Personnage: du théorique vers la pratique

At first glance, one might perceive fictional characters as straightforward beings. Upon closer examination, however, one discovers what multi-faceted entities they really are. This essay deals with the complexity of the nature of characters by focusing on several theoretical and practical aspects thereof. With the help of several theorists (such as Todorov, Greimas, and Hamon) this paper uses theoretical concepts as a springboard for a discussion of strategies and pitfalls in the creation of fictional characters. Virginia Woolf, Julien Green, Milan Kundera and Gabrielle Roy are some of the writers whose knowledge was tapped for the portion of the essay dealing with the creation of characters.La vie a travers un kaleidoscope (Life as seen through a kaleidoscope) is a collection of seven short stories in which some of the characters were inspired by people encountered by the author. The focus on character in the essay is therefore a natural extension of the creation of these short stories