After much contemplation, I decided to stick with the word 'females' in the blog title because I liked the sound of the fricatives. However, I do believe I sound like Martin Goodman- not entirely sure if this is a good thing or bad thing?
Recently I have been thinking about how wonderful women are, and it leads me down the path of considering the character's from the books I have read and how the women in these stories have impacted my life and my own view on the world. Having read quite a bit over the years it was hard to narrow down but I have managed to pick five!
It was quite the task but I had to consider all of my favourite books and go from there! Some may come to your surprise but others probably not! I hope my list allows you to think of your favourite fictional females! Is there any of mine you agree or disagree with?
1) Katniss Everdeen - The Mockingjay, the absolute gem and my favourite fictional lady of all time. I first read The Hunger Games in my early teens, maybe before, and as one book closed and another opened I remember myself thinking 'What a badass!' A true heroine who I wanted to grow up like. She refused to follow rules and lead a rebellion, we see many women in the media today letting their inner Everdeen roar.
2) Molly Weasley - The mother to all! Admittedly I am not so keen on the writer due to her transphobia but I have always separated the writer from the work. Harry Potter has given me so much light through the years and is still one of my favourite universes in the world, I am not condoning the writer's opinions or actions- I am just ignoring her existence as I don't want her tarnishing the HP Universe. Had to a disclaimer that but back to Molly. I love her caring nature, she doesn't think twice about taking another son underwing, even if he isn't blood-related. I also have kudos to her for dealing with such a big family, especially with jokers like Fred & George. I have mad respect for this lady.
3) Tris - We had to see this one coming, I love Tris. She is a character I hold very dear to my heart. The resilence of her character and sheer determination puts me at awe. In the first book, we see her almost fail her training for Dauntless, she refuses to let this happen. I think another reason Tris made number 3 is her unjustly death, I have still yet to recover and it just plain angers me. Her brother is a traitor back and forth, and yet she sacrifices herself- you have to respect that but it was heartbreaking. I remember reading the ending of Allegiant and sobbing out loud. My chest hurt and it was hard. I was so angry at Caleb and so heartbroken for Four. Even now when I reread the trilogy I still cry and all those feelings coming back just like they did when I first read them.
4) Mrs Havisham - yes that spinster from Dicken's Great Expectations. An odd one I know, but I cannot help but admire her for how long she can keep a grudge. She is jolted as a young bride which leads to her decay. I love that she just decides to let everything rot, she was done with the world. Refuses to seep back into reality. There is just something so beautiful about her. There was something wicked about her forming Estella into a heartbreaker, it was a very odd dynamic but she wanted Estella to hurt men the way a man hurt her. Not a great thing but lowkey love it and I know I shouldn't.
5) Rosalind - from Shakespeare's As You Like It. If I am completely honest, there aren't many female characters in Shakespeare's plays that I am overly thrilled by. Some are bores or just too soppy. Rosalind is the exception, she is such a wonderful character. It is very rare you see a female character so prominent in a Shakespeare play. She is such a strong character with the ability to subvert the limitations that society imposes on her as a woman. She disguises herself as a young man in order to tutor and woo the man she loves teaching him ways to love and show passion. It's such a fun play and plays with gender is such a farcical manner.
