Monday, February 13, 2012

Ladies: Takin' Care of Business

Being that I have the post the day before Valentine’s Day, you’d think it would be the perfect opportunity to come up with something very lovey dovey. Well, I’m not that kind of girl. Today we’re gonna talk all about ladies. Yeah, that’s right. Strong ladies.


I was recently introduced to a show on PBS called Downton Abbey. While there are many reasons to watch it, as it’s a great show, I came away from it thinking about women and our roles in society. The three sisters on the show, Mary, Edith, and Sybil Crawley, are coming of age in England in 1912. Their struggles on the show, while fictional, are a very important reminder to women.


I think we as women often forget that for our mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers, the world was a very different place. The Crawley sisters really were not given the credit or the options of doing anything for themselves. If anything, their main value is what they can bring their families by marrying well. Their parents are pretty much parading them in front of every wealthy man in the country. A little further into the show, I was happy to see the girls start to find their way and become a little more independent.


My readers seem to appreciate my approach to the strong female characters. My fictional ladies know what they want, are independent, confident, and don’t have to rely on men, or anyone else, for the most part. I think many of The Indelibles can claim the same regarding their female characters. That's not to say they don't have fierce love for their family and friends. It's important to be balanced!


Here are a few other strong female characters that I admire:


Hermione Granger/Harry Potter Series: She’s a true bookworm, but is proud of her intelligence and uses it to help others. While sometimes hard on herself for breaking rules, as she gets older, she gets a little less cautious and more adventurous, as we all know.










Katniss Everdeen/The Hunger Games: Katniss is the ultimate bad ass. She hunts and takes care of her family and is brave to boot. How many girls do you know that would volunteer to join a death match?







Emer Morrisey/The Dust of 100 Dogs: She’s a reincarnated pirate on the hunt for her long lost treasure. Emer knows how to protect herself. Be sure to hide your swords.

















Kendra Sorenson/Fablehaven Series: She has some special fairy-given gifts that give her powers some extra kick. Kendra isn’t afraid to get down and dirty and fight off gross demon baddies.








So Happy Valentine's Day to all my strong ladies out there!




~Karly

23 comments:

  1. You're right...times have changed a LOT, haven't they? Crazy how far we've come in what's really a very short time.

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  2. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Downton Abbey! And it really does amaze me how different life was just 100 years ago...mostly I'm amazed at how people were treated more respectably and insulted so respectably, whereas now we just cuss people out. I prefer to insult people like Maggie Smith's character! haha

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  3. Happy Valentine's Day to you too.

    I love Downton Abbey. And the Dowager Countess is a pretty strong woman too.

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  4. I lived in England for four years and just moved back to the USA. So I knew about Downton Abbey, but actually didn't start watching it until returning to the states. Now I'm hooked.

    Gotta love strong women!

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  5. Right on, everybody! And yes, the Dowager Countess is a force to be reckoned with, even if she is a little more old-fashioned!

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  6. Love this post and all of the examples of strong ladies! Woooo Hoooo!

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  7. I keep hearing about this show Downton Abby. I can`t find it anywhere.

    thanks for the great post!

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  8. I much prefer reading about strong ladies and thanks for mentioning Downton Abby. I keep meaning to see if I can get it on Netflix.

    Happy Valentine's Day a bit early.

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  9. The first season of Downton Abbey is up on Netflix, look under Masterpiece: Downton Abbey. I just go the second season on BluRay. I saw it at Target yesterday too. Check it out, it's great!

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  10. Strong women rock! I think this is the perfect post on the day before Valentine's day. Great choice Karly. I haven't seen Downtown Abbey but not it's on my list of shows to check out!

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  11. I love those strong girls. I hope I raised my daughter to be Katniss.

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  12. I recently finished Hunger Games and am looking forward to the movie. I hope they don't botch the film as the book was awesome!

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  13. Love this post! Happy V-Day to you, too!

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  14. By COMPLETE coincidence, I started watching Downton Abbey today! Then I read this post and it made me smile. Love the Ode to strong females! Rock on, girlies!

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  15. I absolutely love Dust of a Hundred Dogs. It's one of my favorite books ever! :)

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  16. I adore heroines who believe in themselves and aren't afraid to stand up for what they believe in!

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  17. I'm a fan of strong women as well! Great choices here :)

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  18. I'd love to get a peek at that Abbey show. Sounds very interesting! Thanks for the rundown! I really enjoyed Katniss's character too.

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  19. So true! Great list of strong female characters. I am adding DUST OF 100 Dogs to my reading list.

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