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Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice (the good version from 1995). Elizabeth handles family drama and dysfunction with wisdom and equanimity; she has abundant time for reading and walks; she takes no guff from Lady Catherine de Berg. AND she gets Pemberley. 💪🏻😁

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With so many good examples of righteous, self-sacrificing and honorable characters, it feels like an impossible task to pick the best or most worthy to mention, so I’m left to figuratively “pull one from a hat.”

General Maximus Decimus Meridus (Russell Crowe)

Gladiator

His character is summed up well with this one quote:

MAXIMUS: “What we do in life…echoes in eternity.”

Which is why whether a general or a slave or whether amongst nobility, soldiers or the oppressed, he inspires love and loyalty in all who he comes in contact with.

And his righteousness and sense of justice is infectious, inspiring honor and sacrifice even within the hardened hearts of criminals, turning previously self-serving, fearful or despairing men into brave, selfless and honorable men.

His desire for vengeance and justice is well-balanced with his love, mercy, forgiveness and grace.

I imagine this would be why I love the character so much because he exhibits much of the same characteristics of God...at least as much as a fallible, flawed and inferior human being can.

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Melanie Hamilton Wilkes (Olivia de Havilland) from "Gone With The Wind" has long held my admiration for her tender sweetness.

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One of my favorite movie scenes is when Scarlett takes out the Yankee scavanger and Melanie comes running out of bed, weakly holding her family's Mexican War saber to help her. Also how she takes care of the aftermath. Such a great character for so many reasons.

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I have always aspired to be more like Melanie, but sadly have a dominant streak of Scarlett O'Hara instead. It's definitely a work in progress. 😅

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Aye, there's no gettin away from it if you're Irish, Shannon. Not if you're Irish.

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😂 I definitely relate to this comment. I’m fascinated by those who have a generous, kind and gentle type of fierce goodness. Such characteristics do not come naturally to me at all... except the fierce part. I have that part down pretty good 😁

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Lem Siddins in Follow Me Boys. He is kind, sociable, and motivates others well. He almost singlehandedly transforms a group of boys, some of whom are rowdy, into a well-disciplined, well-behaved, and happy Boy Scout troup. He takes one messed up kid, adopts him, and loves him into wholeness (if only it were that easy). And in the end people recognize his contribution to society.

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Never seen this but he sounds like a good one.

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