visualisation of characters

[jacqbeagle at bigpond.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 20893

Hi

I've just managed to catch up on the last few days posts and would 
like to share my opinion on the ethnic/race comments of the 
last week or so.  Some, more than others, have completely confounded 
me (the infamous Richard, but others have also lost me in their 
discussions) because I have an inability to visualise what characters 
look like (for any author).  I could not say what colour or race a 
character may be (they could be green and purple for all I know).  
This is even if an author takes two pages to describe a person's 
features.  The strongest physical image that I can get from the 
characters is that Harry has a scar and wears glasses, Ron has red 
hair, Draco is pale etc. 

I also don't use names as method of working out a characters' 
physical description because names can be misleading.  (eg I have a 
French surname but I am not french, I have friends with the surname 
of Lee, some are Chinese some are not.)

The only time I am able to link a mental image of the characters to 
my 'non-physical' image is when I see pictures of the characters.  So 
as far as my visual imagination is concerned Dumbledore looks like 
Richard Harris, Snape looks like Alan Rickman (in an ideal world 
*sigh*), Hermonie looks like the actress playing Hermonie.  (you get 
the picture)

So my point (there is one) is that I cannot understand why there has 
been so much debate recently on this point.  Does it really matter ?

My confusion is, how do you all figure out what colour a character 
is, and once you have does it make any difference?


Rowena

who may be living in an idealised world (but why shouldn't I?) and 
who is sorry in advance is this creates a war of words (and if this 
is OT).