Not long ago I had an idea for a writing project. It's still very much in the embryonic stage, and given my life these days, I suspect it might stay there for a while, as so many other projects have been stuck in the mental playground lately. (Sigh. I keep hearing Dorothy Sayers in my head, about the need to actually bring words to paper, since that's the only way they can become incarnate...)
At any rate, as a tiny, tentative first step toward maybe actually DOING something about this idea, I thought I'd throw out this question to elicit your help...when you think of favorite girl characters in fiction, who comes to mind?
I am asking particularly about literary girls, not women...though if you want to share some of your favorite grown-up heroines, I'd love to hear that too. I am particularly interested in hearing which girl characters, say between the ages of 4-18, have had the most staying power for your mind, heart and imagination.
Here's a few that came to mind in my initial brainstorming. Please remind me or introduce me to other characters! Or let me know if you resonate with any of these choices...
Jo March (and the other March sisters from Little Women)
Lucy Pevensie (Chronicles of Narnia)
Hermione Granger (Harry Potter series)
Ramona and Beezus Quimby (Ramona and Henry books)
Sal (from Robert McCloskey's picture books)
Trixie Belden (mystery series)
Petrova Fossil (and Pauline and Posy, from Ballet Shoes)
Bella (Diane Stanley's Bella at Midnight)
Meg Murry (Wrinkle in Time, et al)
Vicky Austin (L'Engle's Austin books)
Miri (Princess Academy)
Eowyn (Lord of the Rings...okay, now I'm cheating on my own guidelines, as I'm guessing she's older than 18?)
Anne Shirley (Anne of the Green Gables series)
Gilly Hopkins (Kat Paterson's book of the same name)
Laura Ingalls (Little House books)
Wanda Petronski (Hundred Dresses)
Betsy Ray (and Tacy and Tib, from Lovelace's Betsy-Tacy series)
Emily (from Lovelace's Emily of Deep Valley)
Jill Pole (Chronicles of Narnia)
Jane Penderwick (and all the Penderwick sisters from the recent Penderwick books)
That's an incredibly off the top of my head listing...I know I'm forgetting some obvious ones (I had a longer list jotted somewhere the other day, but don't have it handy). But it's enough to start. Looking forward to any and all comments!
4 comments:
Lots of great heroines there! I especially agree with Lucy, Anne, Ramona, Hermione and Meg. Anne and Lucy would probably be the first to spring to mind even if I hadn't looked at your list.
To that I'd add Luna Lovegood (who I probably identify with more than any other HP student), Beauty/Belle from Beauty and the Beast (do fairy tales count?), Leslie from Bridge to Terabithia, Pippi Longstocking, Pollyanna, Heidi... There have to be more than that; I'll have to think a bit more!
Ah, good additions. How could I forget Luna? The others are great too, though I must confess I have not read Pollyanna or Heidi (yikes) and it's been years since I've read Pippi. I remember enjoying her a lot though.
Just remembered Clementine (from new Ramona-like series). Hmm. We'll have to keep thinking. I'll have to tell you more about my idea sometime too, though at the moment I am feeling overwhelmed by "ideas" with no time to do anything concrete about them!
I'd like to add Ginny Weasley as well...
And I remember really being enamored of Harriet the Spy when I was about 10... don't know how it would hold up now.
And a big shout out for Jennifer T. from Michael Chabon's "Summerland." What a wonderful, underread book that is!
Great list, Beth!
Ooh, book recommendation! I've not read *Summerland* -- so this makes me want to. I've read one other book by Chabon which I remember liking, but not memorably (which is why I can't recall the title...)
And of course Ginny should be on this list. I didn't mean to forget her or Luna either. And I call myself a Harry Potter fan! :-)
Actually, I miss Harry. Do you?
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