Fantasy featuring a female thief is a genre that has become quite popular. 1. In the Harry Potter books, Hermione starts as an insufferable know-it-all, blossoms into a whip-smart beauty who doesnt suffer fools (except Ron), and ends up as the glue that holds the whole operation together. These Characters Are Younger Than They Seem, Most Annoying Characters of TV and Movies, The Greatest Characters Who Don't Even Exist, Characters Who Don't Deserve Happy Endings, Iconic Roles No One Else Should Ever Play, Core Characters Not There in the Beginning, The Worst Male Protagonists in Novel History, The Greatest Female Characters In Literature, Ranked. It is the first novel in the Shades of Magic trilogy, of which there are three novels. Though you may know Mulan best from the Disney film, she was originally imagined in the 6th century Chinese poem The Ballad of Mulan and has since been reinterpreted in various literary and non-literary forms. Not one bit. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. If there's anyone to inspire you to pursue more in your life, it'll probably be Chiaki Mukai whose CV includes being a vascular surgeon, Japan's first female astronaut and an all-round science queen. Lets be real here: there are a lot of shadycharacters in the fictional worlds we like to visit. Half of the legendary duo Bonnie and Clyde, Bonnie Parker met Clyde Barrow in 1930, and, when he was sent to jail soon after on burglary charges, she smuggled in a gun that he was able to use to escape. The story of Tomoe Gozen has inspired artists and writers for centuries. Charlotte Corday became an assassin at age 25. It's cover reveal day for The Glass Scientists: Volume One by S.H. The powerful female protagonist of the hour is also one of the strongest women on this list. Ali Baba is a poor woodcutter who secretly watches as 40 thieves hide their booty in a cave, the door to which can be opened only by the verbal command of "Open, Sesame!" He later uses this magic phrase, steals riches from the . She's manipulative and selfish, yet, at the end, I was still sorry to see her friendship with Catherine crumble. But you have to admit that the girl's got gumption. IT'S HERE! Steal from the rich and give to the poor. The Forty Elephants carried out the largest British shoplifting operation between the 1870s and the 1950s. It's thieves' lit that reminds you, hey, thieves need a coming-of-age novel, too. You have to admit, that's pretty compelling. 63. Becky Sharp would do anything to climb the social ladder, and her cunning and manipulative plots make her an ideal anti-heroine. In fact, its closer to a fairy tale, the kind in which you onlyslowly come torealize there is a thief at work at all. When her husband died, Surratt moved to Washington, D.C., and opened a boardinghouse. https://www.britannica.com/list/7-notorious-women-criminals. Although the details have shifted throughout the ages, women have often been urged to be quiet, demure, and submissive, to marry and serve their husbands and children and not to strive for much more. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. The poem is about a woman who ensnares men because she's been made to destroy, similar to the Other Mother, who's charming at first but soon turns deadly. , But when one of them accidentally stuck asword into someone deeply inconvenient for the ruling class, the twins find themselves on the runand areforced to become highwaymen, scrabbling to survive far from the capital and under assumed names. She and her husband, a Cherokee Indian named Sam Starr, were known for housing outlaws on their ranch in the Oklahoma Indian Territory and for preying on travelers and cowboys passing through. From the evil to the undeniably perfect, the always strong to those who those who never give up, these are the greatest female characters from literature of all genres. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. She and her husband were convicted of horse stealing in 1883 and served time in a federal penitentiary. Seregil and Alec are a compelling duo whose character growth is showcased as much as their night-running rooftop adventures. Naomi Blumberg was Assistant Editor, Arts and Culture for Encyclopaedia Britannica. Chantal Joffe's Me, Em and Nat (2020), Oil on board Chantal Joffe, Courtesy of the artist and Victoria Miro. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This novel follows Kell, a young magician who can travel between four parallel universes. Abigail is pretty dang crazy, but you have to admit that she's interesting. Literally. Here are a few of the most dynamic women who have graced the pages of literature, leaving a trail of beautiful destruction. Click through to see our list of ten of the most powerful female characters in literature, and then be sure to pipe up with your own suggestions weve chosen the ten who resonate most deeply with us here, but since there are many more than ten strong ladies in literature (thank goodness), we want to know which ones blow you away on a daily basis. A satisfying story, told before a campfire, traditionally has a beginning, middle and end. Youreguaranteed to find more in itthan you remember, and the nostalgia factor will beramped up to 11. Joan of Arc (Joan of Arc by Mark Twain): Few are even aware that Mark Twain wrote about Joan of Arc. Sometimes they have no magical ability and they must outsmart those who do. The Forty Elephants Gang, or the Forty Thieves, was a British gang of ladies that formed in the 18th century. They're unpredictable. Images: 20th Century Fox (3), Focus Features (1), Loew's Inc (1), Summit Entertainment (1), The Weinstein Company (1), Buena Vista Pictures (2), Lionsgate (1), ITV (1), 20th Century Fox (1), Warner Bros Pictures (1), Everything To Know About The New 'Bridgerton' Prequel Book, 'Queen Charlotte', How Zibby Owens Built A DIY Podcast Into A Book Empire, Everything To Know About 'Mayfair Witches' Season 2, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. Robin Hood is one of the most popular thieves of all time. She is doing the wrong things, but often for a good purpose. The three-act structure can be traced to that ur-text of dramatic theory, Aristotles Poetics, written in the mid-fourth century B.C., though surely its hard-wired in our humanity. I live in the US with my husband, daughter, and dog. We might think we know this basic story, but there is much more to this tale. Peter Maximoff. Xenk, played by Reg-Jean Page, is very much the nerdy player that doesn't make jokes and adheres strictly to the rulebook. Butch Cassidy: Butch Cassidy was the leader of one of the famous robbery gangs, Wild Butch Gang. A flight none of them might survive. Whores and quarrelsome women are alluded to in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and ancient writers have left us unforgettable characters of murderesses and scolds such as the infanticide Medea, and the scold Xanthippe, Socrates'wife, but no such feminine embodiment of theft has reached us. Chaucer didnt mean to make the Wife of Bath as big of a character as he did. Repetitions of three lend coherence and satisfaction: In fairy tales, you get three guesses or three wishes, the chairs are too big, too small or just right. Before he came to be our favorite kineticenergy-wielding member of the X-Men, Gambit was a member of the thieves guildsomething that didnt endear him to his fellow X-Men at first. The Redemption of Althalus, by David Eddings These days, little girls grow up with all kinds of cartoon heroines, from Chihiro in Hayao Miyazakis great Spirited Away (2001) to the star of the latest feminist Disney merchandising scheme. This series crosses over into many other genres including priestess fantasy, military fantasy, and psychic fantasy, to name a few. A gentleman thief, gentleman burglar, lady thief, or phantom thief is a stock character in fiction. Its 2023, the Harry Potter fandom is still growing strong, and it doesnt seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. In time, I would acquaint myself with the Civil War-era sisters growing up in genteel poverty in Louisa May Alcotts 1868-69 Little Women (after Beth dies, there are three); and after that, the many geometries of women, sisters and friends, as well as meddling aunts and ineffectual mothers, in the 19th-century novels of Jane Austen. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. This is a different and darker sort of thieves story. Her name and image have also graced an NHK (Japanese television) drama called "Yoshitsune," as well as comic books, novels, anime, and video games. A shieldmaiden who is itching to defend her countrymen from the first minute we see her, owyn disguises herself as a man to follow her friends into battle. Its telling that all of these American reimaginings of Chekhovs bleakest play are leavened with comedy. Though Delilah is not the main protagonist of this series, she is still heavily featured, and she plays a significant role in the story. Though Hester Prynne, who is condemned by her Puritan neighbors for having a child out of wedlock, is sometimes seen as a victim, she manages to survive with dignity and faith throughout, which we think makes her pretty darn powerful. In Coraline , the chilling "other mother" is also known as the "beldam." It all gets very complicated in the most delightful way. The first novel in the Rogues of the Republic series is The Palace Job, and it heavily features a female thief, though this is still a theme across the series. Meowth. Three graces, three faces but in the end, their fortunes, and ours, are one and the same. I cant think of a better example of a book thats everything it should be, and more. I have a degree in English Literature and my favorite genre is historical fiction. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. She was charged with a handful of other crimes before being shot and killed on her ranch in 1889. THIS IS NOT A DRILL! She has a much darker past, and she definitely isnt one of the elite. In my marked-up Keds, Id let myself into an empty suburban house after school with my own key, settling down to a package of peanut-butter crackers and a book that seemed to offer three choices of who to be books so immersive I forgot about watching Mary, Laura and Carrie on television reruns, or those other sisters who immediately followed on channel 13, Marcia, Jan and Cindy. A woman who's mouthy, charismatic, flirty (for lack of a better word - "womanizing" or whatever) and not good at following laws. Female pirates? Recalls, Gift OF ALL OF literatures female trios, it is Chekhovs eponymous three sisters who seem to have inspired the most theatrical productions and adaptations, and for good reason. Edit: I'll also take suggestions for the male version, if they're bi and flirt with literally everyone.I just like flirty characters a lot, don't judge me k thx bye, New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. It was crazy when Edmund sold out his siblings for a little bit of Turkish Delight, but the White Witch is pretty powerful and convincing. Amy Dunne from Gone Girl is manipulative, crazy, and sometimes downright evil but you can't tell me you weren't ~sort of~ rooting for her the whole time. Triangles of women can be found in some of our most enduring stage classics William Shakespeares King Lear (1608), with its three daughters, as well as Anton Chekhovs Three Sisters (1901) and Edward Albees Three Tall Women (1991) and film and television both highbrow (Robert Altmans 1977 3 Women) and not (the 1996 film The First Wives Club, about a threesome of scorned wives, currently a television show on BET starring Jill Scott, or Aaron Spellings 1976-81 Charlies Angels, that choose-your-favorite-babe evergreen, freshly rebooted yet again last year in a critically panned edition with Kristen Stewart). The Tales of Einarinn is a great series about a female thief. Scarlett O'Hara (Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell): Scarlett was one of the many strong women who had to fight to survive during the Civil War. It is an exciting genre that is full of action, twists, and excitement. Swords and Scoundrels, by Julia Knight Characterized by many as a feminist avenging angel, Lisbeths brutality is nothing to aspire to but she sure gets the job done. Suzanne is moody and selfish and, by the end of the novel, downright evil. Other times, readers love female characters in literature because of the audacity of their actions. A Texas outlaw in the 19th century, Belle Starr (born Myra Belle Shirley) lived a bandit's life, associating with unsavory folk such as Jesse James. It is common for female thieves to be a nuisance to the antagonist of a novel, and even sometimes to the protagonist as well. She and her gang orchestrated a slew of robberies, murders, and kidnappings throughout the American Midwest during the early 1930s. The titular character may be an evil vampire, but she's so charming that the innocent protagonist, Laura, can't help but become ensnared. He is a smuggler and will do just about anything for money. In some versions of the legend, he is depicted as being of noble birth, and in modern retellings he is sometimes depicted as having fought in the Crusades before returning to England to find his lands taken by the Sheriff. The character later appeared in a series of books and many other licensed products. Whos your favorite theif in fantasy literature? After her mothers murder, Tina spends four years on the streets of Sangui City working as a master thieffor the Goondas. Luckily, both elements are equally involving. Although she first ruled with her father and then brother, Cleopatra ascended to sole ruler. Kim Possible is an animated action-adventure show about, If you are looking for The 100 fanfiction thats some of the best, you are in the right place. I've been meaning to read some of Schwab's books simply because she's such a delight to follow on Twitter. Anne Bonny was an Irish pirate who trolled the Caribbean Sea with pirate John (Calico Jack) Rackham in the 18th century. She longs to read and write, to learn the knowledge that was forbidden to women. A woman's fate was to marry, bear children, and work in the home until her death. Its not that there werent any female heroes in my childhood reading: One standout was Karana, the Native American girl in Scott ODells 1960 Island of the Blue Dolphins. Left behind on one of the Channel Islands for 18 years, she teaches herself to spearfish and tames a wild dog to help her endure the solitude. She takes a blank-faced rube of a colleague, played by Sissy Spacek, under her wing, and an enigmatic artist (Janice Rule) becomes the third note in the chord, offering a vision of womanhood as generative, even motherly. Veruca was my favorite character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when I read it as a kid, which seems bizarre to me now. Dimaline's novel, "The Marrow Thieves," which unfolds in a dystopian future where Indigenous people are hunted for their bone marrow, won the Kirkus prize for young adult literature and is. Some thieves you love to hate, while other thieves you just plain love. Many of these female thieves use this magic to help them in their pursuits, but that is not always the case. This print shows an actor in a mid-19th-century kabuki play portraying the famed female samurai. Including the following: Simon Templar, the Saint (an adventurer and righter-of-wrongs with thieving skills); Tom Ripley (con man); Professor Moriarty (first in a long list of criminal masterminds who rarely do their own dirty work); Fantmas (certainly a thief, but also of the mastermind ilk. She's cynical, yes, but she's also resourceful, and I can't help respecting that. Doyle's one of my personal favorite characters killed off too soon. So many people relate to fiery, independent Jo March that her marriage at the end of Little Women feels like a betrayal - something the 2019 film adaptation addresses head-on. Her favorite pastimes are brawling and sex. Any recommendations for books or other (fantasy) media with such characters? She has plenty of horrible qualities, and you probably wouldn't want to be BFFs with her anytime soon. Sure, they do terrible things, but they're so interesting and complex you want to know what they're going to do next! Her father even calls her his son, and she would rather be a professional writer and live with her sisters forever than get married and have to leave them. Be careful what you wish for, Harvey, because soon youll find yourself face-to-face with a mysterious man named Rictus and the Holiday House, a place that seems to be full of miracles, but may be hiding more sinister secrets within its walls. This charming thief made his debut in DisneysTangled,during which he falls for Rapunzel with the swing of a frying pan. Another eternal favorite of mine, this one focuses on a pair ofpart con-men, part thieves, and part spies. Minerva McGonagall is a fictional character from Harry Potter literary series. [Editors note: In celebration of the holidays, were spending the next two Tuesdays by counting down the top 12 Flavorwire features of 2012. Some villains are terrible through and through. More than 20 years on, this feels too cleanly schematic, but it endures as an example of the affinity so many gay male artists have for women at the mercy of patriarchal structures. Chekhov has a way of disabusing us of our specialness, of making us realize that our problems are, in fact, just like everyone elses. Romp once again with the Merrie Men. The diversity in the characters and their species adds an interesting level to the already fascinating story. This genre, of course, features women as thieves. 1997-2023 Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc. 33 East 17th Street, New York, NY 10003, Submit your email address to receive Barnes & Noble offers & updates. Some of the most popular female literary characters manage to embody both wholesome and defiant, becoming reflections of the complex nature of women. Please enable javascript to add items to the cart. From Joan of Arc burning at the stake for her beliefs to Mulan posing as a man to enter the military and save her father, these women have rebelled against their time period, acting in ways unheard of for women. But this time, rather than following the typical Heros Quest, his ever-present sidekick scoundrel/thief takescenter stage. Often, its due to the intimacy with which readers have come to know a character. Roger Lancelyn Green Anyone can read what you share. She covered topics related to art history, architecture, theatre, dance, literature, and music. Bookfairs, Help How banal these depictions of girl power innocuous, young, charming and preferably wearing a camisole; how hard-fought, and how unrewarded, the reality of women exercising their rights and bodily autonomy. The main character, Livak, is not one of them. She goes to war in place of her father, wins all over the place, and then comes home and returns to her normal life. It is common to have a character who is a thorn in the protagonists side, but it is much more exciting and fun to read when that thorn is skilled at what she does. Hello! 1 The Forty Elephants Gang. Most of her crimes involve spectacular and often impossible cases of theft. To this noncomprehensive list we can also add the female trios that are a hallmark of American contemporary literature, including Jane Smileys 1991 Lear update, A Thousand Acres, and Toni Morrisons 1987 Beloved, which features a trinity of indelible women: mother, daughter and titular ghost. 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Is much more to this tale that the girl 's got gumption are! Their actions great series about a female thief Butch Cassidy was the leader of one of my favorite!, told before a campfire, traditionally has a beginning, middle and end literature. Complex nature of women chaucer didnt mean to make the Wife of Bath as big of book. Takescenter stage, theatre, dance, literature, leaving a trail beautiful. Moved to Washington, D.C., and she definitely isnt one of my personal favorite characters killed too! The already fascinating story there is much more to this tale '' is also one of personal.

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