A Question of Honor
I’ve been recuperating this week from the RWA Conference and the trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon and then to Phoenix. And what better way than by watching romantic tv shows and movies and reading romance novels? I found myself watching episodes of HIGHLANDER with Adrian Paul and LAST OF THE MOHICANS starring Daniel Day Lewis and sighing over the characters they play. . . and comparing them.
And I’ve discovered the underlying similarity between Duncan MacLeod and Nathaniel/Hawkeye that they are both honorable men. Oh, and yes, they are both gorgeous, mouth-watering hunks! OK — back to honor….
I realized that both of these characters were realists–they did not wear rose-colored glasses in dealing with the situations of their lives. They met adversity head-on with dicisive action and a clear vision of their path. Even when faced with terrible choices, they made their decisions ever aware of the costs to be borne.
I still gasp every time I watch LOTM when Nathaniel warns Cora to stay alive, no matter what happens, he will find her. OHMIGOSH — the terror and longing in her eyes and his as they each realize what the other will face. But, he does follow her and rescues her from Magua’s plans.
And in one HIGHLANDER episode, Duncan swears to protect someone and warns their enemy that, if anything happens to this person, he, Duncan, will kill him. And, of course, the bad guy kills the one Duncan is protecting and faces Duncan’s wrath….and Duncan does not hesitate to kill the bad guy because 1)he gave his word and 2)he knows the bad guy will simply continue to be bad and destroy other innocents. 
Which really brings me to my point — a man of honor is as good as his word. If he promises something, he does it, even if he suffers for it. He doesn’t shirk his responsibilities even when it would be easier to do it. And men of honor make wonderful romance heroes! Women want them, bad guys want to destroy them, good men want to be like them. Conflicts abound because of their unflinching belief in themselves and what they must do. It is an author’s dream because then all we have to do is write the story, set it up and watch these honorable men face their worst fears.
And that usually involves a woman who makes them question their decisions, suffer from an angst and longing they’ve never suffered before, and generally want to tear their hair out, strand by strand.
In my just-released medieval historical romance, POSSESSED BY THE HIGHLANDER 
my ‘Duncan’ faces the same battle with his honor — to do the right thing, to keep his word even while everyone around him fails to do the right thing. And when he meets the heroine, Marian Robertson, a woman who lost her honor years before, his every-belief is challenged — from the stories he’s heard about her, to knowing he has been manipulated into marrying her and to discovering every one of the secrets and truths she keeps.
And as honorable men do, Duncan lives up to his word, no matter the cost to him. He lives up to his word to his laird to carry out his duties. And he keeps his promises to the woman he loves because he is an honorable man.
So, who do you think of when you hear the words ‘a man of honor’? In movies or on tv or in romance novels you’ve read? And do you like them as much as you like ‘bad boys’? Which is your favorite kind of hero?
Terri
www.terribrisbin.com
Possessed by the Highlander-now!
One Candlelit Christmas - November
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