Top 5 Tuesday: Female Characters

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Hopefully this week I’ll get back to posting book reviews (I have three that are done), but I’ve been forgetting the last few weeks, so we’ll see how that goes.

For this week’s Top 5 Tuesday, I decided to do a spin-off of last week’s. A bunch of people gave me some flack about making my top 5 characters all male, so this week I’m going to show my love for the ladies with my 5 favorite female characters!

1.     Hermione Granger (from the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling)

Hermione is one of those characters that reminds me so much of myself it’s almost frightening. Each time I re-read the series, I find myself identifying more and more with the shy, intelligent, ultra-organized, slightly neurotic bookworm. We both love libraries, studying, and learning. She got a Time Turner her third year to take more classes – something I TOTALLY would have done! I mean, this is the girl who’s boggart in her third year Defense Against the Dark Arts Final was Professor McGonagall telling her she’d failed everything (I still have “oh my God it’s the final and I forgot to go to class all semester” dreams three years out of college). She’s also an incredibly strong person, standing up for what she believes in with little regard to other people’s opinions (SPEW is an excellent example). Her devotion to Harry – especially during Deathly Hallows when she has to choose between Ron and her mission – is phenomenal.

2.     Rose Hathaway (from the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead)

I like Rose so much because she, like Hermione, reminds me of myself, only to a lesser extent. I’ve definitely been known to take the “punch first, ask questions later” approach to problem solving, though not as much as I’ve grown older (thankfully!). Rose is also incredibly protective of Lissa, and reading through the series for the first time, their relationship reminded me a lot of my relationship with my best friend. Though, obviously, I don’t have a direct connection into her mind. And Alyssa’s not a vampire, but I digress. The point is that I admire how far Rose is willing to go to protect those she loves like Lissa and Dimitri. And it takes an exceptionally strong person to have gone through some of the things Rose has (let’s take all of Blood Promise as one big example), a kind of emotional strength I can’t help but admire.

3.     Katniss Everdeen (from The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins)

Katniss is so great because she is an incredibly strong female role model, even though she definitely has her weaknesses. But she’s not great despite those flaws, but because of them. Having flaws – being emotionally unavailable, for one – makes her much more realistic and more relatable. She’s not perfect, but she is the picture of strength and survival, whatever the cost (almost, anyway). Despite what most people think, The Hunger Games isn’t about whether Katniss should choose Peeta or Gale. It’s about people standing up for what is right and choosing to fight back rather than to accept the lot they’re dealt. When Katniss forces the Capitol to accept two victors, she may not mean to, but she starts a revolution. What Katniss does sparks something in people – it makes them realize that they deserve better.

4.     Éowyn (from the Lord of the Rings series by JRR Tolkien)

Éowyn is one of those characters that is easy to overlook, which is a specialty of mine when it comes to liking characters (take Walter from Stargate for example – mega bonus points if you can even tell me who he is). She, like the other women that made this list is incredibly strong and principled, two traits I admire in both real people and fictional characters. Éowyn definitely takes her heritage seriously, but she also feels that she has more to offer her uncle, King Theoden, and the people of Rohan than a life at Edoras can give her. She longs to go into battle – so much so that she disguises herself as a man in order to fight. And once she gets to the battle, she’s a total badass, killing (with Merry’s help) the Witch-king and his scary dragon-horse. I love, also, that Éowyn’s is, ultimately, a love story, but she doesn’t meet her prince (literally and figuratively) until her badassery is over and done with. Éowyn didn’t ride into battle for the love of a man, but because she felt she owed it to her people, which makes her even more awesome in my eyes.

5.     Professor Minerva McGonagall (from the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling)

I love Minerva McGonagall so much. There are so many great qualities about her – she’s an amazing teacher, a spectacularly talented witch, and cares so much for the students in Gryffindor house. I admired her throughout much of the Harry Potter series, but she kills me in Deathly Hallows every time. Everything she says to Harry after his return to Hogwarts at the end is just so perfect, and I love that she’s the one who cries out the loudest at Harry’s “death”. Minerva McGonagall isn’t just a teacher – she’s an incredibly kind and caring woman. Also, Dame Maggie Smith’s portrayal of her is so spot-on I almost can’t handle it.

So there you have it – proof that I swing both ways when it comes to characters I like. Granted, I like the dudes I listed last week more, but these women have a lot to offer as well. And, on the whole, they’re probably better people than my actual favorites, so what does that say about me?

Mischief Managed,

Slim Pearl Silver-Feather

Currently Reading: Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Books Read in 2012: 20