I, like many of us, am a sucker for the reluctant hero(ine). Gimme Frodo. Love me some Meg Murry. Until this week I thought it was because it was a reflection of our potential as every(wo)man to participate in the miraculous. There is probably a sprinkling of White savior complex in there, to be sure.
But while washing the dishwasher I caught myself wishing more real reluctant hero(in)es would run for office. I'm talking about people who bite and scratch a people push them toward their speeches. People who will forever despise the good friends and family that nominated them for a position of power. Why would I want this person? Because what they don't want is power. They actively want to run from it. And if we gave them the chance, they would. But their nature, their inability to do the wrong thing, the weight they feel of taking care of others, makes sure they stay in the job and finish it. I want a hero(ine) who wants nothing more than to do right by others, and then disappear.
In my training as a therapist I am constantly impressed by what can be determined in our psych tests. Is there a Frodo factor we could start testing for? Maybe there is a Meg Murry personality type we could identify and give this idea some scientific backing.
I've been playing with a short story plot around this. What do you think?