In both reality and fiction, women and their fictional counterparts spend a great deal of time doing things for others. I’m not saying men are slack – they handle the issues of providing differently. Besides, for the purpose of this post I’m focusing on female heroines…
Personally, I’ll skip or skim over a lot of things if I’m just doing for myself, but I’ll go above and beyond for family or close friends. If I need something, I’m likely to put it off, but if a friend calls in need, I’m there ready to help. The ‘why’ of holding myself to a different ranking on my system is rooted deeply in my personal priorities and motivation.
Take cooking. I’ve always loved baking, but I only learned to really think through a menu and prepare meals when I became a wife and later a mom. Now that it’s often just me or just a couple of us here, I approach meal times differently.
For myself, I’ll make do with one of my favorite frozen dinners, or maybe put a soup in the crock pot and use it for meals all week. If someone else is around, I’ll put more thought into it and go to more effort to make something I know they will enjoy.
But beyond the little daily things (like food) and turning the spotlight on fictional characters, have you noticed how intently a female heroine will pursue a goal if there’s more than her own interest on the line?
I believe the strongest female heroines in fiction fight for their own beliefs and their own needs, but most of them also have a motivation outside of themselves. It might be a child, or a lover, or a cause, but whatever (or whoever) the catalyst, it matters enough to keep them invested and willing to do whatever it takes to overcome the conflicts and challenges within the story.
This motivation, this greater purpose is vital in creating three-dimensional characters readers love (or love to hate). When a female heroine is focused on the goal for the bigger purpose, she takes chances and makes mistakes along the way. Those mistakes – and learning from them – connect female heroines to the reader. The character becomes memorable and we can identify with her.
Once Upon a Time is a terrific visual example of this. Each female heroine (Snow, Emma) and anti-hero (Regina) have their own priorities. And they each have their own blinders on in relation to those priorities. It made for an exciting first season and after the season premier last Sunday, it looks like we’re in store for quite a wild ride.
Live the adventure!
Got a favorite fictional female heroine? Why does she stand out to you?
To be fair, it’s also more compelling when male protagonists are fighting for something bigger than themselves. For heroes of both genders, true strength is demonstrated in standing up for what they believe in and protecting those people they love and value.
I agree entirely. Motivation really is at the core of character development. Thanks for stopping by.