With so many characters on one show, it’s hard to choose the one I identify with the most. One must also consider that ten years have passed since the Pilot first aired. Since then I have changed, as well as whom I identify with. I guess the best answer would be that through the years, I have been able to identify with each character in some way.
When the Pilot aired in 1993, I was nine-years-old. I was always able to find a way that I could identify with the Cooper children. Father’s Day remains a very heart-wrenching episode for me. My father, like Ethan Cooper, ran out on my family when I was young. He returned twice in my life with promises of a change of heart. Both times, he left without saying goodbye. I also had a situation very similar to Cooper vs. Quinn. While my parents never went to court, my brothers and I were almost separated from my mother. This was one of those times my father left without saying goodbye.
As the children grew up, I found myself identifying less with Matthew and Brian. Perhaps it was that they were boys, I don’t know. Colleen however, we were very similar. I had problems with boys (Cattle Drive) and I rebelled against my parents (Mothers and Daughters). I especially recall when she was accepted into college, but worried about how she would pay for it (The Iceman Cometh). I went through the same thing before I started college, fortunately without the bad investment. Colleen and I were even more alike after she went away to school. She and I both found that we loved the freedom, yet missed home, returning as often as possible.
But I am certainly not Colleen’s double. Although I started out as a biology major, with an emphasis in veterinary medicine, I am now an English major. This is how I relate to Dorothy. Dorothy and I love to write. She does it for a living, I hope to do the same. We only differ in the kinds of writing we do. She owns her own newspaper, I hope to be a manuscript reader and editor for a publishing company. As I explained it to some friends, I would be the one who decided Dorothy’s book was worth publishing, and then I’d publish it. But I will always treasure “Dorothy’s Book.” Although I never wrote about my friends specifically, some people were not pleased when they found out I was writing a book. They had none of the arguments that the people of Colorado Springs had, yet until the understood what was in my heart, they were unable to support me. I feel that Dorothy went through many of the same feeling I did at the time. Luckily, for the both of us, our friends came around and were able to be happy for our accomplishments.
I identify with Sully because of his love of the Native Americans. My friends have often said it’s a good thing that I don’t live in the same time period as the Indian wars. They seem to think I would have either gotten myself killed or arrested. And it’s probably true. I am a huge advocate for the Native Americans and would have done everything in my power, and possibly tried things out of my power, to help them survive.
This leads into my ability to identify with Michaela. She too was an advocate for the Native Americans, but her passion went much further. Michaela Quinn stood up for what she believed in, no matter what the consequences. I share many of the same opinions Michaela did. She stood for equal treatment of every person no matter their race or sex. There are a few episodes that stand out as key examples of the similarities between Michaela and myself. In each of these examples, I would have done or said very similar things. In the Prisoner, she helps Cloud Dancing escape. In Bad Water, she defies the law to find out what is making her friends ill. In The Body Electric, she works to make a man feel welcome, when he is not. In many episodes, we see Michaela as a good friend. She tries to help her friends when they need her, even when their situation seems impossible.
In small ways, I identify with some of the other characters. Grace and I share the love of cooking, and doing so for others on a regular basis. My friends are especially pleased when I make apple pies. I’m not as big into the meatloaf, but fried chicken is one of my specialties.
I identify with Robert E because he is a good friend and similarly, has a good friend. He and Sully have one of those relationships that you can’t really explain. They are there for each other when one needs to talk, needs advice, or needs someone to believe in them. I too have friendships like this.
As I said, there are ways I can identify with every character. Some are more evident then others, but I still find myself saying “Yea I’ve been there” or “I agree” at least twice an episode. The characters on Dr. Quinn were so real. They made it seem as if their situations had really happened. I think this is one of the reasons it was so loved. There is something about every characters and every episode that you can relate to your life. I know that’s one reason I love it so much.