Doctors make great heroes. Hawkeye from M*A*S*H; Richard Chamberlain as Dr. Kildare, and who can forget George Clooney from ER.
I think doctors have a couple of credentials that make them automatic hero material. It is a given that they are intelligent. It is safe to assume they are also calm under pressure, have a certain measure of empathy, and oh yeah, they are probably financially secure. All this adds up to the raw potential to be fabulous hero material.
Dare I say that such sterling qualities can sometimes be a little bland? This is why if you scratch the surface of most fictional doctors you’ll find plenty of neuroses and obsessions. Dr. House is a misanthropic narcissist, Hawkeye was a rampant womanizer, and Dr. Jekyll, well….he had lots of problems. We tend to give physicians a pass because of the heroic, difficult jobs they do….. combine this with a couple of weird fixations, and you’ve got the makings for a great leading man.
So, Trevor McDonough, anyone? The physician hero in With Every Breath is a man of stunning heroism, a brilliant mind, and smoking-hot good looks. His problems? They are legion! He’s shy, prickly, and possibly the most competitive man ever born. Given that the heroine is friendly, outgoing, and also massively competitive; the stage was set for the sparks to fly.
I like the storyline of the troubled physician. Those who are in contact with life-and-death situations are under devastating stress, so is it any wonder that sometimes they succumb to human failings? The duel of conflicting forces: compassion and intelligence vs. moody human failings was too much for me to resist.
Has anyone been watching The Knick on Starz? Clive Owen plays an amazing Victorian-era doctor who battles various addictions and oddities, but nevertheless remains utterly fascinating. Even with the terrible mustache, I can’t take my eyes off of him.
Comments 1
This post caught my eye because I also have a doctor, and his son who will become a doctor, in my novel series. What came out in my first book is that doctors are helpers and we all need that person who can come in at our moment of need with a calm assurance they can help.
Haven’t read any of your work yet but put you on my to read list. Keep writing.