In praise of characters

by Sister Frances (Paulus) Gussenhoven, RSHM.

Los Angeles, CA.  Sometimes we lovingly speak of an acquaintance who is a little odd, eccentric, or exceptional as “a character.“ Surprising quirks make that individual unique and different, not quite like the norm we have come to expect. Irregularities of behavior or of appearance seem to set that person apart. Despite the deviations from standardized concepts, however, we come to find that person attractive and lovable.

The same phenomenon can be seen in nature, even in something as ordinary as a tree. Recently a mature coral tree was planted on a lawn nearby. I understand that it cost $3,500. Since it was fall, the tree was bare, its shape outline against the sky. It was distorted, lop-sided, lacking in symmetry. Now, however, spring has come, the blossoms are beginning to appear, and the crazy disorder and utterly charming.

Speaking of trees, haven’t  we often set out to buy the “perfect” Christmas tee?  After examining five or six that initially look like perfectly balanced specimens, we discontinued our search, having found a flaw in each one. The tree slanted to the side, or its branches were thin in a prominent area; its shape was just a bit “off.”  It was a “Charlie Brown” tree. Perhaps we have salved our disappointment by resorting to a mechanically engineer artificial tree-a tree without “character.”

I remember my little sisters with their dolls and stuffed animals. The toys that were injured or maimed or slightly torn were usually the most cherished. The brand-new doll, stiff and perfect and its gift box, was imposing and formal, somewhat intimidating. But after have been used and loved, after having become shabby, the doll became ”real,”  that is, “a character.”

Even dogs delight us in their uniqueness. Yes, the pure-breeds can command our love and satisfy our pride of ownership, but often it is the dogs of  uncertain percentage who win our hearts, who seem to have the most personality, who turn into real “characters.”  Their shiny eyes, wagging  tails, and joyous welcome as we approach make us forget that one ear has been bitten off, or that there is a ragged patch in a vulnerable spot. Or maybe we love them all the more for their apparent shortcomings.

Gerard Manley Hopkins’ insight into true beauty and perfection might make each of us, in our uniqueness and awareness of our foibles, actually happy to be “a character”:

All things counter, original,
spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled
(who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour;
dazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty
is past change:
Praise him.
Pied Beauty 

Like Hopkins, let us see beauty with the eyes of God-and praise Him. 

_______________
Source:RSHM Soundings “Characters Count” Autumn 2012 Volume XX, Number 3
By: Sister Frances (Paulus) Gussenhoven, RSHM, Archdiocesan Teachers and Preachers, Los Angeles,CA.