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maculategiraffeI discovered this site while googling for cool eyepatches, and ever since then, I've been playing around on it whenever I'm having to sit still and I'm too jumpy to read (or write, or knit) anything more substantial. Just found this page. Intrigued!
I find this interesting because I always bear in mind a character's elemental association, as linked to his or her astrological sign. Of the Slave Breakers Basic Six (SBBS):
Jer - Capricorn, cardinal earth (eyes: slate gray)
Bran - Cancer, cardinal water (eyes: the gray of the high seas before a storm, or something equally romantic)
Holden - Leo, fixed fire (eyes: brown; well, I couldn't very well make them red)
Alix - Virgo, mutable earth (eyes: hazel)
Greta - Taurus, fixed earth (eyes: green)
Yves - Aquarius, fixed air (eyes: sky blue)
So that the central four men (Jer, Bran, Holden, and Yves) represent each of the four elements-- earth, water, fire, and air. You see that a lot in stories, especially children's stories, that have an ensemble cast of four. For example:
The Wind in the Willows: Rat (water), Mole (earth), Badger (fire), Toad (air)
Little Women: Meg (earth), Jo (fire), Beth (water), Amy (air)
Peter Pan: Peter (fire), Wendy (water), John (air), Michael (earth)
The Three Musketeers: Athos (water), Porthos (earth), Aramis (air), d'Artagnan (fire)
The Wizard of Oz: Scarecrow (air), Tin Man (water), Cowardly Lion (fire), Dorothy (earth)
The Emily books (L.M. Montgomery): Emily (water), Ilse (fire), Teddy (air), Perry (earth)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy (fire), Willow (water), Xander (earth), Giles (air)
The Prydain Chronicles (Lloyd Alexander): Taran (fire), Eilonwy (water), Fflewdur Fflam (air), Gurgi (earth)
The Land Before Time: Littlefoot (earth), Cera (fire), Petrie (air), Ducky (water)
Etc. You get the idea. The water person is usually romantic, affectionate, idealistic, and in tune with the unseen (be that literal supernatural/spiritual, or just everybody's emotions); the air person is usually educated, articulate, and prone to overthink/overplan; the earth person is usually practical, grounded (though sometimes with a weakness for physical appetites like eating and sex), and self-deprecating; the fire person is usually temperamental, passionate, and fiercely loyal. If the orcs are scheduled to arrive at three o'clock in the afternoon, the air person is sketching elaborate battle plans into the dirt with a stick, the fire person already has his sword (or cudgel) out, the water person is awakening helpful supernatural powers (or awakening hidden inner emotional strength and motivation in the hero, depending on your genre), and the earth person is unpacking the lunch basket that he of course thought to bring, as you can't fight on an empty stomach.
When there's one central hero/ine in the ensemble of four, it's usually (though obviously not always) the fire person, fire being the most spectacular of the elements, but I like it best the way it's done in The Wind in the Willows, where you've just got all four adventuring together and learning from each other and getting each other into and out of various sorts of trouble.
(You can also argue that an author's personal prejudices are evident from the way they subvert this trope. One great example is the Harry Potter books. Now, not every trio is an Elemental Foursome Minus One, but fairly obviously, Gryffindor = fire, Hufflepuff = earth, Slytherin = water, Ravenclaw = air. Equally obviously, Harry = fire, Ron = earth, Hermione = air. I was quite baffled, therefore, by the fact that not only are all three main protagonists in Gryffindor, but Luna Lovegood, who is the obvious candidate for water-protagonist, not to mention MADE OF AWESOME, a) is in Ravenclaw, b) is not introduced until book five, and c) doesn't marry Harry in the end, even though they are clearly meant for each other. J.K. Rowling's anti-water bias was probably my biggest issue with those books. It's no wonder so many people ship Harry and Draco. I mean, we've got black-haired fire, brown-haired air, and red-haired earth, so silvery-blond water would SEEM to be the logical fourth member of the central band of protagonists, yes? LUNA/HARRY 4 EVA!!! Ahem. I'll get out of these parentheses now.)
I think this elemental balancing act is at work in some other Famous Fours, too, like the four canonical gospels (Matthew, with all that research and helpful cross-referencing, = air; Mark = pure asskicking, name-taking fire; Luke, with his And Here Is What We Did About It sequel, = solid, practical Earth; and beloved dreamy mystical John, of course, = water), and the Beatles. It's just a very appealing balance on a visceral level, I find, and I think people respond to it (and do it) subconsciously, like the Golden Ratio.
Anyway, my point... wait, what was my point again? Oh yeah, the eye color thing. So it's not necessarily indicative in the exact way that that site says, but I do think there are some interesting overlaps. Yves has the "clear, pure, shining" blue eyes, Greta's got the Very Sexy Girl/ Spitfire combination of green eyes and red hair (though we haven't seen her spitting much fire in the current storylines), Alix has nice reliable hazel eyes, Holden has the "mysterious and sensual" brand of dark brown, Jer has the unapproachable/stony shade of gray and Bran's got the mystical seer variety. And Inga is a Mary Sue.
Also, Yves is secretly evil.
I find this interesting because I always bear in mind a character's elemental association, as linked to his or her astrological sign. Of the Slave Breakers Basic Six (SBBS):
Jer - Capricorn, cardinal earth (eyes: slate gray)
Bran - Cancer, cardinal water (eyes: the gray of the high seas before a storm, or something equally romantic)
Holden - Leo, fixed fire (eyes: brown; well, I couldn't very well make them red)
Alix - Virgo, mutable earth (eyes: hazel)
Greta - Taurus, fixed earth (eyes: green)
Yves - Aquarius, fixed air (eyes: sky blue)
So that the central four men (Jer, Bran, Holden, and Yves) represent each of the four elements-- earth, water, fire, and air. You see that a lot in stories, especially children's stories, that have an ensemble cast of four. For example:
The Wind in the Willows: Rat (water), Mole (earth), Badger (fire), Toad (air)
Little Women: Meg (earth), Jo (fire), Beth (water), Amy (air)
Peter Pan: Peter (fire), Wendy (water), John (air), Michael (earth)
The Three Musketeers: Athos (water), Porthos (earth), Aramis (air), d'Artagnan (fire)
The Wizard of Oz: Scarecrow (air), Tin Man (water), Cowardly Lion (fire), Dorothy (earth)
The Emily books (L.M. Montgomery): Emily (water), Ilse (fire), Teddy (air), Perry (earth)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy (fire), Willow (water), Xander (earth), Giles (air)
The Prydain Chronicles (Lloyd Alexander): Taran (fire), Eilonwy (water), Fflewdur Fflam (air), Gurgi (earth)
The Land Before Time: Littlefoot (earth), Cera (fire), Petrie (air), Ducky (water)
Etc. You get the idea. The water person is usually romantic, affectionate, idealistic, and in tune with the unseen (be that literal supernatural/spiritual, or just everybody's emotions); the air person is usually educated, articulate, and prone to overthink/overplan; the earth person is usually practical, grounded (though sometimes with a weakness for physical appetites like eating and sex), and self-deprecating; the fire person is usually temperamental, passionate, and fiercely loyal. If the orcs are scheduled to arrive at three o'clock in the afternoon, the air person is sketching elaborate battle plans into the dirt with a stick, the fire person already has his sword (or cudgel) out, the water person is awakening helpful supernatural powers (or awakening hidden inner emotional strength and motivation in the hero, depending on your genre), and the earth person is unpacking the lunch basket that he of course thought to bring, as you can't fight on an empty stomach.
When there's one central hero/ine in the ensemble of four, it's usually (though obviously not always) the fire person, fire being the most spectacular of the elements, but I like it best the way it's done in The Wind in the Willows, where you've just got all four adventuring together and learning from each other and getting each other into and out of various sorts of trouble.
(You can also argue that an author's personal prejudices are evident from the way they subvert this trope. One great example is the Harry Potter books. Now, not every trio is an Elemental Foursome Minus One, but fairly obviously, Gryffindor = fire, Hufflepuff = earth, Slytherin = water, Ravenclaw = air. Equally obviously, Harry = fire, Ron = earth, Hermione = air. I was quite baffled, therefore, by the fact that not only are all three main protagonists in Gryffindor, but Luna Lovegood, who is the obvious candidate for water-protagonist, not to mention MADE OF AWESOME, a) is in Ravenclaw, b) is not introduced until book five, and c) doesn't marry Harry in the end, even though they are clearly meant for each other. J.K. Rowling's anti-water bias was probably my biggest issue with those books. It's no wonder so many people ship Harry and Draco. I mean, we've got black-haired fire, brown-haired air, and red-haired earth, so silvery-blond water would SEEM to be the logical fourth member of the central band of protagonists, yes? LUNA/HARRY 4 EVA!!! Ahem. I'll get out of these parentheses now.)
I think this elemental balancing act is at work in some other Famous Fours, too, like the four canonical gospels (Matthew, with all that research and helpful cross-referencing, = air; Mark = pure asskicking, name-taking fire; Luke, with his And Here Is What We Did About It sequel, = solid, practical Earth; and beloved dreamy mystical John, of course, = water), and the Beatles. It's just a very appealing balance on a visceral level, I find, and I think people respond to it (and do it) subconsciously, like the Golden Ratio.
Anyway, my point... wait, what was my point again? Oh yeah, the eye color thing. So it's not necessarily indicative in the exact way that that site says, but I do think there are some interesting overlaps. Yves has the "clear, pure, shining" blue eyes, Greta's got the Very Sexy Girl/ Spitfire combination of green eyes and red hair (though we haven't seen her spitting much fire in the current storylines), Alix has nice reliable hazel eyes, Holden has the "mysterious and sensual" brand of dark brown, Jer has the unapproachable/stony shade of gray and Bran's got the mystical seer variety. And Inga is a Mary Sue.
Also, Yves is secretly evil.
