Favourite female lead...

[fajrdrako]

February 28, 2008:
Who is your favorite female lead character? And why? (And yes, of course, you can name more than one . . . I always have trouble narrowing down these things to one name, why should I force you to?)

Difficult choice. Off the top of my head, my first thought was of Lady Katherine Samantha Campion Talbert from Ellen Kushner's Privilege of the Sword. I also thought of Kate Somerville from the Lymond novels by Dorothy Dunnett, but Kate can't be called the female lead, even if I wish she had been. Who else? I'm quite fond of Kinsey Milhone, and Leonie from Georgette Heyer's These Old Shades, and Heyer's Venetia as well. From Lois McMaster Bujold, Cordelia Naismaith, and Fawn.

There are a number of action-hero women I particularly love: Renee Montoya, Dani Reese, Bridget Logan, Zoe Washburne, Kara Thrace, Sharon Agathon.

Then there's Leo from The Friendly Young Ladies by Mary Renault - it isn't, unfortunately, a good book, but Leo really made an impression on me.

In most of my favourite books, its the male protagonists who make an impression. There are not as many strong women in fiction as I would like. In Jane Eyre, for example, I like Rochester much more than Jane; in Pride and Prejudice, I like Mr. Darcy more than Elizabeth.

In comics, there are more. Elektra was a favourite, back in her Daredevil days. Jean Grey, Sue Storm-Richards, Domino, Kitty Pryde, Emma Frost, Rachel Summers, Natasha Romanov, Catwoman in the hands of a good writer, Saturn Girl, the team of Ayla and Vi from vol.4 of Legion of Super-Heroes. Maggie and Hopey, Omaha the Cat Dancer, Thorn from Bone, and Red Sonja from the days of Barry Windsor-Smith. And always, always, always, Supergirl.

Is that enough of a list? I'm bound to think of more.

And - why? The women I like have courage and individuality, integrity and a strong personality. They are independent, smart, and distinctive. They respect others and themelves - okay, with some lapses.

basically, they have the same qualities I look for in a male protagonist.

Comments

[janne-d.livejournal.com]

I was terribly disappointed in the villain - Horseriver? was that his name?

I don't even remember what he was trying to do, much less his name!

I think it was actually meant to be the same world as Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls, but in a different region. I'm sure I remember them talking about the 5 gods at one point. But yes, it was a more shallow depiction than in those books - I couldn't get any sense of it at all.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Re Horseriver, who many or may not have been named that:

I don't even remember what he was trying to do, much less his name!

yes. I liked the character until he turned out to be a nasty villain. I think he wanted to control the dead. (the undead?) I don't remember why.
For power, presumably.