Roald Dahl’s Matilda tells the story of a young girl of great intellectual ability who is born into a family that does not understand her.

From the time she is small, Matilda suffers neglect and ill-treatment at the hands of the people who should love her more than anyone.

In her isolation at home, she develops a love for knowledge. She spends her early years cultivating her intellectual capabilities.

When she starts school, she develops an immediate rapport with her teacher, Miss Honey. Together they work to take back control of their school from the evil principal Miss Trunchbull.

Along the way, Matilda discovers what it means to have friends you can count on. She also discovers that sometimes you aren’t born into your true family. Sometimes, you pick your family.

Matilda also discovers that she has telekinetic powers, and she uses them to help Miss Honey set things right at the school. Once everything is in order and Matilda is finally enjoying the sort of education that challenges her, she finds her powers have disappeared.

What makes Matilda a particularly good role model — not just for young girls, but for anyone, really — is her independent spirit.

This is a girl who thinks for herself and follows her own path. She doesn’t change who she is to accommodate the people who don’t understand what a gifted person she is.

Matilda actively seeks to better herself and her situation in life. Rather than accept the unfortunate circumstances she has been born into, she makes an active choice to improve her lot.

That’s incredibly empowering.

So often, people adopt a defeatist attitude when times are tough or things aren’t going their way. They accept their lot because they feel as if they have no choice.

Matilda shows that there is always a choice. If she had never found the inner strength to pick up that first book, her life would have turned out very different.

She also teaches us that, if you are true to who you are, the right people will see your value and they will love you just for being yourself.

 

Note: Obviously, March is almost over. But, Women’s History Month will continue, as far as this blog is concerned. So stay tuned!

Jane Austen enthusiasts and neophytes alike generally agree that Elizabeth Bennet is her most beloved heroine.

And it’s easy to see why.

Elizabeth is intelligent, lively, funny, and kind. Her wit is celebrated by all who are familiar with Pride and Prejudice.

Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth’s love interest, is also almost universally liked by all who read the book — and those of us who simply can’t decide whether Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen played him better.

Much like Anne Elliot, Elizabeth stands firm in her belief that she cannot marry a man she doesn’t or couldn’t love. This is in spite of the fact that she will almost certainly be penniless if her father dies while she is still single.

It’s not all that much of a surprise then when Elizabeth rejects the proposals of her first suitor, Mr. Collins. He is her father’s heir, and Elizabeth’s marrying him would secure a safe future for her family. But she is also aware that they are absolutely unsuitable as a couple.

Mr. Collins’ reminding her that she may never receive another offer of marriage only serves to firm her resolve.

The real surprise in the novel comes when Elizabeth rejects Mr. Darcy’s first proposal.

While it’s pretty clear all along that she doesn’t like him, the chemistry between them and the allure of the life Elizabeth would have in marrying a man of such wealth does make it surprising that she doesn’t at least consider his offer.

She flat out rejects him.

Of course, this is Jane Austen, so we all know it will end well.

What makes Elizabeth a notable feminist figure in literature is her flouting of convention.

In the Regency Era, women were expected to be “accomplished.” They did needlework, they sang, drew, danced, or played an instrument, and they normally spoke several languages, with French being quite a popular choice.

Elizabeth boasts no extraordinary talents. She knows enough needlework to keep her busy in idle hours. She also plays piano, but by her own admission has never been serious about practicing.

Young ladies were to remain composed at all times, even when it came to their manner of walking. They were also expected to have a chaperon at all times, until they were married.

Elizabeth takes solitary walks. She also runs, which a lady was never to do.

Women were also expected to be demure.

Elizabeth, though she is modest and observes the civilities of polite society in a way that does her great credit, cannot be said to be demure.

She is never shy about saying precisely what she thinks and feels.

This does not always work to her benefit, but Austen consistently shows that this trait of Elizabeth’s is something to be admired.

In the end, of course, she and Mr. Darcy figure things out and are quite happy together, as equal partners.

Though she assumes the role of a great lady of the county at Pemberley, Elizabeth never once compromises who she is.

I realize that my opinion might not be a popular one, but I think Anne Elliot is the very best of Jane Austen’s heroines.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Elizabeth Bennet too, but Anne is the one I identify most with.

She might seem like an odd choice for a blog post about feminism, but let me tell you why she isn’t, because it takes more than one kind of feminist to make the movement a success.

Anne is quiet, gentle, unassuming, and kind. But she is also strong and principled. She’s not assertive or brash (those are good qualities in their own way too, let’s be clear), but she has the fortitude of character not to shy away from doing what she feels to be right, no matter who decides to pressure her to do otherwise.

She is the women she is in the novel because when she was very young she was persuaded by her family to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth. The Napoleonic Wars were at their height, and Wentworth was heading off to sea. Her family did not think it wise for her to marry a man who probably wouldn’t come back. And her snobbish father turned his nose up at Wentworth because he was not a wealthy man at the time. Anne decided to break things off out of concern for Wentworth. She didn’t want him to have to deal with a lifetime of snobbery at the hands of her family. She suffers because of her decision, but still she feels that she has done the right thing.

When the novel opens, eight years have passed since then and Anne is still unmarried. At 27, she is like to remain single the rest of her life. She has been proposed to by another man in the meantime, but she turns him down because she doesn’t love him (he eventually marries her sister).

That night seem like nothing much in this day and age, but in the early 19th century, that was a big deal. By refusing this offer of marriage, Anne pretty much guarantees that she will not be getting married. In this society, that means she will always have to rely on the kindness of friends and family to provide her with a home, and her style of living will only diminish as she grows older, thanks to her father’s debts. Aristocratic women did not work, and Anne’s future as a single woman will be fairly bleak, unless perhaps her married sister takes her in as part of their household.

Anne might not be as lively and spirited as Elizabeth Bennet, but this is an incredibly brave decision to make. She will not marry a man she doesn’t love, and she is going to stick to her convictions. Of course, in the end Wentworth comes back and we know Anne will have a happy life with him.

Anne is a great example of why feminism should have many faces. Sometimes, marriage and running a household is what a woman chooses to do with her life. Other times, she chooses a career, or both! What’s important is that she is able to make that choice, without anyone else influencing such an important decision. These are all worthy choices, and women should be free to make them on their own. What’s important is that women embrace and celebrate their differences, as well as each other’s choices. Because when we do that, we are stronger for it.

That’s right. We get a whole month. To celebrate Women’s History Month, I thought I’d take a look at some of my favorite heroines in literature. There’s a reason their stories are popular, and it’s not just because the books they inhabit are good. These ladies’ stories resonate with their readers because they provide strong role models for what it means to be a woman in the world and the obstacles we face in our lives. (And, of course, our triumphs.) Most importantly, I believe the women in my favorite books show that we don’t fit neatly into any one category. By that I mean that being a woman can mean many things. Each of us has our own idea of what defines or doesn’t define our femininity. And that idea doesn’t necessarily have to be what society thinks makes us women. So, without further ado, here are some of the heroines we’ll be discussing this month:

Anne Elliot, of Jane Austen’s Persuasion

Elizabeth Bennet, of Pride and Prejudice

Matilda, from Roald Dahl’s Matilda

Eowyn and Arwen, of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy

Katniss Everdeen, of The Hunger Games series

Hermione Granger, Minerva McGonagall, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Molly Weasley, and Lilly Potter, of the Harry Potter series

Mia Thermopolis, of The Princess Diaries series

Mary Russell, of the Marry Russell and Sherlock Holmes novels

And, from Game of Thrones, a whole litany of characters, but with particular attention paid to Brienne of Tarth, Sansa Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, and Cersei Lannister.