May 16th, 2024

Author: donich_admin

No one likes my heroines

Firstly – I strongly dislike the modern tendency to use male terms to describe women. For example, I would never refer to a female thespian as an “actor”. To me this is all part of an erosion of women’s place in society – but I won’t get started on that in case I annoy R (who is just a little bit “woke”).
Anyway – that was my explanation for the use of the term heroine – in this case, as the admirable female protagonist of a novel.

So I recently revisited a few books I read when I was much younger. Three of these, which all featured female central characters were “Gone with the Wind”, “Forever Amber” and “Vanity Fair” -were my favourites, and I really liked and admired Scarlett O’Hara, Amber St. Claire and Becky Sharpe and for similar reasons. They are all really strong women who are faced with considerable adversity and triumph over it by sheer determination (and by using all their talents, however nefarious or unscrupulous).

Maybe things have changed in the last 40 years, or maybe people never liked this kind of character – but I gather from an article I just read that all three of these ladies are now regarded not only as moral monsters, but as unlikeable characters. If I were put with my back against the wall, I would be a Scarlett or a Becky and lie, cheat and steal to get through and survive. I admire people like that, and I detest characters like Fanny from Mansfield Park and most Victorian heroines, whose only response to adversity is humility and resignation.