# Favorite Fictional Heroine? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 7, 2000, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043 "2000-10-07T04:44:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Suo\_Na](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@Suo\_Na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suo_Na)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/41 "2000-10-09T19:03:16Z")
Emma Woodhouse. She’s smart, confident, caring, _honest_, knows her role in society, and able to learn from her mistakes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/42 "2000-10-09T19:47:09Z")
Esme Weatherwax is my current favorite, but _Harriet the Spy_ (author?) is still my favorite from childhood. Violet from “Shakespeare in Love” is worth mentioning, as are all of the smart women from Jane Austen. Harriet Vane, the mystery writer in Dorothy Sayer’s Lord Peter Whimsy novels is also a great female character. ---
**Author:** ![lucie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed8c4c/32.png) [@lucie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucie)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/43 "2000-10-10T00:03:14Z")
Another vote for Granny Weatherwax. Amelia Peabody (by Elizabeth Peters) ---
**Author:** ![geekgurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8797f3/32.png) [@geekgurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geekgurl)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/44 "2000-10-10T03:08:20Z")
There is none better than the funky bounty hunter with attitude, Stephanie Plum. You can catch her in a series of books by Janet Evanovich. she kicks ass… ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/45 "2000-10-10T03:25:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AuntiePam \* > \*\*I’ll go with the flow (had to stretch for that pun) and put in a good word for Daenerys, with the baby dragons, in GRRMartin’s Song of Ice and Fire Series. Those books are chock full of interesting females. \*\* I’ll agree with that. I’m rereading the first two in preparation for the imminent release of Book 3. Then it’s back to review the last few Jordan books in preparation for November’s release of his Book 9. Sigh. So much reading, so little time. **FairyPrincessKitty** - definitely read the second book. ---
**Author:** ![Xgemina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/b5e925/32.png) [@Xgemina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xgemina)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/46 "2000-10-10T07:30:40Z")
alot of my favourites have already been posted (Cordelia Naismith, Polgara, & Paks) but my current fav is Honor Harrington who is from a Sci-Fi series by David Weber. I could name several others but my books are still packed away:( ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/47 "2000-10-10T07:53:51Z")
**TopazAntares** mentioned Lessa of Pern… I do love that character and at times I feel like I’m _channelling_ Lessa, or at least her gentler, more maternal side (to the extent she could be said to have a gentler side…). But out of this series I still have a soft spot for Menolly, probably because I found the Harper Hall books when I was fifteen, had outgrown Pippi Longstocking and all the other _young_ girl heroines but still needed to read of a strong girl my age. The title character of Sigrid Undset’s historical trilogy **Kristin Lavransdatter** is also a fascinating character, but I find myself admiring her mother Ragnfrid more and more. ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/48 "2000-10-10T13:55:23Z")
Scout, from _To Kill a Mockingbird_. Meg Murray, from _A Wrinkle in Time_. Lois, from _Malcolm in the Middle_. Dido, mythical founder of Carthage. Myrna Minkoff, from _A Confederacy of Dunces_. Liza Doolittle, from _Pygmaleon_. Margaret Sullivan’s character in _Shop Around the Corner_. I’m sure there are more, but these are all I can think of right now. I’m not at all into fantasy or science fiction, so that’s probably why I run aground when it comes to conjuring lists of heroines. My interest in formula fiction is pretty much confined to old movies. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/49 "2000-10-10T14:29:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by geekgurl \* > \*\*There is none better than the funky bounty hunter with attitude, Stephanie Plum. You can catch her in a series of books by Janet Evanovich. > > she kicks ass… > \*\* Oh, yeah, Stephanie Plum is great, but I have a soft spot in my heart for the funky, funny, kick-ass private investigator named after me (not really, but I was here first), Kinsey Milhone, of the _A is for Alibi_ series by Sue Grafton. Also, I’ll always love Scout of _To Kill A Mockingbird_ and Francie Nolan of _A Tree Grows In Brooklyn_, my all-time favorite book. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/50 "2000-10-10T14:45:17Z")
Another vote for Stephanie Plum. Kinsey was great for about the first 5 or 6 books, but she’s gotten pretty moribund lately. Stephanie is just a hoot and she blows up about six cars per book. ---
**Author:** ![teppei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/58956e/32.png) [@teppei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teppei)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/51 "2000-10-10T15:18:36Z")
I’d have to say Egwene al’Vere from the Wheel of Time series, by Robert Jordan. Of all the characters, I feel she is the most round, especially in the most current books, where she developes herself as Amyrlin Seat in the rebel Tower. I would say Nynaeve, but I don’t think she’s nearly as round as Egwene. [hijack] I’ve heard a rumor that Moiraine might be coming back in book 9 with the help of fireworks. Does anyone know how accurate this rumor is?[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Edwardina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Edwardina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edwardina)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/52 "2000-10-10T17:18:35Z")
I can’t believe no one’s mentioned **Scully** yet. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/53 "2000-10-10T17:43:45Z")
hmmm… Toda Mariko Buntaro from James Clavell’s _SHOGUN_ The American Maid from _The Tick_ (thats my mom, she throws shoes) and SHE-HULK. Yea i know her own book sucked but i just loved her when she was with the Avengers 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JosephFinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3bc359/32.png) [@JosephFinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JosephFinn)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/54 "2000-10-10T20:01:04Z")
First, a slight disagreement on the Peter David written book for “She-Hulk.” Hilarious series that had some real fun with the whole superhero genre. C’mon, where else could you see a seven-foot-tall green woman who refused to wear a costume, opting instead for business suits? Great play with the fourth wall concept, especially the time she tried to climb out of the page when she argued with the writing. As for a favorite heroine, that would be Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser, from Diane Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series. Smart, acerbic, loving, courageous and with enough personal demons to be any one of us. Great series with a great heroine. ---
**Author:** ![Iolanthe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7bcc69/32.png) [@Iolanthe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iolanthe)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/55 "2000-10-10T22:09:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xtal \* > \*\*Harriet Vane, the mystery writer in Dorothy Sayer’s Lord Peter Whimsy novels is also a great female character. > \*\* Ah, good one. I had forgotten her. I’ll also go with Elizabeth Bennett, Buffy Summers (and Willow Rosenberg,) Kinsey Milhone, and Amelia Peabody Emerson. Now for some of my own, but first some definitions - IMO, a heroine needs to be active in the story, and she needs to be heroic. So anti-heroines (do we _have_ that many?) and strong villains aren’t applicable here (so no Lady Kaede, or Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth.) With that in mind - “History may not have been like this, but it should have been” - Helena Justina in Lindsey Davis’ Marcus Didius Falco ancient Rome series. Witty, active, loyal, shy, brave, beautiful, and half of the detection in the series. Also a big appetite for books, jokes, and sex (with Marcus.) “No, we’re not all Fran Drescher” - Asst DA Tess Kaufman, from Marlee Matlin’s short-lived series Reasonable Doubts. No, it wasn’t the best tv I’ve ever seen, but it was a mitzvah (IMHO) to see an attractive, non stereotype/NYC/JAP\* Jewish woman who quietly integrated her Judaism into her life. And professional, intelligent, and caring. Viola in Twelfth Night - the heroine of my favorite Shakespeare play, so she has to be included in my list. Hapgood in Tom Stoppard’s Hapgood. Fascinating woman in a fascinating play. Cinnamon Carter in Mission: Impossible. If you catch the little bits of characterization the show throws in, you can infer that she was the toughest/most suited to the spy work of the bunch. Moves on an equal frame with the guys, and takes the same risks as them without a question. And finally - Sgt. Kay Howard. She’s not aiming to be one of the boys (although she can be,) she’s aiming to beat the boys (of her Baltimore Homicide Squad.) She’s ambitious, but she has the abilities to prove it (and the best case closure rate of the series - 100%.) She dresses the way she wants to dress, goes without makeup when she feels like it, and brags about her lovelife (when she has one) with the best of them. \*By the way, I’ve met many Jewish women from NYC and the NYC area, and none of the ones I know confirm to the JAP stereotype. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/56 "2000-10-10T22:24:25Z")
Christa Crutaire from Gael Baudino’s novel “Gossamer Axe” Penelope and Circe from The Odyssey Elizabeth Bennett (Jane Austin’s “Pride and Prejudice”) Effie from “The Maltese Falcon” Cordelia Gray from P.D. James’ novels “An Unsuitable Job for a Woman” and “The Skull Beneath the Skin” Leiko Wu from the old Master of Kung Fu comic Nova Kane from the E-Man comic Sand Serif and Silk Satin from The Spirit Two Doc Savage heroines: Hannah the pirate from “Mystery on Happy Bones” and Toni Lash from “The Devil Genghis” Clarice Starling ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Three](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f05b48/32.png) [@Blue\_Three](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Three)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2000, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/57 "2000-10-11T14:31:19Z")
Ayla from Clan of the Cave Bear and its sequels. ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/58 "2000-10-13T06:48:09Z")
Commander Susan Ivanova. Tough. Dedicated. Beautiful. Three-dimensional (this is rare in female tv/movie characters…) Two quotes to back up my opinion: “I am Susan Ivanova, Commander. Daughter of Andre and Sophie Ivanov. I am the right hand of vengeance and the boot that is going to kick your sorry ass all the way back to Earth, goddammit! I am death incarnate, and the last living thing that you are ever going to see. God sent me.” Captain Sheridan: “Are you trying to cheer me up?” Susan Ivanova: “No sir, wouldn’t dream of it.” Sheridan: “Good, I hate being cheered up.” Ivanova: “In that case we’re all going to die slow, agonizing deaths.” Sheridan: “Thank you, I feel so much better now.” ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/59 "2000-10-13T15:11:10Z")
I’ll have to agree with Blue Three and go with Ayla. A most resourceful woman. ---
**Author:** ![Estrella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Estrella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estrella)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2000, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043/60 "2000-10-13T15:34:18Z")
**Molly Bloom** , Joyce’s Ulysses **Death** , as characterized by Neil Gaiman in _Sandman_ **Molly** , also by Neil Gaiman in the _Books of Magic_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fictional-heroine/36043.md?page=4)