Female Characters Signifying Change Literature has been a popular outlet over many years for women to speak out on gender equality. The creation of strong female personalities as allowed woman to create fictional characters that give women hope and motivation. Many of these fictional women have been created in the author’s likeness when analyzed by scholars. There are five most influential female characters in literature that are believed to have brought about sweeping changes in how women’s roles were viewed by society.
The first of which is Hua Mulan from the “Ballad of Mulan”. There is a controversy that surrounds this story in whether she is a real or fictional character. The belief that she was created to motivate women and promote gender equality for the time period. The second woman on list is Hester Prynne. This is the outcast from Nathaniel Hawthorn’s “Scarlet Letter”. This character has been able to influence women ever since the 1800’s on how to raise a child on your own when the odds are against you. Jane Eyre is the next women on the list, who is said to be very close to an autobiography of the author Charlotte Bronte?.
A bildungsroman of sorts for young women to read a story of a woman coming of age and the struggles. The fourth woman to make this list is Hermione Granger from the mystical novel “Harry Potter” by J.K. Rowlings. This is the only novel on the list where this character is not envisioned to be the main character. That being said, Hermione has intrigued young girls since the late 90s.
Amongst all of the wizards and prophesies she proved herself to be bright, capable and the one that consistently pushed Harry to his potential. Last but not least Katness Everdeen, the heroine from “The Hunger Games”. Young women from this generation are able to see a 16-year-old girl after the death of her father take the role in the household that a man once filled.These five women have definitely guided the choices of women and help to shape gender equality throughout the world.
From the 6th century to the 21st century these five have provided motivation in almost every area that woman would want to succeed. In each one of these scenarios a life circumstance arose that gave these women the ability to step up and prove their ability to persevere. This is why these are five most influential female characters in literature that are believed to have brought about sweeping changes in how women’s roles were viewed by society.
