Mary Mary Uncontrary

I found some amusing similarities between the primary romances featured in the Sherlock Holmes' adventures and the adventures of Richard Hannay. The former was written prior to the latter.

1. Both Richard Hannay and John Watson fall in love with girls named "Mary."

2. Both men are struck by her beauty and remark upon the fact that their male friend doesn't notice it.

Here Watson recounts his conversation with Holmes just after Mary left in The Sign of Four:

Standing at the window, I watched her walking briskly down the street until the gray turban and white feather were but a speck in the sombre crowd.
What a very attractive woman!" I exclaimed, turning to my companion.
He had lit his pipe again and was leaning back with drooping eyelids. "Is she?" he said languidly; "I did not observe."
"You really are an automaton -- a calculating machine," I cried. "There is something positively inhuman in you at times."
He smiled gently.
"It is of the first importance," he cried, "not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities. A client is to me a mere unit, a factor in a problem. The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning. I assure you that the most win- ning woman I ever knew was hanged for poisoning three little children for their insurance-money, and the most repellent man of my acquaintance is a philanthropist who has spent nearly a quarter of a million upon the London poor."
"In this case, however --"
"I never make exceptions."

Here Richard Hannay recounts his first encounter with Mary in Mr. Standfast:

Someone put a tea-tray on the table beside us, and I looked up to see the very prettiest girl I ever set eyes on....She smiled demurely as she arranged the tea-things, and I thought I had never seen eyes at once so merry and so grave. I stared after her as she walked across the lawn, and I remember noticing that she moved with the free grace of an athletic boy.
'Who on earth's that?' I asked Blaikie.
'That? Oh, one of the sisters,' he said listlessly. 'There are squads of them. I can't tell one from another.'
Nothing gave me such an impression of my friend's sickness as the fact that he should have no interest in something so fresh and jolly as that girl.

3. These excepts lead to the third point: both men watch their Mary walk away.

4. Both men get lost in reveries about her.

Watson:

 I sat in the window with the volume in my hand, but my thoughts were far from the daring speculations of the writer. My mind ran upon our late visitor -- her smiles, the deep rich tones of her voice, the strange mystery which overhung her life. If she were seventeen at the time of her father's disappearance she must be seven-and-twenty now -- a sweet age, when youth has lost its self-consciousness and become a little sobered by experience. So I sat and mused until such dangerous thoughts came into my head that I hurried away to my desk and plunged furiously into the latest treatise upon pathology. What was I, an army surgeon with a weak leg and a weaker banking account, that I should dare to think of such things? She was a unit, a factor -- nothing more. If my future were black, it was better surely to face it like a man than to attempt to brighten it by mere will-o'-the-wisps of the imagination. (The Sign of Four)

 Hannay: 

 In Charing Cross Road I thought of Mary, and the brigade seemed suddenly less attractive. I hoped the war wouldn't last much longer, though with Russia heading straight for the devil I didn't know how it was going to stop very soon. I was determined to see Mary before I left, and I had a good excuse, for I had taken my orders from her. The prospect entranced me, and I was mooning along in a happy dream, when I collided violently with in agitated citizen.
Then I realized that something very odd was happening.
There was a dull sound like the popping of the corks of flat soda-water bottles. There was a humming, too, from very far up in the skies. People in the street were either staring at the heavens or running wildly for shelter. A motor-bus in front of me emptied its contents in a twinkling; a taxi pulled up with a jar and the driver and fare dived into a second-hand bookshop. It took me a moment or two to realize the meaning of it all, and I had scarcely done this when I got a very practical proof. A hundred yards away a bomb fell on a street island, shivering every window-pane in a wide radius, and sending splinters of stone flying about my head. I did what I had done a hundred times before at the Front, and dropped flat on my face. (Mr. Standfast)

Yes, General Hannay, the career soldier, was so lost in thoughts about Mary that he didn't notice the air raid right away.

    

5. Both men marry their Mary and then she's suddenly much less of a distraction. 

6. Both men are/were soldiers.

My favorite picture of Hannay

Recipe for an Afternoon Well Spent

You will need:

~Yourself
~A bike
~A helmet
~A favorite locale that you haven't entirely explored...
~A water-bottle or two.
~A good book
~Your favorite satchel with some things like a little cash, a camera, etc.
~Some vague idea of where to go.
~Remember that God is with you.

Directions:

Start by putting on your helmet, and remember that it is your helm of war as you go off on a quest for adventure!

Next, get on your bike and head off down the road.
Admire the scenery as you go and the feel of the wind on your face. From this point, it doesn't really matter what you do, just go far and get away. If you see a road and wonder where it leads, follow it. Savor the dappled light filtering through the trees, and the cool that comes when you enter a forest lane. When the sun beats down upon you all alone on open road, reflect on how small you are. Praise God for the beautiful things you see, a flower, a shimmering lake, whatever it is that touches your heart with wonder. Thank Him for the beautiful moments you experience, the feeling of sunlight and shade, the breeze as you crest a hill.

After rambling for a few hours, perhaps stop at a store and get a treat, but don't stop for long, continue on and find a nice place to sit. After stretching, enjoy your treat and delve into your book out in the fresh air.



Finally, return home happy.

 

I recently started following a blogger, Marissa, at  http://marissabaker.wordpress.com/ Among the many things she writes about, she posts weekly recipes, and it kind of inspired me to write a recipe of my own...

Hope this was fun!  

My thoughts on "The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug"

*Spoilers*

The film was decidedly darker than the first. There are very few warm moments. The fact that the story takes place in winter or in gray cavernous places added to the mood.

For being 161 minutes long, the movie sure condensed most of the events of the book. The parts based on the book were greatly abridged and the extended story lines filled the movie. 

The biggest disappointment was the fact that the film really didn't give much time to the events that actually took place in the book. Mirkwood, the spiders, the journey to The Lonely Mountain, and Bilbo's encounters with the dragon where very condensed and abridged. I was looking forward to seeing the Elves' woodland feasts and watching the spider scene unfold in a nice, methodical moment by moment approach, watching Bilbo gather his courage and use his wits to free the dwarves. In the film he just falls right into the middle of it.

In the book, this is where Bilbo draws first blood. In the first movie, he has already done that by slaying a warg and fighting goblins and orcs. Now, I really liked the part where he tackled the orc and saved Thorin. It was a wonderful act of heroism. But, since Bilbo had already done this, the need for him to be the hero and rescue the dwarves is not as high.  All the same, I wish this part had been closer to the book.

However, just because the movie didn't follow the book doesn't mean I didn't like it. There were parts I loved, and parts I did not.

The introduction of Smaug was well done.

Tauriel is not a part of the original Middle Earth, by J. R. R. Tolkien. However, she is a wonderful character in the movie! The warmest person in the film, a fantastic fighter, and a lover of stars, she is poetry in motion.

Tauriel

 My favorite part was the escape from the elves and the barrel-riding scene, a fact which really surprised me. It was different from the book and over the top, but I enjoyed seeing Legolas, Tauriel, and the dwarves all fighting orcs. When Bombour and his barrel took out a number of orcs, it was hilarious though unrealistic. Thorin saved Legolas by killing the orc that was about to strike him. This sequence was filled with many astounding feats that required precision, and hearkened back to the dish washing scene in An Unexpected Journey, (a scene I also loved). The location was beautiful too: green sunlit tree-clad banks, and a twisting, rushing river. Sunlight and spray create joy and excitement.

Tauriel and Legolas

The moments where the ring is affecting Bilbo, I did not like. Of course, I don't like them in the book either, and you're not supposed too, that is kind of  the point!  But, in The Hobbit (book), there are very few signs of the ring's evil power, Bilbo had to have it for a long time before it's effects began to show. They are made clear in The Lord of the Rings. 

Another disappointment was Kili's crude innuendo. I don't have a problem with Kili being attracted to Tauriel, just that one remark. From what I gathered, it is unclear whether Tauriel returns Kili's affections although she clearly does care about his safety. Nice, keep us guessing!

Problem: Kili is shot with a Morgul arrow. Now, a friend pointed out to me that it is unlikely the orcs would have a Morgul weapon, even though they are in the service of Sauron.  The fact that kingsfoil was needed and that the characters knew this was needed, detracts from Aragorn's skill as a healer, which is a part of his kingly heritage.  It would have been better for Kili to be shot with a poisoned arrow and then for Tauriel to use her Elvish healing knowledge and a different herb to heal him. It was too much of a repeat of The Lord of the Rings, and there are a enough similar things that happen already (giant spiders and eagles, for example).

And the ending... ah well, it's a middle film, what can you say? That actually doesn't bother me.

All in all, it's not a movie I plan on owning.

The photos are from The Hobbit Offical Site, downloads section.

The Hobbit, Would you have opened the door?

I often contemplate the beginning of The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien. How would I have responded to an Unexpected Party, comprised of strangers? Frankly, it never would have happened.  Atleast, not in this age, at this location.

I always look before I open the door, even when I am expecting someone, and if an unknown person looking taller and stronger than me is out there, the last thing I'm going to do is open the door while I'm home alone. If they stand there waiting too long, then I'd call the police. No party for anyone. 

Now Bilbo had invited Gandalf to tea and when he heard the ring of the door bell he opened it expecting Gandalf but was surprised to find a dwarf (page 7) We are told, "as soon as the door opened, he pushed inside, just as if he had been expected" (page 7). How frightening! I'm not sure what I'd do if someone pushed into my house. I'm guessing I'd ask them what they wanted. By the time the second stranger entered, however, I'd be plotting my escape from the house so as not to be murdered. It's rather sad, to think about how dark the world is, living on the edge of a crime-infested city.

And now I pose the question to you: What would you have done? 

The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien. Ballentine Books, New York: 1982.

Roverandom

It's a tale you don't hear about too often, but it is a good one.

Written by J.R.R. Tolkien, it's the story of a little dog named Rover and the adventures he has after being turned into a toy by a wizard.

An easy read, if you like other books by Tolkien and fairy tales, I recommend you give it a go. The places and creatures he describes are very imaginative and it contains some lovely ideas. For example: a seagull that flies to the moon with messages for the wizard who lives there with a little white flying dog.
I don't want to say too much because it's lovelier if you read it for yourself.

The edition at my house even has illustrations by Tolkien himself!

I find his depictions of mermaids interesting because one of them married a wizard and they moved to the land. He mentions mermaid tails with aversion. He remarks on her "deplorable" tail. Having a fish tail would certainly be shocking for humans to see, but he seems to disdain them for some reason in the midst of all the unusual things that are going on. Is he just projecting the views of the two-legged people's society (from the story) into his narration, or is it something else?  

Volcanoes, Geysers, and Trolls, oh my!

I was restless and then this opportunity came up for me to go to Iceland. So, I went. And what an adventure it was. I was excited to go and see the natural wonders there, but what I did not realize was how much it would embody my favorite books and movies and how much the land is steeped in lore.

I believe it will take me several posts before I'm finished. I'll try to stick to one topic per post, but I may get a little carried away.

The bay in Reykjavik.

Hmm, I think I will start with the trolls. I went on two excursions with different companies, yet both guides spoke of the trolls. Now I knew trolls were a part of Icelandic lore from reading The Story of Grettir the Strong, by Allen French, but I was surprised and delighted when the guides started talking about them.

The first guide told us that trolls were big, strong, stupid, and turned to stone when the light comes up. Check, check, check, check. Exactly how they are in The Hobbit.

Troll Couple with Boat

The next day, on the other excursion I had the opportunity to actually see some trolls, turned to stone off course.  The first two are located near Vík, a small coastal town (the southernmost town in Iceland). From the place where we stopped for lunch we could see them standing in the surf, frozen as they struggled to drag their three masted boat to shore before day dawned. There were two, a husband and wife troll. The interesting thing is that the bigger, wider one is the wife and the tall skinny one is the husband. The guide said this was so because just as women tend to outlive men, so this wider lump of rock would outlive the tall thin one as the elements beat upon them.

Lone Troll

As we stood on the outcropping near the third troll, we could see the two trolls with their boat in the distance. That's were I took the photo above.

 The third troll was located at the cape of Dyrhólaey. Here is a photo of him standing on the sand, the waves lapping at his feet. He's huge, over one story tall.



Here is another picture for size and location's sake.

Lone Troll

More on Iceland soon.

All photos are my own.

The Hobbit. A long-expected movie.

It's here! It is finally here! Saturday afternoon I saw The Hobbit with some friends.

Over all, I like it very much.

*Spoiler Alert. Don't continue reading if you haven't seen the movie yet.* 

There were a few things I did not like, like the troll sneezing all over Bilbo. Yuck.

Radagast was hardly what I pictured, plus he's not even in the book, The Hobbit. He is in the book, The Lord of the Rings, and he doesn't have a sleigh pulled by rabbits as far as I know. Bird poop on the side of his face: gross and not needed. The part where he out runs the wolves with his rabbit sleigh is just kinda silly.

The film portrayal of The Goblin King left me disappointed, the things he said, and the voice he used were so very un-goblinlike. It didn't fit with his grotesque appearance. The voice would be better matched to a greedy business tycoon in a suit.  

The beginning was neat because it ties right into The Lord of the Rings, the film. The Hobbit (film) opens with Bilbo and Frodo on the morning of Bilbo's big party. We see Frodo run off to meet Gandalf on his way into town, and we know what will follow in The Lord of Rings: "You're late." "A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means too." Remember? If we stopped The Hobbit there, and put on The Lord of the Rings, well, it would flow seamlessly.

I really am glad they kept so many of the opening lines and dialogue from the book.

The song about the dishes, as much as I could catch, was right from the book.

His button's popped off when he escaped from the cave! Yay!

Gandalf said to Bilbo (loose paraphrase): "Courage is not killing people, but deciding who to let live."
Sure enough, along comes the Gollum scene. Although they changed Bilbo's escape from the cave a little, they emphasized the point that Bilbo lets Gollum live when he could have killed him. They made it very clear. Bilbo sees the pain and lostness in Gollum's eyes when he was about to slay him and makes the decision not to kill Gollum. This scene then fits in very well with this dialogue from The Lord of the Rings (film):
 Frodo, "It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him while he had the chance." 
Gandalf replies, "Pity? It was pity that staid Bilbo's hand. There are many that die who deserve life, and many who live that deserve death. Can you give it to them Frodo? Do not be to eager to deal out death and judgment."

While this dialogue is not in the books, these scenes work well in the movies and add a powerful lesson in the midst of scenes of heroes slaying enemies (where fighting is glorified). Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the battle scenes, I'm glad though, that this point is made so that we all remember that strength and courage is not defined by the number of heads one has chopped off.

Another Lord of the Rings tie-in: Gandalf said to Bilbo, "Your home is behind you, the world ahead." These lines are almost straight from Pippin's Song. "Home is behind, the world ahead." In the book, Pippin does not sing for Denethor, but many of the other songs the hobbits sing were written by Bilbo. So, this is a strange sort of book/movie mixed-up tie-in. It's like Bilbo later wrote Pippin's Song after his adventure, but you wouldn't know that unless you read the books.

"I'm going on an adventure!"

I also love the moment when Bilbo is running down the path and a hobbit asks him were he is going. "I'm going on an adventure!" he cries with the contract flapping in his raised hand.

Twice, Thorin used a large piece of tree trunk (small log) as a shield. My brother pointed out that could be how he got his name: Thorin Oakenshield. Interesting, it's not in the books, but it's interesting that they made the movie detailed enough that even his name has a back story.

A surmise about the next installment: that big rock the eagles drop them off at looks like a bear. I think that must be the Carrock of Beorn. Which implies they skipped the night at the eagle eyries (not a big deal) and just had them dropped off at the Carrock immediately.

The Hobbit

Who's excited for the film The Hobbit? I am, for sure, and I know many others are! Ever since he directed The Lord of the Rings, fans have been hoping that Peter Jackson would undertake The Hobbit.

Not only is Peter Jackson one of the directors, but Sir Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm (as an older Bilbo), Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, and Christopher Lee all playing the same roles as they did in The Lord of the Rings. Wonderful news!

Bilbo, from The Hobbit

However, from the production videos and trailers I've seen, the film seems to diverge quite a bit from the book. Galadriel does not even appear in The Hobbit. All the wizard action (Involving Radagast the Brown and Saruman the White) happens simultaneously as the action of the story, but is off-set so to speak: Tolkien never takes us there. We don't see the defeat of the Necromancer, we just hear about it. 

Secondly, I never would have pictured the village of Dale as an Italian/southern France village. It's cute though.

Thirdly, they added to the dwarves' characters. Ok, fine. Sounds entertaining. 

Fourthly, they got the beards wrong for the most part. In the film some of them don't really have beards, they have glorified mustaches. However, they are dwarves, therefore they ought to have full beards. Thorin Oakenshield from the book would be ashamed to go about with as little a beard as they gave him in the movie.

Kili

Aragorn

Fili and Kili, being younger, can certainly have smaller beards (in my opinion), but I think they should be longer and fuller than men generally wear theirs. Kili and Thorin in the movie look rather like Rangers or Men of Gondor.  In this photo, Kili looks like he could be a brother to Aragorn.
Here are pictures for comparison's sake.


Full, long beards are part of what make dwarves, dwarves (see The Blog That Time Forgot if you don't believe me). In the book, The Hobbit, Dwalin at least was able to tuck his beard in his belt: "It was a dwarf with a blue beard tucked into a golden belt" (page 7). Once, when Thorin was very angry, he said to Gandalf, "May your beard wither." Thorin was furious, showing that this is one of the worst things he could possibly wish upon another. The state of one's beard was a matter of pride. To loose one's beard would be like losing one's "man-card,"  or in this case, one's "dwarf-card."

The Blog that Time Forgot 
This blog goes into a detailed textual analysis of the dwarves' beards in the book. You can skip down to the section about beards. Basically his argument agrees with my observations from the book: dwarves should have beards and that beards are a source of pride.

In a production (behind-the-scenes) video one of the people on set suggests that maybe Fili and Kili can't grow beards yet. The above blog mentions this, and in addition to that blogger's analysis, I'd like to point out that Fili and Kili, most certainly did have beards in the book, "It was two dwarves, both with blue hoods, silver belts, and yellow beards" (page 8).

Sources:
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Ballantine Books, published 1965.
The Hobbit (Official Site)
The Lord of the Rings (Official Site)
All photos come from the downloads sections.

Brave - a Mother and Daughter Movie / a Film about Family

Bagpipes, clans, kilts, haggis, highlander cattle, a Clydesdale horse (named Angus),"stubborn," fighting between the clans, highland games in which is featured the caber toss, tug-o-war, and Scottish dancing. These are all elements of Scottish culture that were woven into the Disney-Pixar film, Brave.

However, beneath the exterior is a tale that touches on the relationship between many mothers and daughters of just about any nation. The family is one that mirrors many across America. At any rate, I can certainly see mine. It's the mother who runs the family. She is an intelligent perfectionist and visionary who "knows" how everything must be done and what everyone should pursue in their lives.  Fortunately for me, my mother is better at listening than Merida's.  Like Elinor, my mother tries to keep everyone "civilized" when the rest (father included) are goofing off at the dinner table and trying to get her to let us have desserts!  Dad gets himself a big bowl of ice cream and my brothers say, "Dad did it, so why can't we?"

The father, Fergus, is big and strong, loves his family and is a great protector. However, he is lacking in leadership and courage in dealing with family affairs. He didn't know how to handle the betrothal of his daughter. He didn't know how to tell her that suitors were coming and that she was about to be betrothed to one of them and he didn't know what to say to the clans when they arrived. His favorite past-times are fighting and storytelling. He doesn't know how to lead unless it is into a battle. There are many fathers who are good at doing their job to sustain their families but don't know how to approach relationships their daughters have with men.

The mother, Elinor, is the one who ran things, she knew what to say and had expectations for everyone. When her husband got involved in a brawl (and was having a grand ole time) she just gave him a look and he knew she was disappointed. So then, he started making sheepish excuses and then simply said, "I'm sorry."  




Merida, the daughter, doesn't like being ruled over by her mother. It's typical, the daughter doesn't want to be the perfect lady her mother tries to get her to be. Merida wants to run free, have adventures, explore nature, ride, and practice arms!

The triplet brothers are funny little things. They are loved by all in the family despite their pranks. 

Both the mother and daughter had to learn lessons.  This is one of the best things about the film. Many films undermine parental authority, but this one shows both as making mistakes.  It also shows how hasty, desperate actions can lead to events no one wants. How horrible would you feel if your mother turned into a bear and may remain a bear forever because of your actions, accidental as they may be? 

Brave is a great film because it makes you think.

They say, "you never know what you got til it's gone."

Let's not let that happen in our lives. We can do this by learning from Merida and her family.

I am happy to say that the film has a happy ending! Merida and Elinor have a healed relationship. A brighter future is in store for Merida, her family, and the lads from the other clans!

All pictures are downloads made available by Disney on their website: http://disney.go.com/brave/index.html#/downloads/standard/

The Road goes ever on and on without me

Photo Credit: Edana A.

"The Road goes ever on and on
 Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the road has gone,
and I must follow if I can,
 Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
 Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say."
~ from The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Photo Credit: Edana A.

Sometimes I want to just take a road and follow it all the way from it's source to it's end, wherever that may be, and just see what happens to it. Does it grow larger or smaller, what places does it pass through, does it meander through the woods and little towns, does it pass through big towns or open country? Where does it go?

Sometimes my heart cries out in restless desperation because I cannot follow all roads (usually when I am sight-seeing and exploring), I cannot go around every corner. On and on, the road and the land go, and I always wonder, "what's around the bend, what's over the next hill, the next stone?"

Just as in the poem, the road goes on ahead without me, and I chase it with my small feet, but then I meet a fork, or some side path, or I have to go back for I have neither time nor energy to keep going.

Bilbo spoke of being "swept" of his feet, and he told Frodo, "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step into the Road and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.  Do you realize that this is the very path that goes through Mirkwood, and if you let it, it might take you to the Lonely Mountain or even further to worse places?"

Sometimes you leave the house and you don't know what will happen in the course of the day or were you will go, you may have a destination, but that may change, or other destinations are added, or a wrong turn will bring you to sights and places you didn't expect to go. It's like life.  

Like little hobbits, we live out our humdrum lives, but maybe we will be called to a higher purpose and go to lands we never dreamed of.

Photo Credit: Edana A.

Counts, Captains, and Comparisons

Athos, also known as le comte de La Fère (Count of Fère), and Captain Haddock of the Tintin cartoons have some circumstantial similarities.
However, I do not think that Hergé was copying Dumas in any way.  The similarities are mostly circumstantial and there is nothing to indicate that Hergé modeled Haddock after Athos.

Ok, here we go:

1. Both men are deplorable alcoholics who can consume large quantities of alcohol.
2. Captain Haddock is a sailor while Athos was destined for a mariner's life by his father until plans changed for one reason or another.
3. Both come from noble families.  Captain Haddock is the descendant of one Sir Francis Haddock. Athos is the Count of Fère.
4. Both went through hard times.  Athos fled from his lands and title after he tried to kill Milady. He became a musketeer and during this period of his life he drank excessively.  When Tintin first meets Haddock, he is the captain of a ship in name only. The first-mate calls the shots. He is also extremely drunk on the occasion (and frequently is throughout all the books).
5. Both men move onto estates.  Athos moves into Bragelonne Castle and takes up again the noble name of, le comte de La Fère (Count of Fère).  Haddock moves into his ancestral abode, Marlinspike Hall. 
6. Both have close young friends with whom they go on dangerous adventures. Athos has D'Artagnan who is like a son too him. Captain Haddock has Tintin. Although they don't have a father/son relationship, they are good friends and feel responsible for each other.
7. The Tintin comics and Dumas' musketeer novels are tales of adventure, intrigue, danger, and travel. 
8.The stories in which these men figure were originally written in French.  Dumas was from France; Hergé, from Belgium.

I hope this was interesting! 

A photo I took on the Atlantic off the coast of Bretagne

The Musketeer Series: Post 5, Athos

Athos always seemed to command respect. This is surprising when looking at some of his behavior for he was a heavy drinker and ridiculous gambler in the first book. However he is good with the blade, brave, and possesses nerves of steel. He speaks little, but is observant. This dual feature is one that marks him as a Pleg-Mel.  One of my brothers is the same way.  Dumas tells us directly that Athos is phlegmatic, but doesn't say that he is melancholy, however his sensitivity and deep emotions are evidence of this.

Calm

Phlegmatics are quiet people with a dry wit who love peace and tranquility yet can be tenaciously stubborn (Littauer). They also have a desire to be respected because they can be overlooked due to their quiet steadiness (Littauer). They hide their emotions (Personality Plus 65) and are natural mediators (Littauer). One Phlegmatic flaw is "in-action."  Because they love to take their ease, they are not seeking advancement or trying to finish lots of things like a Choleric. Instead they are content to sit were they fall. According to Littauer, they think of all potential actions in terms of energy conservation: they try to use as little as possible.  When the four friends were in need of money to buy equipment for the military campaign they were about to embark on, each employed their own strategy for finding it.  Athos' was quite unique. He decided that he would do nothing and stay at his lodgings waiting for money to come to him (Dumas). If it did not, then he would find some of Richelieu's soldiers to fight with and die in an honorable dual (Dumas).  The reason for this tactic: he did not want to "risk a step to find equipment." In other words, he did not want to waste a step. He would rather not "waste" energy trying to find equipment but would wait, and if it did not come he would go and die fighting in a duel for the king and save himself the trouble of finding equipment. Certainly eccentric, yet definitely Phlegmtatic.  

Phlegmatics can also be very obstinate (Your Personality Tree 49). Most of the time they just don't care enough to be obstinate, but when they do, they are immovable. Regarding the incident above, Dumas says, "He was resolved to not risk a step to equip himself." To this resolution Athos held firm.  Another time, Athos went ballistic and shut himself and his servant in a wine cellar for 15 days. He more than avenged himself for being falsely accused of paying with fake money (Dumas 358,361).    

One Phleg-Mel trait is the dislike of conversation.  I say this because both my brother and Athos possess this attitude. Athos economizes his words and communicates with his servant by gestures and even rebukes his servant for speaking aloud without permission. In regards to his servant, his philosophy seemed to be, "why use two words when one will suffice? And why use any words when a hand signal will suffice?"  For some Phlegmatics, this desire to cut back on talk stems perhaps stems from their desire to avoid conflict. Discussion can easily turn to debate or to uncomfortable topics. Littauer finds that Melancholies like to work alone because conversation slows progress (Personality Plus 34). For me, as a Melancholy, I find that this is true and that conversation disrupts my thought process for I can't think when people are talking loudly, even if they're not specifically addressing me. And so, putting all of this together I surmise that speech is disruptive to the Phlegmatic's desire for peace and the Melancholy's desire to think deeply.  Phleg-Mels have no use for useless chatter: it requires a response from them which is work and disrupts their thoughts which are engaged on a deeper level and are more important (in their eyes) than small talk.
Littauer tells us that Phelgmatics are not emotional and hide their emotions.  Melancholies on the other hand, are emotional but often hide their feelings deep inside themselves, subtly giving clues or suddenly exploding when they can't take it any longer (atleast, that's what I do).  Athos hides his feelings and can act very calm when he is afraid.  Dumas remarks multiple times the "Sang-froid" of Athos, in other words, his ability to be "calm, cool, and collected," which Littauer in turns declares to be a Phlegmatic trait (with these words exact).
In the sequel Athos received a short visit from his son Raoul. Raoul asked his permission to go and visit some friends which Athos lovingly granted, but as soon as Raoul left the room he laments how quickly the lad's thoughts turned from him to others.  Typical Melancholy. Giving to those they love even when it pains them and feeling hurt about it. They read farther into little things others might not even notice and take them to heart. (Based on Littauer).
There is so much that could be said, so much more that could be analyzed, but this is pretty long already so I think I'll leave off here.... ; )

 « car au milieu de l’effroi général lui seul avait conservé ce calme et ce sang-froid de grand seigneur qui ne le quittaient jamais » -Dumas

"For, in the middle of the general terror, he alone had conserved this calm and this composure of a great lord that quitted him never. -Dumas (Translation by Edana A.)

            

The Musketeer Series: Post 3, Porthos

« Parce que, Porthos parlant plus haute que nous tous, il l’a pris pour le chef » -D'Artagnan

Porthos is Sanguine. Sanguines are talkative and like to draw attention to themselves (Littauer, Personality Plus 14, 22).  They also like new things, like presents or clothing, and dislike a structured routine, they like things to be exciting and fun (153-154) Florence Littauer (a Sanguine herself) says that Sanguine women want lots of clothes, money, and parties (154). She also said that even just little gifts will make them happy so when her husband brings home a loaf of bread he presents it to her as if it were a gift, even though it is really just groceries (Littauer). 

The first time we see Porthos in the book, he is surrounded by a group expressing his ideas loudly while wearing his new golden baldric (Dumas 251).  Here, Porthos is exhibiting three very typical Sanguine behaviors: talking loudly, wearing a new and beautiful baldric that also draws more attention to himself, and finally, he is the center of attention. As a Sanguine, he must have been thoroughly enjoying himself! 

Porthos' Sanguine personality is visible in other occurrences. We see his loud, attention drawing characteristics during the quest for the diamond ferrets.  One of Richelieu's spies singled out Porthos as the leader of the group because he spoke louder than everyone else (Dumas 251).  Florence Littauer wrote, "The most obvious way to spot a Popular Sanguine is by listening in on any group and locating the one who is the loudest and chatting the most constantly" (Littauer, Personality 21).

I already mentioned that the Sanguine's love of new clothes. I think a fairly accurate way to describe them would be "spiffy dressers."  At any rate, Porthos is one for Dumas mentions several times that Porthos dressed well and it was evident that he had a taste for the show of luxury. One time d’Artagnan finds Porthos dressed in "magnificent clothes covered with splendid embroideries" and looking at himself in the mirror (783).  Going back to that first scene with the golden baldric, Dumas uses the word « bizarrerie » to describe his costume. This words can mean, "eccentricity, peculiarity, or strangeness," Dumas continues by saying that this outfit drew the general attention and that the crowd admired his baldric with enthusiasm. This baldric was decorated with embroidered with gold that shone.  So, we see that Porthos is dressing quite Sanguine. 

Sanguines love to talk and listen to themselves talk, be the center of attention, and perform for others.  While Sanguines exhibit the above characteristics, their main drive in life is to have fun and when they are doing these things, they are having fun. In Vingt Ans Après, Porthos is wealthy but unhappy because he is bored. D'Artagnan discovers this fact and appeals to his Sanguine nature with promises of adventure and that the title of Baron will be bestowed on him if he will join him in the service of Cardinal Mazarin.  

The Three Musketeers