This is quite simply true. There may well be other ways to express character but nothing expresses it better than action. As Wittgenstein said, the human body is the best picture of the human soul and nothing tells us of the character of a person better than what they do with their body.
Long before F. Scott Fitzgerald, the authors of medieval romances had figured this out. When Roland meets some evil character holding a damsel hostage, he does not deliberate. He also does not wonder if he is up to the task or worry about dying. He also doesn't worry if it might be better to hold off for fear the damsel might get hurt. He simply acts. Out comes his sword, off goes the villains head and Roland carries away the damsel to safety.
Do things sometimes go wrong for Roland? Yup. And when they do he mourns and suffers but he never changes. Next time he faces a crisis, out comes the sword and he is at it again.
The hero of medieval romance played a large part in the development of the Romantic hero. When we see Willoughby, he lives up to that ideal perfectly.
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