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#favefemalecharacters
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KVanRead
Untitled | Anonymous
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#augustphotochallenge It's been a busy day and ever since I briefly opened Litsy this morning I've been pondering...#favefemalecharacters. I started a list of one for every age/phase of womanhood and realized I was drawing a blank right in the middle. I couldn't think of a rep for the years many women are holding together families, careers, marriages...maybe I've avoided stories that hit to close to home? Help me out, littens. Who am I missing??

BookishFeminist What age range specifically? I can often think of books but maybe not specific characters for the motherhood/family/career phase- Fates & Furies and Hausfrau come to mind 8y
Zelma I think a lot of these titles end up falling under the dreaded genre a Chick Lit or a Women's Lit. I can think of a bunch of titles, including I Don't Know How She Does It, Having Her Cake and Eating It, Leave Me (which I recently reviewed). 8y
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KVanRead @BookishFeminist My list goes something like this: Anne Shirley, Hermione Granger, Lucy Honeychurch, Lizbeth Salander, Bridget Jones, HUGE GAP, Rebecca in Still Life With Bread Crumbs, Renée Michel in The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I think I have a huge gap because so many female character stories have ended with the happily ever after and many that haven't, like Karenina and Bovary are MESSED UP!!! 8y
Marchpane @KVanRead @BookishFeminist @Zelma I agree it's not easy to find good examples, plus that trend for female characters in that age range to be deeply flawed has been revived recently (eg Amy Dunne in Gone Girl). Some good ones that I can think of are Holly Sykes from The Bone Clocks, Jake from All the Birds Singing and Tallula from the Last Werewolf trilogy. 8y
KVanRead @Zelma I think you're right. I read I Don't Know How She Does It and while I found it funny and could definitely relate, I really disliked the female protagonist.There ate probably lots out there, just none that I can 'favorite' 8y
KVanRead @Zelma Thanks for the other titles. I will check them out. 8y
BookishFeminist @Marchpane @KVanRead I agree with @Zelma that I sadly think so many female characters in this age range/life stage fall under the "genre" of women's lit. ? but also I don't need my characters to have a happy ending in their story arc or for them to not have deep flaws as people in order to love them as characters bc it's more realistic IMO (in fact the ones I love the most often tend to be hated) but that's my personal preference for sure 8y
KVanRead @Marchpane As @BookishFeminist knows I wholeheartedly second your sentiments re: Amy Dunne, but can't believe I forgot Holly — while I didn't love everything about Bone Clocks, Holly is a great character, both very real and strong. Thank you for reminding me! And I will check out those others too! 8y
Marchpane @BookishFeminist I also prefer more colourful characters who are nowhere near perfect. But it's interesting that the stages of life for characters so often are: 1) is plucky & idealistic young girl; 2) is MESSED up; 3) is adorable elderly Miss Marple type. 🙄 8y
BookishFeminist @Marchpane ?? so true! And also I feel like we get fewer middle aged female characters that play major roles in books. I wonder if writers are more likely to write about their own age group & life stage? And maybe during this stage of their lives women writers don't have as much time? That's a horrible generalization but ? I just think it's the "uninteresting" part of life for some many folks even if it's anything but so not written as much 8y
Sue I love this question but have no answers. I need to ponder ... 8y
cariashley @BookishFeminist @Marchpane @Zelma @KVanRead It's genre, but what immediately jumped to my mind as an example is Mulaghesh in the second Divine Cities series by Robert Jackson Bennett. She's a late middle aged, single, one-armed ex military judge who does some reluctant but serious ass kicking. If that's not intriguing I'm not sure what is (it's also just an incredible fantasy series). 8y
cariashley @BookishFeminist @Marchpane @Zelma @KVanRead I just re-read the original post and realize the above is NOT an example of what you were looking for. Ha!! I just woke up. Hope you enjoy my atypical female character recommendation regardless. 😂 8y
BookishFeminist @cariashley 😂😂😂 who needs comment threads? LOL That book has been sitting on my shelf! I'll have to push it up my TBR 8y
ValerieAndBooks Thought-provoking post and thread! I'm at that stage of life myself, and after racking my brains, right now the only character I can think of is Molly Weasley from the HP books!!! 8y
KVanRead @Marchpane Dead on! 3) definitely seems to bring more philosophical women. I like the books with complex and messed up characters, but while I like their stories, I often find it hard to like them. @BookishFeminist I had that same thought, maybe women are too damn busy to write about that phase and when it's over they just want to forget it! I for one have found that child rearing can really suck the creativity right out of you!😂 8y
KVanRead @ValerieAndBooks I thought of Molly Weasely too after seeing her pop up in other posts. Maybe JK needs to give a side story on her❤️ 8y
KVanRead @cariashley Finding characters in late middle age does seem easier, but she still sounds crazy awesome! Thanks for the tip. 8y
KVanRead @Sue It's really hard, isn't it? Would love to know if you think of any. 8y
HeatherBookNerd @KVanRead what about Marmee in Little Women? 8y
KVanRead @HeatherBookNerd Yes, Marmee is wonderful but kind of in the background. It's the protagonists that seem to be thin on the ground. 8y
23 likes22 comments
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elkeOriginal
Thirteenth Child | Patricia C. Wrede
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One more #favefemalecharacter: Eff is the 13th child who grows up under expectations she will bring disaster while her twin Lan, the 7th son of a 7th son, great things. Eff's journey is very different from those expectations and she forges her path in Wrede's alternate history of an American west frontier filled with magical creatures and pioneer spirit. Such a great female character in a wonderful world from a great female writer. It's a trilogy!

23 likes1 stack add2 comments
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BarbaraTheBibliophage
Game of Thrones | George R R Martin
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My pick for today's #augustphotochallenge is Catelyn Stark. Not only is she strong in herself, but she raised a group of super badass kids including her stepson Jon Snow. #favefemalecharacters #favfemalecharacters

mauveandrosysky Yes! I feel like she's often overlooked but I love her so much. 8y
BekahB Awesome choice! I love her character! 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @mauveandrosysky @BekahB I was looking for a positive stepmother character, since I'm a stepmother too. She's fantastic! 8y
Lola I am dying for her to make a return in the next books! She came back from the dead (sort of) and then not another word about her! Damn you George!! 😜 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Lola That's exactly how I feel! Grrr! 8y
84 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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Soubhiville
Kushiel's Chosen: A Novel | Jacqueline Carey
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My favorite female character is Phedre no Delaunay of the Kushiel series. Strong, smart, and entirely unique in the world.
"All that yields is not weak."
#Augustofpages #Favefemalecharacters

PurpleyPumpkin The series is on my TBR! 👍🏼 8y
Soubhiville Oh @PurpleyPumpkin you're in for a great time! I reread this series every couple of years, it's in my top three! 8y
PurpleyPumpkin Good to know! Thanks so much for the feedback. And BTW, you're my hero - these books are huge! They must be great for you to reread them. Yay! 8y
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LeahBergen
Cheri and The Last of Cheri | Colette, Roger Senhouse
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Pickpick

One of my #favefemalecharacters is Lea de Lonval, the beautiful but aging Parisian courtesan in these two books by Colette. #augustofpages #augustphotochallenge

LauraBrook I love your edition! Mine is the movie tie-in. 😕 8y
LeahBergen @LauraBrook Thank you! I found this for really cheap in a used bookstore. It made me go on the hunt for several more in the same series (Gigi is a really cool, 1950s pink!) 8y
BethFishReads My editions are from the 1970s. I love Colette 8y
LeahBergen @BethFishReads I've seen some of those (after I started buying these). They are so groovy 8y
BethFishReads They are 8y
49 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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katedensen
The Great Gatsby | Francis Scott Fitzgerald
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Everyone is posting such amazing #favefemalecharacters, and I wanted to add one who might not immediately come to mind: Jordan Baker. While Daisy and Myrtle are primarily defined by their relationships with men, Jordan has agency. Daisy's and Myrtle's definitions through the male gaze result in adverse fates. Jordan's relative success is a blueprint for how the "new woman" of the 1920s can not only survive but also thrive. #augustphotochallenge

Well-ReadNeck YES! Love Jordan. Good call!!! 8y
KarenUK Elizabeth Debicki did such a great job portraying her in this version... And she's great in 'The Night Manager' adaptation too :) 8y
katedensen @Well-ReadNeck ☺️ I actually think she was woefully underrepresented and misrepresented in the Baz Luhrmann film, but that movie had bigger problems anyway. Haha. 8y
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katedensen @KarenUK You think? I had issues with the movie as a whole, so I'm not so sure. 8y
KarenUK @katedfisher I totally agree about the movie as a whole ... I just found this actress/character so fun on screen, wish there had been more of her! 8y
katedensen @KarenUK Exactly! She was absolutely not given enough screen time--her role in the book is much bigger. 8y
MrBook Great book 😊👍🏻! 8y
31 likes7 comments
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TheLondonBookworm
The Shepherd's Crown | Terry Pratchett
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#day23 My leading lady forever, Tiffany Aching. A girl made of steel with her land in her bones. I've always wanted to be as strong as her #augustphotochallenge #favefemalecharacters @TheSpinecrackersBookClub P.S also a chance to show off my special edition 😋😋

elkeOriginal Yes! To Tiffany. And Yes! To sparkly special slipcased edition. Gorgeous! 8y
TheLondonBookworm @elkeo I'm inordinately pleased that someone noticed the sparkles 😆😆 8y
RealLifeReading Ooh that is a nice version! 8y
CherylDeFranceschi ❤️❤️❤️ 8y
50 likes7 stack adds4 comments