badass women in literature (part 2)

Read part 1 here 

More inspiring ladies from literature...

1. Lyra Silvertongue, His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman 

picture source

A vicious, uncivilised liar Lyra is still a heroine. She befriends armoured bears, saves her friends from medical experimentation and defeats God. Not bad for a 12 year old.

2. Dana, Kindred, Octavia E. Butler

(Full review here) A modern African-American woman, Dana is time-travels back to the deep south during the era of slavery. Her treatment is unsurprisingly disturbing and inhumane, but she survives and manages to retain her compassion and dignity.

3. Catherine, Into the Darkest Corner, Elizabeth Haynes  

(Full review here) Catherine struggles against her mental disorders and traumatic memories with admirable courage. She doesn't fight any battles, or slay any dragons, but Catherine is a hero, in the same way many women in real life are heroic, she is a survivor of domestic violence.

4. Arya and Sansa Stark, A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin

picture source

I'm cheating by having the Stark sisters count as one entry on this list, but I couldn't choice between them. Both show how complex women and femininity can be, and they both have their own strengths and vulnerabilities. Sansa has grown from a naive, idealistic girl into a clever woman who knows how to survive in a royal court. The tragedies in Arya's life have forced to be emotionally closed and physically strong, but she follows her own ethical code.


5. Toby, Year of the Flood, Margaret Atwood 

picture source 

When the world ends I really want someone like Toby to have my back. She is brilliantly capable and practical but also has a strongly motherly instinct.  She is everything you'd expect from the mind of one of the best feminist fiction authors we have ever had.