madge as the anti-maysilee: rebels in their own—equally important—ways
I better not catch y’all characterizing queen madge like queen maysilee !!!!
canon maysilee reminds me a lot of how a lot of fans interpret madge: a snooty, high femme mean girl who is eager to rebel and doesn’t take shit from anyone. but based on the text… that simply isn’t true.
other than the scene we first meet her, where she snaps at gale, madge is both described and depicted as being very down to earth, dare I say even shy—certainly lonely. katniss says she isn’t snooty, outright, and we know katniss describes people brutally honestly at times. if there was some secret snooty side to madge, katniss has no reason not to tell us.
she also describes madge as dressing rather plainly, and that the dress she wears on reaping day isn’t something she’d normally wear. additionally, every single act of rebellion we see from madge is quiet and personal. she gives katniss the pin, the sneaks katniss her father’s newspapers, she brings the morphling for gale, even being friends with katniss in and of itself. she isn’t slapping escorts or giving people tokens, but she is doing something important by helping katniss spread her wings and being there for her when she needs a friend most. her acts don’t need to be vibrant for them to make a difference.
and the line I always go back to when describing madge’s importance: “madge, quiet and brave. the girl that gave me the pin that gave me a name.”
in my opinion, madge is the anti-maysilee, and that’s good! not only do they not need to rebel in the same way to justify their impact on the narrative, but also it’s good to show the different types of rebellion and their equal importance.
in short: they’re kind, brave, and (in my opinion) lesbians, but that’s where their similarities stop.
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