Strong female characters

[WyattGwyon]

Makepeace from Marcel Theroux's Far North is strong, psychologically, morally, and physically.

[AlysonofBathe]

Oooh, yeah, I'd forgotten about "that loud redhead" Great suggestion I'm not familiar with her Emily series. I'll have to read them someday.

I definitely recommend them. Emily is a little less verbose - fewer long-winded speeches lasting pages and pages and pages, as Anne is apt to do - but she's equally as spirited.

Good Canadian reading!

[WhiteRabbit24]

Tess from Tess of the D'Urbervilles
The main lady from the short story Fantomina or Love in a Maze
Antonia from My Antonia by Willa Cather
Jane Eyre
Nora Helmer from A Doll's House

Also to bring in an Eastern perspective, I would add:

Umrao Jaan from Umrao Jaan Ada: The Courtesan from Lucknow

[aliengirl]

Don't know whether it's been mentioned, but also L.M. Montgomery's Anne series, especially the first. Moreover, her Emily series as well, often overshadowed by that loud redhead.

Yeah, I love "that loud redhead". Nice pick. I'll explore the Emily series that you've mentioned.

I've always wondered why it is easier to find a strong female character in fantasy novels or crime-detective fiction rather than in realistic/classic narratives. Anyway, here are some who had not been mentioned earlier-

Grace Marks from Alias Grace by Atwood
Rebecca Sharp from Vanity Fair by Thackeray
Milady from The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas

As someone has mentioned bringing in Eastern perspective I'd mention-

Rosie from The Guide by R.K. Narayan
Fatima from Thoda Sa Asman by Umaira Ahmad (contemporary Urdu novelist)

[KCurtis]

Nicole Diver from Tender is the Night.

Much agreed, she had overcome alot and became well.

Gloria- Beautiful and the Damned (Fitzgerald)

I don't agree that Gloria was a strong character. She was very dependent and seemed as lost as her husband. She may have seemed stronger than him though, when compared!

Am I going blind? I haven't seen Jane Eyres's name mentioned.

And what about the wonderful Miss Betsey Trotwood, David Copperfield's great aunt? He owes so much to her and she is generous to all she knew, even in the the case of Mr Wickfield, those who had cheated her. 4 Cheers for Betsey!!

I agree with Jane Eyres's being mentioned. She was strong in her convictions, no matter the cost. And she was outspoken and determined for her day.

[byquist]

If by strong you mean tough (with some nastiness):

Hedda Gabler
Goneril in Lear
the wife, Laura, in Strinberg's "The Father."
the lady in Henry VI, III who wipes the face of her captive in his son's blood -- Margaret?
Miss Julie, Strinberg again, gets her will.

[Gladys]

Hedda Gabler

Not Hedda, but Mrs. Thea Elvsted (and without the nastiness)!

[kelby_lake]

I've always wondered why it is easier to find a strong female character in fantasy novels or crime-detective fiction rather than in realistic/classic narratives.

Really?

[Neringa]

I Think Jane Eire

[Pensive]

Arya Stark?
Pippi Longstocking? (even though it's a character from children literature!)

[kelby_lake]

Much agreed, she had overcome alot and became well.

I love how Nicole, who seems to be doomed, manages to escape the trap of her mental illness.

[Chrysostomos]

I advise you to try The She-Sevils by Barbey d'Aurevilly (a french author, not so popular), several short stories lying on worrying female characters. I read it two or three years ago, and was really enthusiastic then...