#fictional heroines

[fluffycakesistainted]

The Final Girl is the modern descendant of the classic Gothic Heroine and I just think that’s neat. 🖤

[dpillustrations]

Top Five - Fictional Heroines

Today’s Tumblr post comes from direct inspiration from the YouTube channel of Phoenician Rises! This channel is created by my lovely cousin, Alexis Johnson, and it is an inspirational channel for all creatives! I would highly recommend anyone, not just creatives, to check out her blog as you’ll find encouragement to get through the daily grind! 

In her video #TopFive - Fictional Heroines she lays out who are her top favorite ladies in all of fiction and why. She excludes the superhero genre just to make the choosing a little easier, but she’ll get to her favorites in those too in another video, so check back for that one!

As part of the challenge, I’m going to list my top 5 favorite ladies too, and I did a sketch/art piece for each. These aren’t ranked even though I’m listing them in an order, but my number one is most definitely my number one. 

5. Sansa Stark

“My skin has turned to porcelain, to ivory, to steel...”

My Lady of Winterfell! I loved her character before it was cool, pretty much almost since the beginning. Undoubtedly she had the spoiled nature of a child who had grown up in safe, prosperous environment of Winterfell, and who spent an unhealthy amounts of time in her make believe wonderland at first. I didn’t think this counted against her by any means, and since then she has proven what she is truly made of. She is seen as weak in the eyes of many because she is a proper lady who does what she is told, but where others see weakness I see strength. I think this has been proven over and over again as Sansa Stark has been tasked to endure terrible things, and no only survive, but thrive in her survival. Identity is such a strong theme in George R.R. Martin’s books, and I see Sansa Stark’s endurance to maintain her identity, even when she literally has to become someone else, is truly exemplary. I love how despite her penchants for songs of knights and ladies, she doesn’t falter when confronted with the truth. She looks into the eyes of the ugliness and darkness, to not only face it, but often times look beyond it. This is what she tries to do when she becomes Tyrion Lannister’s bride, and she does this with The Hound as well. One of my favorite moments is when she sings for him, this large, terrible man who could rape and kill her so easily and he is the one who succumbs before the innocence of this delicate little bird. Only, she isn’t delicate at all, but has the fierce strength of the North in her. Sansa Stark is an exceptional character in the ASOIAF series, and I think after all is said and done, she might very well win the game of thrones! Queen in the North!

4. Joan Watson

“She rebuilds lives from the ground up. A way to measure her success is by how many careers she has rebuilt and the amount of lives she has saved.”

If you haven’t been watching CBS Elementary, you should be, because it’s amazing. You know what else is amazing? Joan Watson. Sansa is Queen in the North, Joan Watson is Queen of New York! I’m a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, and I think Lucy Lui’s incarnation of the famous sleuth’s loyal friend and biographer is the best ever. In this show she is his sober companion turned apprentice turned consulting detective turned vigilante, but she is ever and always his most loyal friend. I love Joan Watson’s level-headedness, perceptiveness, honesty, compassion, selflessness, and strength. She doesn’t take crap from anyone, and yet maintains a servant’s heart. She loves healing people, saving people - perhaps to a fault - but she never gives up on those she believes in. Another shining aspect to her character? She is modest, truly modest, and doesn’t seek out glory, recognition, or praise, and I think that captures the essence of the character from the canon. Joan Watson only seeks to get the job done, to get the job done right, and be a help to as many people as she can. In the books, Watson is a soldier, and that’s how I see Joan Watson too. She’s a warrior, ready to lay down her life to protect and serve those who are less fortunate or are in need of justice. She is truly exceptional, and Lucy Lui plays her with such marvelous subtlety and elegance. 

3. Molly Gibson

“I wish I could love people as you do, Molly!' “Don't you?” “No. A good number of people love me, I believe, or at least they think they do; but I never seem to care much for any one. I do believe I love you, little Molly, whom I have only known for ten days, better than any one.”

This may be an obscure character for some, but Molly Gibson from Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters is one of my favorite female heroines. She is a humble woman of gentility, discretion, and grace, and everything in her is what I would want to encourage in myself. She is kind and has a servant’s heart, caring for others above herself. One should not mistake this for weakness, however, as Molly is quite resilient. She becomes a strong ballast for everyone involved in the story, and many look to her for strength, encouragement, and sanctuary. Wives and Daughters is a sweet, though sometimes melancholy tale of the struggles of two families and their intertwining stories, and Molly is at the center of the trials and dysfunction - a calm, steady presence. It is in this where her her true strength shines, and little Molly does endure to the end, and is rewarded for her patience and forbearance. She’s actually pretty much perfect, and many might not like that about the character, but I don’t think that makes her unrelatable or a “Molly Sue.” She’s unassuming and down to earth, who struggles and feels like anyone else. She is just very noble and pure of heart. Probably the only fault would be in that she doesn’t speak up for herself often and let’s people take advantage of her goodness, but I think there is much we could learn and praise about this heroine.

2. Katniss Everdeen

“What am I going to do? I take a deep breath. My arms raise slightly - as if recalling the black-and-white wings Cinna gave me - then come to rest at my sides. I’m going to be the Mockingjay.”

While I love Molly Gibson for her perfections, I love Katniss Everdeen for her imperfections. There are incredible strengths in Katniss, to be sure, but what I find fascinating is how much she struggles with herself and with the world. Katniss is fierce, loyal, and inspirational, but she also seeks to control that which she cannot, and is unreasonably stubborn. At the very beginning Katniss only wants one thing, to keep those she loves safe. Noble, yes, and her determination is admirable, but this single goal becomes an obsession to her, a a resilient idea that makes up the core of her being. She seeks this with everything she has within her, even when it is impossible, to the point where it breaks her utterly. The movies presented Katniss’ story in a more positive and noble light, but Katniss’ story is actually a sad one. While the Mockingjay becomes a symbol of revolution and power that ultimately overthrows the totalitarian government - for Katniss, the Mockingjay is actually a place of brokenness. On the one side, Katniss dies in order for others to live, which is worthy, but on the other, Katniss fails herself and those she loves. That is why I call The Hunger Games series 1984 as it should have been, not only for the obvious reasons, but because of Katniss’ transformation into the Mockingjay. In 1984, Winston is the character who struggles against the totalitarian government, and he fights with everything in him, maintaining that he will not break, that he will not bend, that he will not allow Big Brother to win where it counts the most - his spirit. Yet, as we know, he fails, and so too does Katniss. One of my favorite moments in the books is when she is in a depressed, catatonic state after her sister’s death - this one thing - this one thing she tried to keep from happening from the very beginning - but now has failed to do. It is here in this moment when her spirit is broken that she begins to sing. She sings as if the song is being torn from her, she sings in the moment where Katniss dies and the Mockingjay is truly born. 

There are slivers of hope to be sure in her story, but what stood out to me were Katniss’ frailties, painfully and unequivocally human. I think there is much to be learnt from her character even in that. 

1. Jane Eyre

“Still indomitable was the reply: “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad—as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation… . They have a worth—so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane—quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. “Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: THERE I PLANT MY FOOT."

Jane Eyre is my ultimate heroine, the Queen of all Heroines, IMHO. What is truly admirable about Jane is her indomitable spirit, that she never unravels even in the most adverse circumstances. She endures much abuse throughout her childhood, and endures losing (for a time) the only true happiness she has found because of the frailties of the man she loves. Yet despite how many try to will her, bend her, control her, or how circumstances assail against her, Jane always remains Jane. Her spirit is unbreakable. She stands by her God, her principles, and her dignity, and remains untouchable. I don’t believe there really has  been an adaptation of her story that truly depicts her properly. (I think the closest is Charlotte Gainsbourg in the 1996 version.) They usually show her character to be more subdued than she actually she is. She is a quiet, reserved figure, but she is also quite harsh, opinionated, and proud. She loved Rochester deeply and passionately, but she also didn’t take any of his crap, and often spoke her mind about his behavior towards her. She was truly a woman outside her times, and I loved the little aspects of this shining through, like her drawings, the unusual pieces that come from her imagination, or how she makes up her mind based on her own initiative and not caring about what others might perceive of her, i.e. her refusal of accepting St. John River’s proposal and in so doing, being a missionary’s wife - which would have been perceived as the more noble thing. Jane Eye’s internal strength is what I love most about her, and while I would say that I wish we could see more characters like her, there really could only ever be one Jane Eyre.

[auswomenwriters]

“H J”, Modern Heroes and Heroines: What Women Writers Think (nonfiction)

“H J”, Modern Heroes and Heroines: What Women Writers Think (nonfiction)

by “H. J.” “Whatever woman’s place in literature, there is no doubt of one thing – she is climbing to an always increasing height on the platform.” As one of the comparatively few men in a largely feminine audience at last meeting of the Fellowship of Australian writers in Sydney, I came away with mingled feelings of surprise and admiration. Where would you get a quintet of male speakers to…

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[coretemparts]

NEW @WeGotFivePod! Inspired by the blockbuster #WonderWoman, dem boys discuss their favorite fictional heroines! #CTApod #podernfamily Inspired by the recent release of the box office hit, Wonder Woman, dem boys discuss their favorite fictional heroines from pop culture! Send us your Top 5:  Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Email | Voicemail | Website

[sparkitors]

If we here at SparkLife had to sum up our life philosophy in one sentence, it would probably either, "Give us chunky peanut butter or give us death," or, "Ask not what your Sparkitors can do for you, but what you can do for your Sparkitors; now bring us a dozen milkshakes, and don't be stingy with the sprinkles."

Thankfully for everyone, we're not literary heroines, so our words won't be immortalized for future generations. But the words of the brilliant, brave, and unique heroines in this slideshow have transcended time and genre, and now they're here to inspire you—courtesy @thelatestkate‘s gorgeous illos and our peanut butter-covered laptop keyboards.

[sparkitors]

The amazing @mangomini illustrated 5 fab first date outfits for our fave fictional heroines; head to SparkLife to see them in all their glory, and upload these perfectly sized images as wallpaper for your iPhone!

Art by Cindy Mangomini

[amzical]

My Top Ten Fictional Heroines (in no order):

Amelie Poulain

Buffy Summers

Jessica Fletcher

Kaylee Frye

Luna Lovegood

Sydney Bristow

Melanie Hamilton Wilkes

Peggy Carter

Veronica Mars

Phryne Fisher

[the-sinking-spell]

You have enslaved him. You have placed him under some strange, sexual spell. I respect that.