What is Character, and an Exercise- Ehn

In keeping with the primacy Ehn places on image, he puts character, I'd say, in the SERVICE of image.  He is definitely operating from a model that subverts the heirarchy we inherit from Aristotle (Above all these is action, character next...etc. etc.)

Anyway.  Says Ehn:

Character is the space that allows distinct image to become personal.  Character is the space between images.  "Hamlet is the logic of landscape that puts images in relationship to each other."

I think what Ehn is saying is that "Hamlet" or the word on the page that is then embodied by an actor playing "Hamlet," exists so that we can have the arras scene, so that we can have Yorick's skull, so that we can have a flight of angels singing ["him"] to ["his"] rest.  In Ehn's definition, character is, in essence, a negative space.

An exercise he gave us to get at this, and to MAKE A CHARACTER:

1) Take two objects.  A pen, say, and a bottle of hand sanitizer.

2) Each is a character.  Describe that character.

3) Describe the relationship BETWEEN these two characters.

4) Just kidding.  These two characters are the SAME character, with the relationship described.  WHO IS THIS CHARACTER?

So think of a character as a TERRITORY, as a VARIETY OF POSSIBILITIES.