So I’ve been thinking a lot about my list of favorite female protagonists, and then other female protagonists that I don’t like as much, and I’ve come to the unavoidable conclusion that I like difficult women. Because I am one, you’ll conclude. Maybe. It’s true I have this lovely magnet you see here in a prominent place on the notice board immediately to the left of my desk.
Thinking about this, the hard part is defining the line between good-difficult and too-difficult. I think it has something to do with generosity, for me personally. A female protagonist can be difficult in many ways and still stay on my good side, but she has to have a generosity of mind to really win me over, even though she may not be in a position to show it.
More on this, maybe tomorrow.
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Interesting comment about difficult female protagonsists. I feel really disappointed when I read a book and discover there’s no way I can like the lead female. Yet, there are others where I know this woman is an abrasive bitch yet I really cling to her story and want things to turn out well for her (often in the romantic realm of her life). My prime example is Margaret Campbell in Peter May’s Chinese thriller series, the first being ‘The Firemaker’. I just LOVE these books despite the fact I’m not really into crime novels. May totally won me over with his very difficult female character by getting massive amounts of sympathy out of me for her current predicament and hints at a very troubled past. It seemed fair enough that she was a bitch given all that she was going or had been through. To me, sympathy, without turning her into a charity case, was the winning factor.
Interesting comment about difficult female protagonsists. I feel really disappointed when I read a book and discover there’s no way I can like the lead female. Yet, there are others where I know this woman is an abrasive bitch yet I really cling to her story and want things to turn out well for her (often in the romantic realm of her life). My prime example is Margaret Campbell in Peter May’s Chinese thriller series, the first being ‘The Firemaker’. I just LOVE these books despite the fact I’m not really into crime novels. May totally won me over with his very difficult female character by getting massive amounts of sympathy out of me for her current predicament and hints at a very troubled past. It seemed fair enough that she was a bitch given all that she was going or had been through. To me, sympathy, without turning her into a charity case, was the winning factor.