I heard something in my writing group the
other day that made me want to write this.
Cinderella is a weak female stereotype.
She lives with her evil stepmother and is
rescued by her fairy godmother. She’s dressed up in fine clothes, given
everything she needs for one dreamy night, goes to a ball, and falls in love
with a prince. She’s beautiful and mysterious and the prince can’t help but
fall in love with her. So he searches until he finds her, and makes her his
bride. They have their happily ever after.
We all know the story. It’s supposed to be
a magical fairytale about true love. But because Cinderella is beautiful and
rescued by a prince, she’s considered a silly weak girl. How dare she be a role
model for young girls to look up to.
How about this? Cinderella was abused for
many years, dressed in rags, insulted, worn down, belittled by her family, and
forced into slavery. Through all this physical and emotional pain, she’s able
to rise above and find a way out of her cruel predicament.
Kinda changes the perspective, right?
These days there is a large focus on strong
female characters. They should be physically strong, emotionally stable, and
able to kick butt. They don’t need to rely on a man to keep them safe, but it’s
okay to find a bit of love while they’re out saving the world. They have to be
strong willed, but heaven forbid they like the color pink. They need to be
smart, sassy, not too bitchy, but have attitude.
Whew. That’s a lot of heavy load to carry.
So why does Cinderella get such a bad rap?
Is it really so bad that maybe her goal in life was to find love, settle down
and have a family? Isn’t it great that she was able to overcome her horrible
past? Why can’t she get help from a man?
I love the strong female character. I
really do. I write about her all the time. I agree that there needs to be more.
But I think that strength comes in all shapes and forms. Why can’t a girl love
pink and still kick ass? Why can’t a girl rely on (heaven forbid) someone else
to help her in times of need?
So who are your favorite strong female
characters and why?
my favourite one is probably clementine from your book because i love that shes afraid and so broken but still keeps managing her life. and that she can be girly but would kill for her friends in a second. and god do i love her relationship with michael. its not one of those "ey yo youre pretty and so cool wow man we should be together" but actual love and they rely to each other so much and just feel safe when the look at the others eye. (what confuses me though is that when clem and michael are together somewhere surviving it seems to me as if clem loses all kind of skills of surviving and if shes without him she turns into a machine) so yes clementine is my favourite (or mulan ha!)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you're going to receive this comment but I have to say this. I like this particular blog because this is how I see your female characters. I have read Dark Inside and Rage Within and I gotta say I love them. Our of all the characters my favorite is Clementine because she's the most entertaining to narrate especially when she's talking to her brother Heath in her head. I can see, I can feel the pain, the desperation, the physical and mental anguish every character goes through and that there is a testament to how wonderful an author you truly are. So I'd like to take this moment to say thank you for that and if you ever read this please let me know if a third book is in the works because this story, these characters, they're all to wonderful to go unfinished. Aries with her inner demons trying to keep a hold on the group. Trying to keep everyone safe and organized, while at the same time dealing with the heartbreak of Daniel, the situation with Mason and the guilt from the events that led to Nathan's demise. Clementine with the feeling of being used by fake heath, the guilt over her part in Nathan's death and being in love with Michael. Both her and Michael will do anything to help the group even if it means seperating from each other, which must be the hardest thing for them to do knowing that they might not see each other again. Mason being on his last legs though trying to keep it together for Casey. And worrying that he might have sent Aries straight into a trap when he let he off with Daniel. Will he ever be able to escape from Leon and the baggers? Even if he does will he be able to maintain control over the darkness inside him? Even Joy has a rough road ahead of her. She's pregnant and the blind Jack is the baby's father. How will she be able to stay hidden and keep calm with a baby on the way? While also taking care of Jack who most likely feels even more useless than ever. Jack himself will want be supportive of Joy and I can only imagine how frustrating it must be that he can't do much to help and requires a lot of help from others. Like I said this story is intense and breathtaking and I can only hope with everything I got that it will get a final entry and a proper ending. I thank you for your time, and I thank you even more for your work.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite female character is Areil. A Disney princess. She loves adventure and shes not afraid what other people would think. She did anything just to walk on land even if that meant death. Anyway, I just finished your book called When they fade. And its amzing. It made me cry scream curse and throw your book. Its my favorite book. and I never really have a favorite book but now I do. You did such a good job making it feel as if you were there. And I felt Tatrums pain and felt bad for molly. this book made me have so many feelings. Keep writing cause you are aswome at it. I am planning on reading more of your books soon. Would love it if you reply. or follow me on Instagram at _potatonado_ . I love to write too. I have wattpad
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