickens heroine would agree with Wilde’s assessment.

Instead of a Victorian too-good-to-be-true victim, Barnard’s clever story gives us a young manipulative gambling prostitute who is well on her way to achieving her ambitions of being “England’s Queen of Crime.” Nell derisively talks of the other characters in The Old Curiosity Shop such as Daniel Quip, the antagonist and ex-lover, the do-gooder hero, Kit Nubbins (“a dim spark if ever there was one.”) and others. She mocks their gullibility in how they swallow her goody-two-shoes persona. She calls Dicken’s portrayal of her “garbage by a hack writer”. However she accepts that persona as the perfect disguise so she could continue her illegal activities by faking her death to become a part of London's Underworld.

Like “The Case of the Impecunious Chevalier,” this story comes from an anthology. It comes from Dickensian Whodunits, a book of short stories in which Dickens’ characters and Dickens himself get involved with various mysteries and crimes.

5. “Toil and Trouble” by Edward D. Hoch- Original tale: Macbeth by William Shakespeare-In Shakespeare’s play, The Weird Sisters are merely a plot device to reveal the prophecies that send Macbeth on his way and portray Jacobean fears of witches. Hoch’s brief but suspenseful story gives the three sisters a backstory, individual characteristics, and a more personal involvement in Macbeth’s life. Told primarily from the point of view of Selene, the middle sister, the story recounts how the sisters studied witchcraft from their teacher, Hecate. It also tells of their relationship with each other as Persephone is the leader guiding her younger sisters, Selene is the smart one able to see things that the others do not, and Artemis is the shyest and youngest but also filled with her own importance.

The atmosphere is equally as dark and chilling as Shakespeare’s play as the sisters become involved in the bloodshed and murders around them. The story also comes to a strange, but fitting conclusion as the trio realize that they have been manipulated and refuse to take part in these events any longer.

This too comes from an anthology, Shakespearean Whodunnits. Like the Dickens book, this book involves various Shakespeare’s characters participating in solving murder mysteries often concerning events in their own plays.

4. Marley’s Ghost by Mark Hazard Osmun-Original tale: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens-Ebenezer Scrooge’s late partner, Jacob Marley takes center stage in this moving surrealistic variation of Dickens famous Christmas story. Marley recounts his childhood, his life of business, his death, and his after-life.

The early years of his childhood are moving as Osmun reveals Marley’s closeness with his twin brother, the possibly autistic, Ezra. It also shows many of the hardships faced in Regency and Victorian England as the readers are treated to scenes of coal mines, poverty, debtor’s prisons, and other institutions.

The afterlife sections are surrealistic as Marley tows his chains in a strange world where he encounters three pagan spirits which will be familiar to readers of Dickens’ original tale. The after world shows the guilt and longing for redemption inside Marley’s soul and his anguish over his separation from his long-lost brother and the miserly solitary fate of Ebenezer Scrooge, his partner and friend.

3. Medea by Euripides –Original tale: Jason and The Golden Fleece/Jason and the Argonauts- The oldest story on this list. Some have called Medea the original feminist play and I would have to agree. Medea has been characterized as a femme fatale, dark sorceress, or a sociopathic villain in various works. Euripides took a more empathetic approach to Jason’s love interest/companion.

In the days after their journey, Medea recounts how she helped Jason acquire the Golden Fleece by using clever tricks and ruses to aid his search, murdered a king, and cut herself off from her father to join the Argonauts and Jason.  After the adventure, Medea is understandably hurt when he rejects her for another woman. She wonders what was in that entire struggle for her.

Medea’s decision to kill her and Jason’s children becomes more understanding when Medea reveals that is based partly on a jealous rage to make Jason hurt, but also to protect the children from a life of exile. Medea definitely is seen as a multi-faceted fascinating character as she challenges the fate that she has been dealt with in a faithless and ungrateful lover and questions who is the real author of her and Jason’s tragedy.

2. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys-Original tale: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte-Bertha Rochester is seen in Bronte’s original book as the mad wife in the attic, Jane’s dark alter ego and an obstacle towards her happiness. Rhys gives her a complete makeover into a passionate woman challenging her marriage and suffering from her husband’s coldness to the point of madness.

Bertha, called Antoinette Cosway in this book, is a Jamaican white woman descendant of former slave masters. She suffers from the hatred of the black locals, her mother’s mental illness and preference for her mentally disabled son, Pierre, and the indifference of her emotionally abusive stepfather, Mason. She fights her circumstances by arguing, studying obeah magic under her family servant, Christophine and flirting with other men.

Antoinette’s story becomes a feminist story as she challenges the circumstances around her, particularly her arranged marriage to Rochester.

Besides being a feminist novel, Wide Sargasso Sea is also seen as an attack on colonialism. Antoinette’s fascination with Jamaica’s natural beauty and closeness to the culture contrasts with Rochester’s discomfort with the wilderness around him and desire for ownership of the people. Antoinette is truly an outsider in every sense of the word. Because she is ridiculed as “a white cockroach,” she is unwelcomed by many people in Jamaica and is considered a wild Jamaican by the English; she is unable to fit in. Much of Rochester’s mistrust of her comes from his willingness to believe accounts from others about her character. This results in his rejection of Antoinette and her subsequent madness.

1. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley-Original tale: The Legends of King Arthur/La Morte D’Artur by Sir Thomas Malory-The best alternate point of view

tells of the Arthurian legends through the eyes of its female characters primarily Morgan Le Fey and Guinevere.

The two become a study in contrasts in their narratives. Morgan Le Fey, called Morgaine,

is trained on Avalon’s community of magical women. Her aunt, Vivienne AKA The Lady of the Lake rears her to study magic, practice divination, and honor the Goddess. Guinevere is trained in a rigorous convent where she practices Christianity but fears the outside world full of sin and what she deems as black magic. Morgaine is raised to be a powerful leader and advisor to royalty. Guinevere’s only goal is to be the wife of a king and possibly the subject of someone’s courtly love poems.

The religious and feminist aspects of the two characters come to a head in their involvements with Arthur. Morgaine and Arthur become involved in a pagan ritual which alternately fascinates but then disgusts Arthur when Morgaine bears their son, Gwydion (later called Mordred). Guinevere tries to get her husband to embrace Christianity and to honor no gods but the Hebrew-Christian one. Guinevere and Morgaine also have to deal with their romantic feelings for Lancelot in the former and Accolon in the latter.

The struggles between the two are fascinating to read as the known events of the Arthurian legends become turned around. The book’s best character is Morgaine who fights the male dominance of Camelot to protect her pagan beliefs and the connections to the Goddess.

Other works worth mentioning are Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical Jesus Christ Superstar, Finn by John Clinch, March by Geraldine Brooks, Jack Maggs by Peter Carey, The Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall,  Rhett Butler’s People by Donald MacCraig, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Gentleman Trilogy by Pamela Aiden, Captain Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth by J.V. Hart, I, Iago by Nicole Galland, I Am Mordred and I Am Morgan Le Fay by Nancy Springer, The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood, Ahab’s Wife or The Star-Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund, and Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard.

So that’s my list. What are some of your favorite stories told from other points of view? Which long neglected or misunderstood character do you believe deserves to finally have their say? Let me know in the comments below or through Facebook.