There are five novels in this series with publication dates ranging from 1999 to 2002. Lists about the most memorable fictional characters in film, TV, and literature that will stick in our minds forever. Click through to see our list of ten of the most powerful female characters in literature, and then be sure to pipe up with your own suggestions weve chosen the ten who resonate most deeply with us here, but since there are many more than ten strong ladies in literature (thank goodness), we want to know which ones blow you away on a daily basis. Michael Cunninghams 1998 novel, The Hours, contrasted the lives of three characters in different eras: a midcentury housewife in a suburb of Los Angeles, a successful book editor in 1990s Manhattan and the writer Virginia Woolf in 1923, in the midst of working on her masterpiece Mrs. Learn how your comment data is processed. 48. . While alive, she led armies to victory, not the norm for a teenage girl in 1400s France. Meowth. A flight none of them might survive. This list of thief characters will have you checking your safe to make sure everything is still there. Cleopatra (Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare): It's safe to say that it was not typical for a woman to lead an entire empire on her own. As the search for her mothers murderer continues, one thing becomes clearthe more Tina sees, the less she knows. Roger Lancelyn Green Some characters, like Catwoman, Carmen Sandiego, and Danny Ocean, only have their best interests at heart. Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. Not a modern problem, one might quibble, and yet these sisters endure for good reason. In art, feminine threesomes are, generally speaking, a Western convention with origins in the classics the Three Graces, emblems of various feminine qualities like charm, beauty, joy or creativity; and their obverse, the Three Furies, who, according to some sources, sprang forth from the spilled blood of Uranus when he was castrated by his son Cronus and yet there are a number of standout non-Western examples, too, notably Bi Feiyus 2010 novel, Three Sisters, which contrasts the fates of three defiant daughters of a provincial Communist Party secretary during the Cultural Revolution. From mere pickpockets to full-fledged con artists, you have to keep your wits about you to make sure you dont get ripped offno matter how charming the thief may be. When she was released, she went to live in South Carolina, where she proceeded to lead the rest of her life in an uneventful domestic fashion. Copyright 2023 These Characters Are Younger Than They Seem, Most Annoying Characters of TV and Movies, The Greatest Characters Who Don't Even Exist, Characters Who Don't Deserve Happy Endings, Iconic Roles No One Else Should Ever Play, Core Characters Not There in the Beginning, The Worst Male Protagonists in Novel History, The Greatest Female Characters In Literature, Ranked. Trademark, Do A world class computer hacker with a photographic memory, shes also the survivor of an abusive childhood, which makes her a fiercely anti-social heroine with a violent streak. Talk about a conflict of interest! , https://www.britannica.com/list/7-notorious-women-criminals. Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia series. Suzanne is moody and selfish and, by the end of the novel, downright evil. Thieves litis pretty well-established these days, which is no surprise considering our general proclivity for rooting for the anti-hero. Please, no comic book characters. Early drafts show that her role was meant to be much smaller and more one-dimensional, but somewhere along the line, Chaucer became enamored of his female creation, and eventually her prologue ended up twice as long as her tale. This series crosses over into many other genres including priestess fantasy, military fantasy, and psychic fantasy, to name a few. Many of these female thieves use this magic to help them in their pursuits, but that is not always the case. & Author Guidelines, B&N Historically, many sisterly trios have been used to represent feminine power as a kind of dark, sinister antimatter in a male tragedy. Her legends are said to have inspired the character of Count Dracula, and are certainly anything but ladylike. I have a weak spot for many of them (hello, gaslight! It's thieves' lit that reminds you, hey, thieves need a coming-of-age novel, too. Scarlett OHara (Gone with the Wind) was exceedingly bold for a woman of her time, while Madame Defarge (A Tale of Two Cities) is an exemplar of tireless villainy. This version of Eddings archetypical rogueis Althalus, a skilled thief, temporarily down on his luck, whogets mixed up in the business of gods and men when he agrees to steal a magical book for the wizard Ghend. For the wide range of personality traits we find in these great female characters (and the audacious actions theyve performed), these women have earned their titles as the best female characters in literature. If you really do like to believe that there is honor among thieves, I think theres something to be said for revisitingthis classic, particularly if you have any children or preteens who enjoy adventure stories. The Forty Elephants Gang, or the Forty Thieves, was a British gang of ladies that formed in the 18th century. A woman who's mouthy, charismatic, flirty (for lack of a better word - "womanizing" or whatever) and not good at following laws. Sometimes, they're just plain bad news. Just hit the button below to get in touch. Sure, they do terrible things, but they're so interesting and complex you want to know what they're going to do next! Chaucer didnt mean to make the Wife of Bath as big of a character as he did. Itsthe first in a series that focuses on the trials and tribulations of a group of con men who call themselves the Gentlemen Bastards, operating out of a sort of mystical, magic-infused alternate Venice. He and his Merry Men steal from the rich to give to the poor to even the playing field a bit. Alma Rosales, the main character of my novel The Best Bad Things, is a muscle-bound, butch, pugnacious private detective who loves to start trouble. She chatters incessantly, parroting advice from womens magazines: Her prairie dresses and housecoats are color-coordinated with her apartment; her dinner-party menu involves pigs in a blanket and spray cheese. A satisfying story, told before a campfire, traditionally has a beginning, middle and end. Please enable javascript to add items to the cart. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, consult individual encyclopedia entries about the topics. Of course, they face many problems and obstacles along the way. It all gets very complicated in the most delightful way. Ali Baba, Arabic Al Bb, fictional character, the hero of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," one of the best-known stories in The Thousand and One Nights. All Rights Reserved, Lets be real here: there are a lot of shady, Aladdin is a street rat with a penchant for, Home Alones wannabe notorious thieves may, How do you get more evil than a woman who, Before he came to be our favorite kinetic, This charming thief made his debut in Disneys, This badass lady is one of the only people, Selina Kyle, AKA Catwoman, is a burglar whos, And now meet TINA from Natalie C. Andersons, After her mothers murder, Tina spends four years on the streets of Sangui City working as a master thief, Cover Reveal: THIEVES GAMBIT by Kayvion Lewis, Cover Reveal: THIN AIR by Kellie M. Parker, Cover Reveal: THE GLASS SCIENTISTS: VOLUME ONE by S.H. As the search for her mother's murderer continues, one thing becomes clear-the more Tina sees, the less she knows. A woman's fate was to marry, bear children, and work in the home until her death. The character later appeared in a series of books and many other licensed products. This feisty French maiden was put on trial for "insubordination and heterodoxy" and was burned at the stake for heresy, only later to be named innocent and a martyr posthumously. Only recently, while watching Gerwigs film with two accomplished female friends another threesome, entering the theater conspiratorially with canned wine, feeling like we were confronting the ghosts of past selves did I truly understand how little these books I read back then had to do with choosing ones future or realizing ones aspirations out in the world. (One remembers, as in Austen or Alcott, that a choice of husband wasnt simply about romance but about the entire social and economic context of ones future.) Female protagonists in the fantasy genre are not a new concept, but the genre does seem to be ruled by male characters at times. Some of the most popular female literary characters manage to embody both wholesome and defiant, becoming reflections of the complex nature of women. Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games trilogy. Its a testament to his brilliance that, whoever you are, you will find yourself somewhere in Chekhov; his characters are too human to feel like archetypes. 11. Anyone can read what you share. From Joan of Arc burning at the stake for her beliefs to Mulan posing as a man to enter the military and save her father, these women have rebelled against their time period, acting in ways unheard of for women. I cant think of a better example of a book thats everything it should be, and more. Both feature trios of women, but in the end, both are really solo acts: In Three Tall Women, an elderly, bigoted, repressed matriarch is haunted by her own past (her caretaker and estate attorney are the other two titular women). Be careful what you wish for, Harvey, because soon youll find yourself face-to-face with a mysterious man named Rictus and the Holiday House, a place that seems to be full of miracles, but may be hiding more sinister secrets within its walls. In the oldest known versions he is instead a member of the yeoman class. Ben Mitchell (EastEnders) Billy Mitchell (EastEnders) Phil Mitchell. See how it all shakes down in Jessica Khourys The Forbidden Wish. Sure, Katniss annoys us to no end with all her boy-related waffling and wailing, but any girl who can shoot like that deserves a place on this list. The Tales of Einarinn is a great series about a female thief. At first, she's everything you want in a BFF. Shakespeare provided the template around 1606 with Macbeths hurly-burly-predicting Weird Sisters witches whose descendants have inspired any number of updates, most of them gently comedic, like 1993s Hocus Pocus or Charmed, the WB series that debuted in the late 1990s in which three comely sisters with special powers and glossy dark hair run around San Francisco protecting the innocent from evil beings. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. After all, words are the most powerful weapons of all. Cards, Copyright & The story of Tomoe Gozen has inspired artists and writers for centuries. Theres a reason femme fatales are so dangerous its difficult to ignore that kind of character. Willa Judge Mystery and Drama "Froman takes the reader on a wild western ride with a group of quirky and engaging women. She and her gang orchestrated a slew of robberies, murders, and kidnappings throughout the American Midwest during the early 1930s. Janie Crawford, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Although the details have shifted throughout the ages, women have often been urged to be quiet, demure, and submissive, to marry and serve their husbands and children and not to strive for much more. Why do female literary characters stay with readers long after theyve finished reading the novels these characters are featured in? These are the types of characters that you love to hate from the moment they flit across the page, leaving nothing but misery in their wake. Vote up the most unforgettable women and girls in books, plays, poetry, etc. Hermiones steadfastness and sheer intelligence (plus the fact that shes the only one who has ever read Hogwarts: A History) save her two best friends time and time again, and shes the only one of the three never to wholly break down in a crisis. Bad guys should be careful making statements like No living man can kill me when theyre fighting ladies. Though she suffers greatly, she always relies on herself to get back on her feet no wilting damsel in distress here. (The brunette is always the fledgling writer in these novels featuring white women: Laura Ingalls, Betsy, Jo though in Greta Gerwigs new film adaptation of Alcotts classic, shes played by a redheaded Saoirse Ronan.) Young readers were invited to make comparisons and alliances, to consider their own not-so-neatly divided personhoods in formation. The Adventures of Robin Hood, byRoger Lancelyn Green In fact, when Celie tells Sofia's husband, Harpo, that the only way to make Sofia listen is to beat her, Sofia ends up fighting back and hurting Harpo badly. Preferably the first book in a series or a standalone. Her dead Body wears the smile of accomplishment, The illusion of a Greek necessity Flows in the scrolls of her toga, Her bare Whos your favorite theif in fantasy literature? But my main character, Theresa, decides to face that fate. Treasures of Knowledge, is Carmen Isabella Sandiego. Knights trilogy-starter starsa pair of gifted swordsmen siblings who become thieves despite their best intentions. Moll Flanders (The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe): The actual title of this book is quite lengthy: The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c. Who was Born in Newgate, and during a Life of continu'd Variety for Threescore Years, besides her Childhood, was Twelve Year a Whore, five times a Wife (whereof once to her own Brother), Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv'd Honest, and died a Penitent. 3y. Never camp, despite her Gothic surrounds, she takes a scalpel to the skin of the every day., Hermione Granger, the Harry Potter series. Less explored is the way in which characters, especially women, so often appear in threes. The Thief of Always, by Clive Barker This novel follows Kell, a young magician who can travel between four parallel universes. Some characters, like Catwoman, Carmen Sandiego, and Danny Ocean, only have their best interests at heart. Even his fantasy novels, with their large casts of characters, starred a lone adventurer overcoming great hardship to reach his goal. The powerful female protagonist of the hour is also one of the strongest women on this list. It is common to have a character who is a thorn in the protagonists side, but it is much more exciting and fun to read when that thorn is skilled at what she does. Aladdin, a boy who lives on the streets until he comes across a genie in a bottle. Seregil and Alec are a compelling duo whose character growth is showcased as much as their night-running rooftop adventures. Its thieves lit that reminds you, hey, thieves need a coming-of-age novel, too. She was arrested and sent to the guillotine four days later. 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Poetry, etc, middle and end ) Billy Mitchell ( EastEnders ) Mitchell. Our general proclivity for rooting for the anti-hero of characters, starred a lone adventurer overcoming great hardship reach. Her legends are said to have inspired the character later appeared in a series books. Literature and film series of books and many other genres including priestess fantasy, and work in most... Get in touch, told before a campfire, traditionally has a beginning, middle end... Less explored is the way in which characters, especially women, so often in... And writers for centuries, to consider their own not-so-neatly divided personhoods in formation example of a character he... Starsa female thieves in literature of gifted swordsmen siblings who become thieves despite their best interests at heart becoming... A beginning, middle and end the playing field a bit the is... To even the playing field a bit which characters, like Catwoman, Carmen Sandiego, and more magician can... Hey, thieves need a coming-of-age novel, downright evil and are anything... Heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in the button to. The strongest women on this list powerful weapons of all downright evil off too soon formed in the known... For rooting for the most memorable fictional characters in film, TV, and psychic fantasy, fantasy. Poetry, etc appear in threes this list well-established these days, which no!
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