Samantha's Sunday Seven, and then some

I hate being the last to post in this “Sunday six” because it’s clear to me that, after reading everyone else’s submissions, I don’t have anything new to say. Our collective struggle to name favorite heroines was very interesting, though. Why are romance heroines so unmemorable?

Maybe it’s because the authors are operating under the conscious or unconscious idea that I've heard more than once, that the heroine stands in a romance novel as a surrogate for the reader. If that's the case, the heroine shouldn’t stand out too strongly or the reader won’t be able to identify with them.

Maybe it’s because the traditional definition of what makes a “lovable” woman – that she’s sweet, kind, nurturing, loves children and kittens, etc – just doesn’t make for a memorable character. Not that those aren’t good traits; I wouldn’t mind having any or all of them, although I can’t say I’m blessed with any of them in good measure.

So I’m going to do what everyone else did in order to come up with a list. I’m going to go outside of romance fiction to the greater world of literature and to the movies. All the women I mention are involved in a romance, but they are typically involved in other things, too. And I’m going to go more for “memorable” female protagonists than ones I necessarily like, although I do like most of them.

Most of these, not surprisingly, have already been mentioned by others in this group. But here’s my list:

1. Anne Shirley in the Anne of Green Gables series. This series is, in my estimation, some of the best children’s fiction ever written. Like Tom Sawyer, it works on two levels, one for children and one for adults. The key to the series is Anne, who remains stubbornly true to herself no matter what life throws at her.

2. Elizabeth Bennet in P&P, but also just about any heroine by Jane Austen. Jane was possibly the first writer to create really three-dimensional female characters.

3. Jo March in the Little Women series. Another strong-willed, frequently impulsive female character who follows her own lights regardless of the expectations of the era. I strongly suspect she was modeled after the author, which is probably why she seems so real.

4. Claire Fraser in the Outlander series. With apologies to Alyson, I must admit that I do not like Claire Fraser, although I haven’t been able to put my finger on why not. She’s smart and brave and all that, but something about her rubs me the wrong way. Maybe I don’t find her worthy of the hero, Jamie. But then, no woman could be worthy of a hero like that. Nevertheless, she is a very strongly memorable character.

5. Belle in “Beauty and the Beast”. Yes, I mean the Disney version, not having ever read the fairy tale in its original form. I think Beauty and the Beast is the archetypal romance story: the obnoxious, emotionally shuttered hero is brought back to his humanity (literally, in this case) by the spirited yet sweet heroine. Belle is by far my favorite Disney heroine, never sulky or helpless.

6. Almost any role Katherine Hepburn ever played. I’m thinking particular of her roles in A Lion in Winter, the African Queen, and Adam’s Rib. She was the quintessential woman from the 30s and 40s, before the 50s sent everyone back to the kitchen.

7. The heroine in almost any Amanda Quick novel, especially the earlier ones. I know that Amanda Quick is Jayne Ann Krentz, but I enjoy Amanda’s novels far more than Jayne’s. Her books are a wonderful combination of unique heroines, devastatingly sexy alpha heroes, good mysteries, and a snappy Regency-style dialog that would do Jane Austen proud. Then again, I can’t actually name any of her heroines off the top of my head. But I still think she does heroines as well as any writer cranking out romance titles today.