What is "character"? How can it be measured, improved, or built? Are character traits fixed or changeable? Is character innate, or can it be taught? Since at least the time of Aristotle, philosophers, theologians, moralists, artists, and scientists have engaged with the enigma of human character. In Character: The History of a Cultural Obsession , Marjorie Garber points out that character seems more relevant than ever today--the term is omnipresent in discussions of politics, ethics, gender, morality, and the psyche. The question of character arises in virtually every area of modern life. And in each case, there is the same fundamental tension: is it innate or intrinsic to the individual, or something that can be learned or modeled? With her distinctive verve, humor, and vast erudition, Marjorie Garber explores the stakes of these conflations, confusions, and heritages, from ancient Greece to the present day.