Top ten literary heroines

Celebrating and highlighting women and their achievements, I thought it appropriate to focus on the Top Ten Heroines that have inspired me.

1. Pippi Longstocking – Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
   A girl, a little girl, who lives by herself, who is stronger and smarter than most adults, who protects the weak and punishes bullies. Having a female heroine was rare enough in my childhood but having one like Pippi Longstocking was a life saviour for a strongly opiniated little girl like me.

2. Die Rote Zora - Die Rote Zora und ihre Bande (The Red Zora and Her Gang) by Kurt Held
   The other cool heroine from my childhood was Die Rote Zora. She is about ten and the leader of a gang. All the other members are boys, but they all listen to this girl, because she is so smart and so brave and so capable. Every day, for at least a year, I practised the test one has to pass to become a member of this gang, just in case (spreading one’s hand on a table, then flicking a knife back and forth between the gaps of the fingers. I used a pen instead of a knife).

3. Sadako - Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr
   This is the story of Sadako who is terminally ill after the Hiroshima nuclear disaster. But legend has it that one can have a wish fulfilled if a thousand paper cranes are folded and sent away with the wish. So, Sadako and her family and friends all keep folding paper cranes and wishing the same wish. Unfortunately, even though they fold the required number, Sadako dies. I can’t count how many times I cried over this story as a child, reading it obsessively, not sure why, knowing how sad it is, and every single time breaking into helpless sobs.

4. Fata Avdagina – Na Drini Cuprija (The Bridge on the Drina) by Ivo Andric
   The story of Fata Avdagina (Avdaga’s daughter Fata) is only a vignette in the epic Na Drina Cuprija, telling the story of the Bosnian town Travnik during the times of the Ottoman Empire, but it is the one that has stuck with me and that makes me think of agency and determination even in the most impossible times. Fata is the very beautiful daughter of a rich merchant. When a suitor turns up under her window and gleefully claims she will have to marry him, she swears she will never cross the Drina and become his wife, only to find out that her father has agreed for her to marry this very man. As a dutiful daughter, she marries the man, but when they reach the middle of the bridge over the Drina, she stops the coach, climbs out and throws herself off the bridge. She has fulfilled both her father’s and her own promise. I found that fascinating and to this day remember this passage so well.

5. Anna Karenina – Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
   Refusing to bow to social norms, following her heart, I could not get enough of Anna. A recent re-reading had me show sympathy for the other characters but that first reading was electrifying.

6. Hester Prynne – The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
   A woman who transforms public shame into inner strength and moral independence. Coming from a small town myself, I revelled in her non-conformity.

7. Katniss Everdeen – Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
   Katniss’s strength comes not from opposing power in the traditional sense but refusing to give up her humanity. I was so happy that the book came out just in time for my girls to read it. Having two girls myself, and the older sister offering herself as tribute to save her sister… You know, tears were shed.

8. Circe – Circe by Madeline Miller
   A reimagined mythic figure who claims her power, reshapes her identity and resists divine and patriarchal control. I played the song ‘Labour’ by Paris Paloma all through the second half of this book.

9. Celie – The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
   A character whose journey from voicelessness to self-assertion and self-love is one of literature’s most powerful arcs of reclaimed agency. My heart was with her all the way! It showed me how agency is possible in even the most dire situations.

10. Offred – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
    A woman who navigates a totalitarian regime with subversive resilience, asserting her free will even in the most extreme circumstances. Not my favourite Atwood but I love the kick-arse heroine!