30 Days of Female Awesome, Day Thirteen
30 days of female awesome, Day Thirteen: Favorite female character in a book
Maree Mallory from Deep Secret
There were two characters neck-to-neck on this one, both written by the recently departed, much beloved Diana Wynne Jones. One was Sophie Hatter of Howl's Moving Castle, the other was, as stated above, Maree Mallory of Deep Secret. Both of them are headstrong and quarrelsome and think too little of themselves. Both enter into tempestuous relationships with vain magicians, after discovering that they have considerable talent of their own. They both carry on despite being under heavy curses. It's almost impossible to choose, but in the end, I went with Maree, because how can you resist a heroine described like this:
"She was a small, unlovely woman in glasses, with a figure like a sack of straw with a string tied round it. And she danced. She bent her knees, she hopped, she cavorted. Her ragbag skirt swirled, her untidy hair flew and her spectacles slid on her barely-existent nose."
Of course, that is an early description by a pissed-out Rupert who doesn't yet know that she'll be the heroine, but it paints an interesting picture nevertheless. :-)
In addition, I might point out that she's very brave, unselfish to an alarming degree, and speaks with a *sob* in her voice. But so would you if you were under the amount of harmful spells she's under. No words I could use can make Maree justice, so suffice to say, she is very, very dear to my heart.
Add to that the story she is in, which is basically Pride and Prejudice and Centaurs, with half the story set at a fantasy convention, and this is a book you simply have to read. Even though I've spoiled bits of the ending.
As far as I can tell, this is Maree, flanked by Nick and Zinka:
And here's the rest of that cover, while we're at it:
Day Fourteen: Favorite older female character
Day Fifteen: Favorite female character growth arc
Day Sixteen: Favorite mother character
Day Seventeen: Favorite warrior female character
Day Eighteen: Favorite non-warrior female character
Day Nineteen: Favorite non-human female character
Day Twenty: Favorite female antagonist
Day Twenty-One: Favorite female character screwed over by canon
Day Twenty-Two: Favorite female character you love but everyone else hates
Day Twenty-Three: Favorite female platonic relationship
Day Twenty-Four: Favorite female romantic relationship
Day Twenty-Five: Favorite mother/daughter and/or sister relationship
Day Twenty-Six: Favorite classical female character (from pre-20th century literature or mythology or the like)
Day Twenty-Seven: A female character you have extensive personal canon for
Day Twenty-Eight: Favorite female writer (television, books, movies, etc.)
Day Twenty-Nine: A female-centric fic rec
Day Thirty: Whatever you’d like!
This entry was originally posted at http://katta.dreamwidth.org/536607.html and has
comments there.
Maree Mallory from Deep Secret
There were two characters neck-to-neck on this one, both written by the recently departed, much beloved Diana Wynne Jones. One was Sophie Hatter of Howl's Moving Castle, the other was, as stated above, Maree Mallory of Deep Secret. Both of them are headstrong and quarrelsome and think too little of themselves. Both enter into tempestuous relationships with vain magicians, after discovering that they have considerable talent of their own. They both carry on despite being under heavy curses. It's almost impossible to choose, but in the end, I went with Maree, because how can you resist a heroine described like this:
"She was a small, unlovely woman in glasses, with a figure like a sack of straw with a string tied round it. And she danced. She bent her knees, she hopped, she cavorted. Her ragbag skirt swirled, her untidy hair flew and her spectacles slid on her barely-existent nose."
Of course, that is an early description by a pissed-out Rupert who doesn't yet know that she'll be the heroine, but it paints an interesting picture nevertheless. :-)
In addition, I might point out that she's very brave, unselfish to an alarming degree, and speaks with a *sob* in her voice. But so would you if you were under the amount of harmful spells she's under. No words I could use can make Maree justice, so suffice to say, she is very, very dear to my heart.
Add to that the story she is in, which is basically Pride and Prejudice and Centaurs, with half the story set at a fantasy convention, and this is a book you simply have to read. Even though I've spoiled bits of the ending.
As far as I can tell, this is Maree, flanked by Nick and Zinka:
And here's the rest of that cover, while we're at it:
Day Fourteen: Favorite older female character
Day Fifteen: Favorite female character growth arc
Day Sixteen: Favorite mother character
Day Seventeen: Favorite warrior female character
Day Eighteen: Favorite non-warrior female character
Day Nineteen: Favorite non-human female character
Day Twenty: Favorite female antagonist
Day Twenty-One: Favorite female character screwed over by canon
Day Twenty-Two: Favorite female character you love but everyone else hates
Day Twenty-Three: Favorite female platonic relationship
Day Twenty-Four: Favorite female romantic relationship
Day Twenty-Five: Favorite mother/daughter and/or sister relationship
Day Twenty-Six: Favorite classical female character (from pre-20th century literature or mythology or the like)
Day Twenty-Seven: A female character you have extensive personal canon for
Day Twenty-Eight: Favorite female writer (television, books, movies, etc.)
Day Twenty-Nine: A female-centric fic rec
Day Thirty: Whatever you’d like!
This entry was originally posted at http://katta.dreamwidth.org/536607.html and has
comments there.