Thursday, February 28, 2008

Booking Through Thursday




Here's this week's Booking Through Thursday question--a good one, I thought:

Who is your favorite female lead character? And why? (And yes, of course, you can name more than one . . . I always have trouble narrowing down these things to one name, why should I force you to?)

This is tough, there are so many.  I love Anne Elliott and Elizabeth Bennett, because they're funny and smart.  I like several other Austen heroines, but these two remain my favorites.  I also love the fallible but gutsy Jane Eyre.  Agatha Christie's Miss Marple is pretty lovable.  I like Hermione Granger as a role model for teens because she's a young woman who is not afraid to be smart.  When I was a kid I loved spunky and brave characters like Jo March from Little Women and Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables.  I could go on and on...

But I'd rather hear who your favorite female characters are!

13 comments:

Kathleen said...

I agree with what you said about Hermoine! My post is up.

Anonymous said...

Definitely loved Jo March and Anne when I was young. I would add Meg Murray from A Wrinkle in Time to that list. As for adult heroines, couldn't agree more with Elizabeth Bennett.
It's hard to come up with a contemporary choice...

Gentle Reader said...

callista--good choice! I loved your post and the link to the true story. I'm going to show it to my son, who just read Island of the Blue Dolphins in school. It was such a great book, I remember it to this day and I read it probably 25 years ago.

verbivore--Meg Murray--good choice! I think she belongs on that list, too! It is harder to come up with a contemporary choice among the adults, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to see Anne Elliot get a mention! I went with Elinor Dashwood for my Austen pick but Anne would've been second I think.

Anonymous said...

Anne Elliott and Elizabeth Bennett seem to be the most beloved characters. They are memorable. I pick Anna Karenina and a couple others that are not as well known.

Literary Feline said...

Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Eyre made my list as well. I tried to keep my list down to five, otherwise I'm sure both Hermione and Anne Elliot would have made the list as well. :-)

melanie said...

Well, my list looks an awful lot like yours. I'd add Celie from The Color Purple - in a don't let the man get you down sort of way. ;)
my modern day choice might be Cornelia in Love Walked In - nothing earth shattering, just has her head glued on straight.

Gentle Reader said...

jennifer--Elinor Dashwood is pretty great, too--she should be on my list. And I looked at yours--I like Captain Janeway, too!

matt--Anna Karenina is one of my favorite books, but she's such a sad character--she is fascinating, it's true!

literary feline--I think it's time for me to read The Mists of Avalon--Morgaine made quite a few people's lists!

melanie--Ooh, I like Celie, too. And I'll have to check out Love Walked In...thanks!

Bybee said...

Cathy from East of Eden.

No, not really. I'm joking.

I like Sister Luke in The Nun's Story.

Dewey said...

Oh! Jo! I would have picked her, too. I loved her. And Anne Shirley is also a great choice. :)

Gentle Reader said...

bybee--Lol on Cathy. And oh my goodness, a blast from the past. I read The Nun's Story when I was a young teenager and I was so blown away by it--it really got to me! I can't believe I had forgotten about that book--thanks for reminding me.

dewey--I love Jo, and Anne, and verbivore also mentioned Meg Murray from A Wrinkle in Time--all female characters who inspired me when I was young, and continue to inspire me now!

Anonymous said...

Just to check in on you and hope everything is alright. Must be busy with everything eh!?

Gentle Reader said...

matt--got sick and then got busy--thanks so much for checking in!