March 8 is International Women's Day. The fact that women, like so many minorities and endangered species, need a day to mark them is an indication of how far we have to go.
Yet, it would be good to mark the day in some way - so how about celebrating it with a poll on our favourite female characters from Literature. Women and girls who have made us laugh and cry, who have made us rethink the notion of our world, who have stayed with us long after the last page was turned, who turn up in our conversations unbidden because, in the manner of good friends, they have become one.
Whom will you vouch and vote for? Let's get the poll going!
Here I go, in no particular order:
- Draupadi, from The Mahabharata
For her fearlessness and tenacity; for not being a figurehead but instead being a prime mover of the epic; for standing up for herself at a time when a woman's role was to serve her husband
- Jo, from Little Women
Oh Jo! What would we do without you? You were an early role model on what a girl could aspire for - you showed me that dreams had to be limitless. As Louisa May Alcott said: "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship." Yay!
- Scout Finch, from To Kill A Mockingbird
I wouldn't find a better narrator - plucky, observant, tough, and such fun! How many folks have the self-awareness to make this remark: "I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year."
- Portia, from Merchant of Venice
Portia is the archetypal heroine, beautiful, intelligent and brave - what's not to like? And how many people can stand up in court and deliver such a fine speech?
The quality of mercy isn not strain'd.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
- Katniss Everdeen, from The Hunger Games trilogy
The "girl on fire" is one fierce personality. Strong, independent, a bit of a loner, Katniss is Jo reincarnated in the 21st century!
"I'm the best shot you've got!"
- Scarlett O'Hara, from Gone With The Wind
For her fierce determination and her love for her home. For her refusal to be a "good" girl. "Why does a girl have to be so silly to catch a husband?"
- Clarice Starling, from Silence of The Lambs
Daddy's girl, intelligent, brave, a rookie cop who catches a deadly killer - Clarice Starling, you're one hell of a female character!
"Your anagrams are showing, Doctor. Louis Friend? Iron sulfide, also known as fool's gold."
Yet, it would be good to mark the day in some way - so how about celebrating it with a poll on our favourite female characters from Literature. Women and girls who have made us laugh and cry, who have made us rethink the notion of our world, who have stayed with us long after the last page was turned, who turn up in our conversations unbidden because, in the manner of good friends, they have become one.
Whom will you vouch and vote for? Let's get the poll going!
Here I go, in no particular order:
- Draupadi, from The Mahabharata
For her fearlessness and tenacity; for not being a figurehead but instead being a prime mover of the epic; for standing up for herself at a time when a woman's role was to serve her husband
- Jo, from Little Women
Oh Jo! What would we do without you? You were an early role model on what a girl could aspire for - you showed me that dreams had to be limitless. As Louisa May Alcott said: "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship." Yay!
- Scout Finch, from To Kill A Mockingbird
I wouldn't find a better narrator - plucky, observant, tough, and such fun! How many folks have the self-awareness to make this remark: "I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year."
- Portia, from Merchant of Venice
Portia is the archetypal heroine, beautiful, intelligent and brave - what's not to like? And how many people can stand up in court and deliver such a fine speech?
The quality of mercy isn not strain'd.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
- Katniss Everdeen, from The Hunger Games trilogy
The "girl on fire" is one fierce personality. Strong, independent, a bit of a loner, Katniss is Jo reincarnated in the 21st century!
- Scarlett O'Hara, from Gone With The Wind
For her fierce determination and her love for her home. For her refusal to be a "good" girl. "Why does a girl have to be so silly to catch a husband?"
- Clarice Starling, from Silence of The Lambs
Daddy's girl, intelligent, brave, a rookie cop who catches a deadly killer - Clarice Starling, you're one hell of a female character!
"Your anagrams are showing, Doctor. Louis Friend? Iron sulfide, also known as fool's gold."
nice writeup
ReplyDeleteNice write. Scarlett O'Hara! The trials and tribulations she underwent still lingers in my heart.
ReplyDelete