I don’t think I could ever have the room to talk about the fine ladies of my favorite stories- except right here, on the Daily Waffle. Bear in mind that I’m not necessarily picking the best ladies in fiction, but purely the ones I wish I could be friends with because they are all one thing: BAD ASS. They are the ladies we want to be like if we ever find ourselves in a dire situation because they take no-nonsense and have plenty of confidence in themselves.
So here, I present my top five bad ass female literary characters. Don’t judge me, or actually you can. I won’t be too upset. Notable runner ups: Katniss Everdeen, Molly Weasley, Arya Stark, Jane Eyre, Scarlett O’Hara, Hester Pyrenne, Cersei Lannister, and many others I can’t name right now!
5- Daenerys Targaryen
I’m putting Daenerys at the bottom of my list only because I’m still reading George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones series and don’t know what happens to her in the end– I’m only on book 2. But anyone whose read the books or watches the show knows that Daenerys is one bad ass Khaleesi. She’s loving, fierce, and is the mother of dragons. I would love to have her as a Queen, and I do not hide my feeling that I hope that she is the winner of the Iron Throne by the end of the series.
4- Johanna Mason
Everyone knows that I’m a fangirl of the Hunger Games series. But believe me, there’s no one I love more in these books as much as I love Johanna. Why? Because she slaps Katniss Everdeen silly (I can’t wait to see that in Catching Fire). Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love Katniss too, but anyone who gets to put the girl on fire and her attitude into their rightful place gets a gold star from me. Plus, like Daenerys, Johanna is fierce. I’d love to go to get into a bar fight with her, provided she and I were fighting on the same side.
3- Miss Pross
The first time I read ‘A Tale of Two Cities,’ I kept coming back to the scene where Madame Defarge is killed. And all I kept thinking of was how incredible it was for a governess like Miss Pross to stand up to this menacing woman. And how while they’re fighting, neither one can understand the other as Miss Pross only speaks English and Defarge only French. It’s one of those scenes that I find absoultely brilliant, and I love Charles Dickens for it, just as I love Miss Pross for protecting Lucie Manette in it. Official bad ass status.
2- Hermione Granger
As a generation Y’er, I hardly have to defend why I chose Harry Potter’s female sidekick, Hermione Granger. She’s brilliant, loyal, and always clutch. When things look hopeless, she’s got a spell and a plan that’s guaranteed to save the day. Take Deathly Hallows into consideration– without her, Harry would’ve had no shot in succeeding against Voldemort without Hermione’s bottomless beaded bag and when she deformed his face so nobody would recognize him at Malfoy Manor. Plus, she’s come a long way from being the annoying know it all to the passionate, brightest witch of her age.
1- Elizabeth Bennett
Heart of gold. Wit beyond measure. And still imperfection. Elizabeth Bennett is arguably the greatest female character of all time, and I’m not here to disagree on that one. I bow down to Jane Austen for granting us Pride and Prejudice and everything that is Elizabeth Bennett. But why is she a bad ass? Because she calls it as she sees it. Nobody, not even Mr. Darcy is big enough to prevent her from speaking her mind. And given the time Pride and Prejudice was written, Elizabeth is one of the original bad ass heroines. Can’t top that.
