Characterized by many as a feminist avenging angel, Lisbeths brutality is nothing to aspire to but she sure gets the job done. He meets Delilah Bard who is the main female thief of this series. Bonny and the crew had a successful run hijacking and pillaging merchant vessels. flag. Luna Lovegood is a fictional character from the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling. You have to admit, that's pretty compelling. In Volver, Penlope Cruzs Raimunda is the moral center; shes the kind of woman who protects her teenage daughter, stashes her lecherous unemployed husbands corpse in the freezer of the restaurant next door, and then runs the restaurant, all while contending with her mothers flatulent ghost. Mary Surratt ran a tavern with her husband in Maryland, where they welcomed Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. 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. Throughout history women have had their share in all of it. The malleability of female identity is at the unsettling heart of the film, which is filled with reflective surfaces, windows and mirrors in which Millie is always primping. Countess Elizabeth Bthory de Ecsed aka The Blood Countess (Tragica Historia by Lszl Turczi): Although the legend of The Blood Countess has now reached mythical proportions, she is first mentioned in this Jesuit scholar's work. A Texas outlaw in the 19th century, Belle Starr (born Myra Belle Shirley) lived a bandits life, associating with unsavory folk such as Jesse James. In all of these books, the characters tended to be drawn with clearly designated personality traits: Little Womens Jo was boyish and literary, for example, while her sister Amy was spoilt, with yellow hair. 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. She chatters incessantly, parroting advice from womens magazines: Her prairie dresses and housecoats are color-coordinated with her apartment; her dinner-party menu involves pigs in a blanket and spray cheese. A world class computer hacker with a photographic memory, shes also the survivor of an abusive childhood, which makes her a fiercely anti-social heroine with a violent streak. From the evil to the undeniably perfect, the always strong to those who those who, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. Most of them use thievery as a means of survival. To accompany . No big deal. I have a degree in English Literature and my favorite genre is historical fiction. After she robs Kell, the two team up to escape a deadly enemy. This list may not reflect recent changes. Hester Prynne (The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne): There's nothing like some harsh Puritan rules to bring out the rebellion in a woman. Even the human personality is divided, or so Freud proposed in 1923, into three: the id, the ego and the superego. THIS IS NOT A DRILL! 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. Aladdin is a street rat with a penchant forpickpocketing until an encounter with a genie who helps him win the princesss heart and changes his life forever. Intelligence often translates into strength, but only when wielded by a steady hand and Hermione just happens to have both, and compassion to boot. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. ITS A FREQUENTLY repeated truism of screenwriting books that much of Western narrative is governed by the rule of three. A woman's fate was to marry, bear children, and work in the home until her death. 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. Thetask leads him into many adventures, and into the orbitof many a very interesting individualand, along the way, on a path to becoming a highlyimprobable hero. Bonnie Parker Bonnie Parker started her career as a thief and a murderer when she met Clyde Barrow in 1930, and soon after smuggled a gun in jail to help him escape. Finally, after a stint in jail, she opened a shop in London that she used as a cover for selling stolen items. Despite her faults, she appeals to Pip, who can't resist her conflicted nature. 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. And yet Charmed seems downright feminist compared to John Updikes satirical 1984 take on gender politics, The Witches of Eastwick. The equally muddled 1987 film version stars Jack Nicholson in Weinsteinian bathrobes seducing a trio of women played by Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon and Cher, who move in together and have his babies. This list of thief characters will have you checking your safe to make sure everything is still there. If you are looking for an entrance into this exciting genre, the recommendations below will give you a great start. Ant-Man, a renowned superhero of comics published by 'Marvel'. But this time, rather than following the typical Heros Quest, his ever-present sidekick scoundrel/thief takescenter stage. This series crosses over into many other genres including priestess fantasy, military fantasy, and psychic fantasy, to name a few. A remarkably independent woman, Janie Crawfords strength is in her ability to keep on going, no matter what her life throws at her, and to uphold her dignity throughout. Click the image above to see if your guess is right! When she was released, she went to live in South Carolina, where she proceeded to lead the rest of her life in an uneventful domestic fashion. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. This feisty French maiden was put on trial for "insubordination and heterodoxy" and was burned at the stake for heresy, only later to be named innocent and a martyr posthumously. Love writing? This is a great fantasy featuring a female thief and a great introduction to the genre. Yet many women have fought against those expectations, as can be seen within the annals of classic literature. Every genre needs an origin story, and this is as close as were likely to get. I hope this article has helped clarify what this genre is all about and given you some ideas of books to read in this subgenre. She manipulates everyone around her, but she does it with such pizzazz. Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre One of the earliest representations of an individualistic, passionate and complex female character, Jane Eyre knocks our socks off. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. They're unashamed. I cant think of a better example of a book thats everything it should be, and more. Rogues of the Republic is a fantasy trilogy with a female thief protagonist by Patrick Weekes. Rogues of the Republic Rogues of the Republic is a fantasy trilogy with a female thief protagonist by Patrick Weekes. Thats our kind of girl. NPR has described her as being among the first and most important female protagonists in American literature. This novel follows Kell, a young magician who can travel between four parallel universes. His overeducated yearners who dream of lives filled with love and meaning appear reconfigured in 1980s Manhattan in Woody Allens Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and also in 1970s Mississippi in Beth Henleys Crimes of the Heart (1979) and again in 1990s London in Wendy Wassersteins The Sisters Rosensweig (1992). Scarlett O'Hara ( Gone with the Wind) was exceedingly bold for a woman of her time, while Madame Defarge ( A Tale of Two Cities) is an exemplar of tireless villainy. A woman who's mouthy, charismatic, flirty (for lack of a better word - "womanizing" or whatever) and not good at following laws. For the wide range of personality traits we find in these great female characters (and the audacious actions theyve performed), these women have earned their titles as the best female characters in literature. While alive, she led armies to victory, not the norm for a teenage girl in 1400s France. She goes to war in place of her father, wins all over the place, and then comes home and returns to her normal life. Yet whether their intent was angelic or devilish, it is important to note that these women made their mark by defying expectations. Ali Baba, Arabic Al Bb, fictional character, the hero of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," one of the best-known stories in The Thousand and One Nights. As a criminal mastermind and the elusive nemesis of the ACME Detective Agency, Sandiego is the principal villain of the series and head of ACME's rival organization V.I.L.E. The Tales of Einarinn is a fantasy series by Juliet E. McKenna. Some of the most popular female literary characters manage to embody both wholesome and defiant, becoming reflections of the complex nature of women. Early women thieves were shoplifters and pickpockets Besides luring potential sexual partners into harm's way in back alleys and other out-of-the-way locales, women in early Victorian London operated as pickpockets. That kind of consonance is a big part of why I read novels or sit in theaters, now that the season of girlhood imaginings is well in my past and the singular experiences of women of a lone woman, arbiter of her own plot are being heard, in books and television, onstage and, to a lesser extent, in films. Sometimes they have no magical ability and they must outsmart those who do. Though some of these villains may have redeeming qualities, you could never love them. Charlotte Corday became an assassin at age 25. Not a modern problem, one might quibble, and yet these sisters endure for good reason. In art, feminine threesomes are, generally speaking, a Western convention with origins in the classics the Three Graces, emblems of various feminine qualities like charm, beauty, joy or creativity; and their obverse, the Three Furies, who, according to some sources, sprang forth from the spilled blood of Uranus when he was castrated by his son Cronus and yet there are a number of standout non-Western examples, too, notably Bi Feiyus 2010 novel, Three Sisters, which contrasts the fates of three defiant daughters of a provincial Communist Party secretary during the Cultural Revolution. Twelve contestants. The powerful female protagonist of the hour is also one of the strongest women on this list. Willa Judge Mystery and Drama "Froman takes the reader on a wild western ride with a group of quirky and engaging women. She was charged with a handful of other crimes before being shot and killed on her ranch in 1889. (Few playwrights have better captured the paradox of lived time, how tediously slow it seems to move, all the while catching us suddenly unawares on a name-day celebration, as in the play, or on a birthday.) A wonderfully told, enthralling story aimed at young adults, itcenters on a 10-year-old boynamed Harvey Swick, who is rather bored with his life andwishes for somethingmore interesting to come along. 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. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. She and her husband were convicted of horse stealing in 1883 and served time in a federal penitentiary. Hello! 1. 1. They use their talents for good and country as much as to line their own pockets,and their lives are inextricably bound up with high politics. 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