What is Scar doing in this picture?
He is SMIRKING.
My mother used to say to me: Stop smirking.
In my mind, smirking is a non-good thing. It is not smiling. It is not grinning. It suggests smugness, perhaps self-satisfaction, perhaps pleasure in another's misfortune.
This is how the free dictionary defines it: To smile in an affected, often offensively self-satisfied manner
So why do I keep reading it in romance novel scenes between H/Hs? Intimate ones? Even loving ones? It throws me off Every Single Time! Argh!
Am I alone? Tell me I am not alone!
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5 comments:
Jane Austen keeps having her people say and do something 'archly'.
Drives me mad.
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"Mr. Darcy is all politeness," said Elizabeth, smiling.
"He is, indeed; but, considering the inducement, my dear Miss Eliza,
we cannot wonder at his complaisance--for who would object to such a partner?"
Elizabeth looked archly, and turned away.
You are most definitely not alone. Hate the smirk, particularly as it often seems like clumsy shorthand used by a lazy or incompetent writer to establish the hero's superiority, his dominant "alphaness" in all situations (heroines seem to "smirk" considerably less often, reflecting their often subservient position in the romance, I suppose).
Right on! A smirking hero or heroine kills empathy.
dick
Better a smirk than a sneer; what a mood killer that sneer is.
All - I am glad I am not alone!
Jo - sacrilege! You may enjoy this sketch in which archness is nicely mocked. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjPbj0MVBFg&feature=related
Lyvvie - hey!
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