15 Literary Heroines, Factual and Fictional
"...Besides, if women are educated for dependence; that is, to act according to the will of another fallible being, and submit, right or wrong, to power, where are we to stop?"
The above sentiment, to today's eyes and ears, might sound quaint, or even obvious. But when Mary Wollstonecraft published it in her 1792 work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, her views were largely unexplored openly, and widely unpopular. She received a fair amount of critical acclaim for the work, but was unsurprisingly also subjected to a healthy amount of outrage and scorn (from both men, and women). Nevertheless, she continued to argue the importance of women as key members of society, and champion the necessity of women having access to higher education. She persisted.
Here we are 225 years later, and while we may have come a long way (baby) since Wollstonecraft's early feminist text, people all over the world continue to fight hard for the rights and equality of women. And what better medium than a book? Books are accessible, affordable, shareable and translatable. One can do much within its covers. Today we are celebrating 15 literary heroines - whether fictional character or real life fighter - who bettered the world for women, through books.
Our Heroines
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nigerian Author and Feminist
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is not only an accomplished novelist, but also an outspoken critic of the status quo around gender, using her voice to elevate women and marginalized groups. Her 2012 Tedx talk We Should All be Feminists was adapted into a book-length essay in 2014.
Mary Wollstonecraft
18th-century Feminist
An early feminist (protofeminist - before the word feminist existed) writer, in 1792 Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, whose ideas and themes, while radical for the time (even among suffragettes), are now widely acknowledged as some of the key foundations for modern feminism.
Oprah Winfrey
Media Mogul
Oprah's wealth, fame, and tireless hustle have made her unstoppable, and she endlessly advocates for women. The original Oprah's Book Club provided instant spotlight attention to over nearly six dozen books over 15 years, over half of which were by women, including many women of color.
Hildegard von Bingen
Benedictine Abbess (1098 -1179)
Despite living in a time where very few women had access to education, she founded two monasteries and became famous for her theological, botanical, and medicinal texts, as well as letters, liturgical songs, and poems. She is widely recognized as the founder of scientific natural history in Germany.
Jane Marple
from the Agatha Christie novels
The charming Miss Marple, an elderly British woman who solves murders for a hobby, is a refreshing take on the male dominated detective genre - Miss Marple herself knows that she is often underestimated and uses this to her advantage. Her creator, Agatha Christie, is one of the most successful women writers of all time.
Selma Lagerlöf
Swedish Teacher and Children's Author
In 1909, Selma Lagerlöf was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. She was prolific, but is best-known for her children's book Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige (The Wonderful Adventures of Nils). As of 2017, only 14 of 113 Nobel laureates in literature were women.
Hermione Granger
from JK Rowling's Harry Potter series
An inspirational role model to young girls everywhere, fictional Hogwarts witch Hermione Granger is smart, brave and loyal to boot. And she's a double whammy, because Emma Watson, who portrayed Hermione in the film adaptations, is part of many feminist causes, including the HeforShe campaign.
Curated Collections for Girls and Women
What literary heroine(s) would you add to our list?