Some Inspiring Literary Female Protagonists Whom We Love

For people who love to read, Women Writers' Fest provides an opportunity to have a first-hand experience of getting to know about some amazing women writers. These writers are celebrated for their work on literature, women issues, travel, and even more.

SheThePeople.TV recently asked readers from its @WomenWritersFest Twitter handle, to name some of the inspiring female protagonists they have read about and tell us why. The Twitterati was quick to respond and made us all meet with the most amazing female protagonists. We accumulate some of their responses, in case you were looking for books on those lines.

Inspiring Women Protagonists

Shreya Prakash tweeted that she is inspired by the female characters like 'Lisbeth Salander' from the Millennium series, Hermione Granger' from Harry Potter series, 'Katy' from What Katy Did, and 'Elizabeth Bennet' from Pride and Prejudice. She finds all these women as strong, informed and they even know how to take their stands better.

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— WomenWritersFest (@womenwriterfest) May 28, 2019

"The narrator in Meena Kandasamy's When I Hit You is super inspiring to me. Without giving too much away, not only she is extremely brave in the face of domestic violence but she is a character who keeps learning even under extreme duress keeping her honest voice intact", says Nikita Deshpande.

Sonita Chatterjee feels inspired by the female protagonist named 'Gauri' from The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri. For Sonita, Gauri is very unapologetic about the choices which she chooses to make.

"I am inspired by the female protagonist 'Dopdi Mejhen' from Draupadi written by Mahasweta Devi. She became the epitome of dissent in front of the patriarchal state and used her body to subvert the politics of shame", tweeted Anupama Majumder.

Rishita is much inspired by 'Jo March' from Little Women. According to her, Jo was very much empowered even during the 19th century. She went on writing some short stories to extend support to her family. Not only this, but she also sold her gorgeous hair to bring her father back home.

Read also: Know The Women Writers Behind India’s First Feminist Fantasy Anthology

"Whenever there is a talk about a female protagonist, it is one and only ‘MRINAL’ from Rabindranath Tagore's Strir Patra (Letter from a Wife) that comes to my mind. For me, she is the pathfinder for the emancipation of woman in Bengali literature (if not in Indian literature)," says Anukta

"I am inspired by Scarlette O'Hara as she always knew what she wanted. Furthermore, she was badass enough to do everything she needed to get it," Deepthi replied to the WomenWritersFest question.

A few common names which cropped up in the reply section were 'Dominique Francon' from Fountainhead, 'Draupadi' from The Palace of Illusions, 'Kate Blackwell' from Master of the Game, 'Dagny Taggart' from the Atlas Shrugged, and even more.

Udisha Srivastav is an intern with Shethepeople.tv