Female Characters

[Richier]

To memory, I have never particularly enjoyed any book with a female lead character/perspective. Why should this be?
Can anyone suggest a good one?
I haven't read any Bronte:s or Germaine Greer's Female Eunuch, are these good bets?

[JBI]

A sense of insecurity in embarrassing the feminine, or simply not enough reading. I would think I am perhaps more intrigued by female writers, particularly contemporary female poets, than their male counterparts, simply because of the rush of creativity and uniqueness that has so long been untapped or ignored.

In truth, I think with reading, one should leave there gender, to an extent, at the door, when trying to become engrossed in a work.

In terms of these threads, I think they are rather risky - an inability to enjoy female characters or female work generally implies a general inability to understand or enjoy female expression, or femininity, whatever that means.

Try Alice Munro - her short stories about girls and women are fantastic.

[prendrelemick]

What sort of books have you enjoyed? I'm sure there will be similar works with female protagonists.

[Hank Stamper]

Jane Eyre.. might be an obvious one/cliched... I had to read it for Uni last year and assumed I would hate it but thoroughly enjoyed it.. am a bit more open minded now towards literature that I had previously written off as being aimed at girls!

[JBI]

Marguerite Duras's The Lover is fantastic, but if you don't like female characters or expression, I doubt you would like this one.

[bazarov]

Anna Karenina.

[Richier]

Thanks All for the suggestions. I fancy trying Anna Karenina first, I haven't read Tolstoy yet.

[sytalls]

While others have made good suggestions on books with female leads, I'm intrigued by your question about why you might not enjoy them in general. Or at least, haven't so far.

I had this discussion recently with someone, in sharing my views about what makes a good main character (protagonist, antagonist, hero/heroine, etc.). The qualities needed for a main character, making it possible for him or her to get into trouble, lead the way, and otherwise create the ripples that carry the story forward, aren't difficult to find in women characters. But those qualities can be tricky when it comes to finding an appealing character

:) To be clear, I don't mean a pretty woman; I mean a woman readers will care about and invest in throughout the story, forgetting entirely about gender.

Sometimes authors will force sterotypical "strengths" onto female main characters instead of letting their true natures emerge. For authors who are true to their female leads, the genuine strengths that are revealed or develop as the story progresses are far more intersting to read about and enjoy than forced qualities...and every bit as captivating as male lead characters.

[eyemaker]

Thanks All for the suggestions. I fancy trying Anna Karenina first, I haven't read Tolstoy yet.

Nice choice!:) One of my favorites!

[Gretchen]

Try Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice, maybe even Anne of Green Gables.

[windowfriend]

Also Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. It's excellent. :-) The (female) main character undergoes quite a bit during the course of the book and her development as a character is fascinating.

[Amylian]

I agree with all of those who mentioned 'Pride and Prejudice' as it is one the flued novels by Jane Austin, better than 'persuation' I'd say, and 'Anna Karanina' along with 'Jane Eyre'. I really enjoyed them all.

[Thespian1975]

How about Bleak House? Esther is a good tragic character. She is a tough woman after all she goes through.

[PabloQ]

I'd also recommend The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton and A Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.

[kelby_lake]

To memory, I have never particularly enjoyed any book with a female lead character/perspective. Why should this be?
Can anyone suggest a good one?
I haven't read any Bronte:s or Germaine Greer's Female Eunuch, are these good bets?

Same here, which is a bit ironic considering I'm female. Often female protagonists can be too soppy or too 'masculine'.

Pride and Prejudice is good...sometimes if you have a male and female protagonist, their relationship is interesting and you become interested in both.

What Maisie Knew was good, I thought.

[Emil Miller]

Gervaise Lantier, the female lead character of L'assommoir by Emil Zola, is one of the finest portrayals of a woman in, not only French, but all literature.
If, after reading the novel, you are in any doubt that woman is a finer creation than man, then you will have misunderstood the story.

[PabloQ]

I do think this is an interesting topic, Richier, and it would be interesting what works you've read that you didn't care for and why.

Just in the brief comments so far there are two observations. Works by women with strong or intriguing feminine characters (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, The House of Mirth) are interesting in terms of JBI's observations and point.

Another aspect is how do male authors treat their strong/intriguing female characters. Is is it any different than the female authors and if so how? I don't really know except my experience is that males seem more critical and judmental at times. And the questions can both be flipped around the other way.

Here are some other titles I thought of after my original post:
Three Lives by Gertrude Stein
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets by Stephen Crane

[Niamh]

To memory, I have never particularly enjoyed any book with a female lead character/perspective. Why should this be?
Can anyone suggest a good one?
I haven't read any Bronte:s or Germaine Greer's Female Eunuch, are these good bets?

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. The main character Margaret Hale is a very head strong character, trying to get her opinion heard in a changing society... well she has opinions, but being a woman doesnt mean people will listen. Maybe even Gaskells Ruth for a harsher view of societies regard for women.

Madame Bovary By Gustav Flaubert is another good strong character.

Moll Flanders By Daniel Defoe




How about Bleak House? Esther is a good tragic character. She is a tough woman after all she goes through.

Good choice!

[Pecksie]

Anna Karenina.

I'll second that one, as well as anything by the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen and Edith Wharton.

On a more contemporary note, Ian McEwan's 'Atonement' is a wonderful example of a gripping novel with a detestable (female) main character, whom I hated throughout the book. Which is marvellous, BTW.

[Bitterfly]

I find the question to be a stange one. Indeed, if in films I always complain there's a sore lack of interesting and memorable female leads, in novels one finds tons of them! What about Lawrence's heroines, Gudrun and Ursula of Women in Love or The Rainbow; or Thomas Hardy's protagonists - Bathsheba or Tess, or even Sue? They might sometimes be downtrodden, but they're strong characters - nothing wishy-washy about them, even Tess. Henry James' heroines are often interesting as well. Hester in The Scarlet Letter is wonderful! Or Maggie from A Mill on the Floss, or the Bennet sisters, to take novels written by female authors. In the 18th century, Moll Flanders or Fanny Hill are far from being soppy.

Someone raised the question of their treatment, and that does seem more problematic, especially in Victorian fiction, since strong or unusual women often are punished at the end of the novel, or are "'tamed" (in Jane Eyre's case, as it seems to be).

[Allannah]

I'm obviously going to recommend the, er, obvious lol...Jane Eyre= evident. But jas, I didn't really like Jane that much. She wasn't...feisty or feminist or anything that she could have been. I like her better as an argumentative ten year old tbh ^^ She's very much average.

Another book that I enjoyed recently was Ann Bronte's second novel, the Tenant of Wildfell Hall- and although the protagonist for half of the novel isn't a women, the women who does tell the other half of the story [in diary format, which makes it more accessible] is awesome. It "reverberated through Victorian Britain" as one of the first feminist novels of its kind and for that I like it even better. It's a very easy classic and Helen is perhaps not the most likeable Bronte character, but is certainly interesting. Lol.
Or Northanger Abbey, although I rather despised Catherine; she was very weak and naive and excitable and stuff. Well, anyway.

[Niamh]

On a more contemporary note, Ian McEwan's 'Atonement' is a wonderful example of a gripping novel with a detestable (female) main character, whom I hated throughout the book. Which is marvellous, BTW.

I agree with you about that. She irked me. Although i did feel pity for her at the end of the book, i never liked her.

[Emil Miller]

[QUOTE=Allannah;655089]I'm obviously going to recommend the, er, obvious lol...Jane Eyre= evident. But jas, I didn't really like Jane that much. She wasn't...feisty or feminist or anything that she could have been. I like her better as an argumentative ten year old tbh ^^ She's very much average.

Any young lady seeking to be 'feisty or feminist' in Victorian times would have been given very short shrift.

[Allannah]

^ Not if seemingly written by a man- Acton Bell; Ann Bronte! It was one of the first of its kind.

[kelby_lake]

I don't like female characters who are 'tomboys'. Part of the reason I disliked Mockingbird, because she was such an annoying narrator.

[Emil Miller]

^ Not if seemingly written by a man- Acton Bell; Ann Bronte! It was one of the first of its kind.

You merely prove my point that it was necessary to pose as a man in order to gain recognition.

[Yessie42]

I strongly recommend The Secret Circle Trilogy and Dark Visions Trilogy, both by L.J. Smith. They might be too juvenille for your tase, but you may like them depending on your age! I hope you like them!

[kandaurov]

What about Lawrence's heroines, Gudrun and Ursula of Women in Love or The Rainbow

Yes, yes indeed, just what I intended to suggest. Though as nails they are.

I also found the girl in Living (Henry Green) an interesting character. I can't for the life of me remember her name, though. Help?

[Allannah]

I thought your point is that a feisty female character would have been given 'short shrift', I must have misunderstood (:

[Dori]

Antigone by Sophocles was pretty good, as was Phaedra by Jean Racine.

[kelby_lake]

Ah yeah, Antigone :) I like the Anouilh version.

What about Clytemnestra in Agamemnon? :D

[lupe]

Almost all of the previous posts focus on classic literature, with obviously many great novels – and female characters. Many contemporary authors have also construct their stories on female heroes, often with very interesting results. The first group that comes into my mind is the Spanish-speaking novelists (Spanish and Latin-Americans), which have put women in varied and extremely interesting central roles, mirroring the place of women in their own societies. Here is a short random sample of novels worth to discover:

Mario Vargas Llosa – Elogio de la madrastra
Isabel Allende – Eva Luna
Julia Álvarez – How the García girls lost their accents
Gabriel García Marquez – Erendira
Manuel Puig – Cae la noche tropical
José Carlos Somoza – Clara y la penumbra
Joe Valdés – La nada cotidiana
Rosa Montero – La hija del Caníbal
Carmen Llera Moravia – Georgette

In Europe, female characters are central to some of the greatest books of well-known authors such as:

Heinrich Boll – Die verloren ehre der Katharina Blum
Thomas Mann – Lotte in Weimar
Robert Musil – Drei Frauen
Karen Blixen – Ehrengard
Elfrede Jelinek – Lust / The pianist
Pascal Bruckner – L’enfant divine
Amelie Nothomb – Antéchrista / Stupeur et tremblement / Hygiène de l’assassin and many others
Carmen Corvito – La bruttina stagionata

There are many similar examples in the English-speaking literature, which I understand is closer to many LNF members’ reading habits. Some coming to my mind:

Ayn Rand – We the living
Sylvia Plath – Bell Jar
Patrick White – The aunt’s story
Margaret Atwood – Lady Oracle / The Handmaid’s tale

Finally, two favourites from other parts of the world:

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala – Heat & Dust
Raphael Confiant -Mamzelle Libellule (Marisose)

[hoope]

I guess Jane Eyer.. she's my fav. female character and the stronged presonality i ever seen :-)

[JBI]

I guess Jane Eyer.. she's my fav. female character and the stronged presonality i ever seen :-)

I don't know if I would say that - I think she voluntarily undergoes self-torcher because of a lack of self-strength.

As for strongest women characters, maybe Tatyana from Eugene Onegin? Certainly one of the best.

[Emil Miller]

I don't know if I would say that - I think she voluntarily undergoes self-torcher because of a lack of self-strength.

As for strongest women characters, maybe Tatyana from Eugene Onegin? Certainly one of the best.

I haven't read Jane Eyre but what is self-torcher? Does she set light to herself in the story?

[Niamh]

I guess Jane Eyer.. she's my fav. female character and the stronged presonality i ever seen :-)

He determination doesnt necessarily make her a strong character. Margaret Hale in North and South is a lot stronger.

[kandaurov]

I think JBI means 'self-torture'. I actually think she proved herself to be strong and independent enough and the owner of a sound moral integrity, otherwise Jane Eyre wouldn't be so often read as being a proto-feminist novel.

Dear friends, I repeat my appeal: do any of you by any change remember the name of the girl in Henry Green's Living? I'm racking my brains over this.

[kandaurov]

It's not Jane Eyre's determination that makes her a strong character, it's exactly the fact that she was evidently torn but ended up choosing the option which wasn't necessarily the one she would like to have chosen or the one she was expected to choose but the one which she felt was 'right', one which indeed symbolised an emancipation from a male order and a subordination to her own values. That's why I too think she is worthy of mention in this thread.

Sorry for the somewhat dodgy word choice, but I'm trying not to spoil it to anyone who hasn't read it. Don't forget to tell me the name of the girl in Living if it crosses your mind :)

[Niamh]

Have you thought of googling it?

[kandaurov]

Yeah, but I did it for a while and, not having found it, got lazy and just asked here :) I thought it was Lily, but then I thought I could have been led to believe it having read Joyce's 'The Dead' only two days ago. Turns out Henry Green's character is Lily as well. Not particularly strong or remarkable in any way, but I liked her, especially the bits when she's in the cinema.

[faithalina]

I haven't read Jane Eyre but what is self-torcher? Does she set light to herself in the story?

i was asking myself the exact same thing!

[Cat_Brenners]

Not sure why. Do some research on the internet on female poets. Maybe that would help? I hope so.
Cat

[JBI]

I haven't read Jane Eyre but what is self-torcher? Does she set light to herself in the story?

She voluntarily sees herself as weak and plain and unlovable as a means of justifying her petty existence, and creating a reason for self-pity. Her notions of her own plainess are used by her to deprecate herself, and therefore justify her own self loathing. Yes, I would call that self-torture, especially when it gets mixed up with the obscure romance, of which she can never feel herself capable of being loved, or being worth notice. I believe the Torcher instead of torture was a typo when I guess I wasn't thinking - sorry for the mistake. I must have been preoccupied with the books ending, and trying to add that to my argument, and had missed the fact that I substituted the homophone in there.

[mona amon]

That doesn't sound like Jane Eyre to me. She bemoans her lack of beauty, like a lot of other teenage girls, but never feels she's unworthy of being loved by Rochester. She is quite aware that he desires her. She just feels that he isn't going to marry her, for worldly reasons, and even finds fault with him for this. She's only being realistic. Once he offers to marry her, she stops agonising about her plainness.

No self-loathing either. She resists the temptation of becoming Rochester's mistress with this proclamation, "I care for myself."

Why she allows herself to be bullied by St. John Rivers when she is able to resist Rochester's bullying is more problematic.

[ChinaRose]

Try Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice, maybe even Anne of Green Gables.


I like "Anne of Green Gables". When I read it, I feel I was in the Eward Island, and enjoy the beautiful senery there while enjoy the life.:yawnb:

[kandaurov]

Mona, I agree with you on most points. Yes, Jane Eyre is indeed rattled by St John Rivers, but in the end her obstinancy and integrity makes her refuse him, as she is still emotionally bound to Rochester, so I see her refusal as adding on to her independent nature rather than undercutting it.

Well, I'm partially guilty of Jane Eyre's hijack of this thread, so let me suggest another character: Sophia in Crime in Punishment.

[faithalina]

She voluntarily sees herself as weak and plain and unlovable as a means of justifying her petty existence, and creating a reason for self-pity. Her notions of her own plainess are used by her to deprecate herself, and therefore justify her own self loathing. Yes, I would call that self-torture, especially when it gets mixed up with the obscure romance, of which she can never feel herself capable of being loved, or being worth notice. I believe the Torcher instead of torture was a typo when I guess I wasn't thinking - sorry for the mistake. I must have been preoccupied with the books ending, and trying to add that to my argument, and had missed the fact that I substituted the homophone in there.

I'm not sure I agree entirely with this perspective, simply because I feel that Jane was a product of her upbringing, which of course, was hardly pleasant. She was forced to believe that she was worthless and deserved no good thing and such beliefs in general tend to be easier to accept of ourselves, than that we are special and unique etc, particularly when we've never been called so. What separates Jane, I think, from many others of less than ideal circumstances is that despite her low opinion of herself, she still stays true to what SHE believes is right (regardless of what anyone else thinks) and can therefore feel good about herself in that respect. I think once she and Rochester acknowledged their love for each other, she was able to accept that she was 'worthy', but not just to be loved, but to be loved properly...ie, without the dark cloud of a past wrong hanging over them.

[TheFifthElement]

Angela Carter writes strong female characters brilliantly. Try The Magic Toyshop or Heroes and Villains. Nothing tomboyish or overly girly about any of them. Her short story collection The Bloody Chamber otherwise known as fairy tales with a twist is excellent too.

Fay Weldon is pretty cool too: Life and Loves of a She Devil, Big Women and Praxis spring to mind, though Weldon does tend to be feminist which is not to everyone's taste.

I Capture the Castle by Dodi Smith might be a good choice too, or White Oleander by Janet Fitch.

[faithalina]

Angela Carter writes strong female characters brilliantly. Try The Magic Toyshop or Heroes and Villains. Nothing tomboyish or overly girly about any of them. Her short story collection The Bloody Chamber otherwise known as fairy tales with a twist is excellent too.

Thoroughly enjoyed The Bloody Chamber. Quite interesting renditions of various Fairytales...

[LitNetIsGreat]

That doesn't sound like Jane Eyre to me. She bemoans her lack of beauty, like a lot of other teenage girls, but never feels she's unworthy of being loved by Rochester. She is quite aware that he desires her. She just feels that he isn't going to marry her, for worldly reasons, and even finds fault with him for this. She's only being realistic. Once he offers to marry her, she stops agonising about her plainness.


Jane only feels equal to Rochester after she has come into money and after Rochester has lost his sight in the fire. It is at this stage that she declares "reader I married him" the power being with her, before these events however I would argue that Jane feels wholly inferior to Rochester.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Thoroughly enjoyed The Bloody Chamber. Quite interesting renditions of various Fairytales...

Yes I found these quite readable, but I detest The Nights at the Circus, magic realism at its most insane.

[faithalina]

Jane only feels equal to Rochester after she has come into money and after Rochester has lost his sight in the fire. It is at this stage that she declares "reader I married him" the power being with her, before these events however I would argue that Jane feels wholly inferior to Rochester.

I think yes, in terms of worldy experience and means, however, intellectually and emotionally, if i remember rightly, she was, in ways, superior to Rochester and quite aware of the fact.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I think yes, in terms of worldy experience and means, however, intellectually and emotionally, if i remember rightly, she was, in ways, superior to Rochester and quite aware of the fact.

Maybe in some ways but overall I still feel Rochester holds far greater superiority over Jane, take these passage as a typical example:

I did as I was bid, though I would have much rather have remained somewhat in the shade; but Mr Rochester has such a direct way of giving orders, it seemed a matter of course to obey him promptly.
(p131 old penguin copy)

Passages like this seem quite common and it doesn't show much superiority in favour of Jane, "direct way," "giving orders," Obeying "promptly?"

[kandaurov]

I would argue that Rochester is confered an authoritative voice of command so that Jane Eyre's resistance to his plea becomes all the more heroic.

[faithalina]

Maybe in some ways but overall I still feel Rochester holds far greater superiority over Jane, take these passage as a typical example:

I did as I was bid, though I would have much rather have remained somewhat in the shade; but Mr Rochester has such a direct way of giving orders, it seemed a matter of course to obey him promptly.
(p131 old penguin copy)

Passages like this seem quite common and it doesn't show much superiority in favour of Jane, "direct way," "giving orders," Obeying "promptly?"

indeed...however, she is dependent on him for her living therefore making respect and obedience necessary for survival. His arrogance and self importance colour his expression. I feel that her ability to endure him and rise above her circumstances in order to maintain her independence shows her superior character.

[mona amon]

Jane only feels equal to Rochester after she has come into money and after Rochester has lost his sight in the fire. It is at this stage that she declares "reader I married him" the power being with her, before these events however I would argue that Jane feels wholly inferior to Rochester.

I agree that she only feels equal to Rochester when she gains literal equality. He enjoys patronising her from his superior worldly position, and she hates that and wants their relative positions to be more equal. But she doesn't feel inferior, just unequally matched, if that makes sense.

Anyway, she never feels at any point that she, as a person, is unworthy of being loved by Rochester.

[TheFifthElement]

Yes I found these quite readable, but I detest The Nights at the Circus, magic realism at its most insane.

Yes, Nights at the Circus didn't do it for me either. I don't think I've ever finished it.

[Bitterfly]

Angela Carter writes strong female characters brilliantly. Try The Magic Toyshop or Heroes and Villains. Nothing tomboyish or overly girly about any of them. Her short story collection The Bloody Chamber otherwise known as fairy tales with a twist is excellent too.

Fay Weldon is pretty cool too: Life and Loves of a She Devil, Big Women and Praxis spring to mind, though Weldon does tend to be feminist which is not to everyone's taste.


Oh, I so agree with both your examples!! And I shamelessly LOVED Nights at the Circus - magical realism is wild! (a wonderful Weldon book is The Shrapnel Academy, if you haven't read it)

What about Thursday Next (from the Jasper Fforde series) for an attractive, contemporary female character? I really identified with her.

Ada from the eponymous Nabokov novel?

Thackeray's females characters in Vanity Fair?

[OzBlackman]

You may like North and South.
Margaret Hale is often considered one of the greatest heroines in Victorian literature.

[kelby_lake]

Vanity Fair!
Becky Sharp- total anti-heroine!

[Richier]

Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I have since read "The Book Thief" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns", both had female central characters and were excellent.

[amarna]

Thanks for reanimating this fairly instructive thread, Richier. :cool:

I was very impressed by Muriel Barbery's Elegance of the Hedgehog, the story of an elderly Parisian concierge who leads a double life as highly gifted. Might be a good recommendation for the mature characters thread as well.