In an effort to honor International Women’s Day, I decided to make a list of fictional women who have proved (in their literary or cinematic way) that women are so much more than the “weaker sex”. None of them were perfect (thus my admiration), none of them asked for notoriety- in fact most of them were reluctant “heroes”, women who had glory thrust into them or were forced to stand their ground. They were ultimately a reflection of the spirit, ideals and creativity of other women or women-supporting men and because of that, in spite of their fictional nature, they should be remembered somehow. Here are a few along with their “foes”.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – fought demons and vampires
Katniss (Hunger Games) – despotic government
Tris (Divergent) – power-hungry ruling group
Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Prejudice) – societal rules
Clary Fray (Mortal Instruments) – demons
Hazel Lancaster (The Fault in Our Stars) – Cancer
Aibileen (The Help) – Bigotry
Liesel Meminger (The Book Thief) – Nazi rule/war
Flavia de Luce (The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie) – crime
M’Lynn (Steel Magnolias) – losing a child
Veronica Mars – criminals and society
Norma Rae – social rule/workplace injustice
Princess Leia (Star Wars) – the Empire and other creeps
Sarah Connor (Terminator) – the machines
Juno – teen pregnancy
Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) – evil and ignorance
And let’s not forget our animated sisters, Mulan and Brave
And for a few of my real-life idols, here goes a great big hurrah!
Mother Teresa, Malala Yousafzai, Anne Frank, Rosa Parks, Clara Barton, Susan B. Anthony, J.K.Rowlings, and Ruby Bridges. Thank you for being such an inspiration.
Author Natalina Reis 