A Maiden’s Musings is holding a Literary Heroine Blog Party!! There is a questionnaire and some giveaway prizes!!
Wow, it’s been “forever” since I filled out one of the questionnaires!! Looks like it will be fun though! Maybe I’ll intersperse some pictures throughout too! 😉
~ The Questions ~
Compiled by Miss Kellie & Miss Natasha
- What, to you, forms the essence of a true heroine?
- To me, a true heroine is a woman who does what’s right, no matter the cost. She realizes the needs of others and selflessly reaches out to them. She may have struggles and faults of her own, but she overcomes them. In my opinion, a true heroine is one whose life looks like that of the Lord Jesus– marked by love, humility, courage, faithfulness, and goodness.
- Share (up to) four heroines of literature that you most admire and relate to.
- (1) Molly Gibson (Wives and Daughters). I admire Molly’s sweet spirit, selflessness, steadfastness, and courage. I love how she wants what is best for others even when it does not benefit herself; at the same time, I love her spirited nature. Like her, I often find myself as a “middleman” and get caught up in others’ problems and secrets which doesn’t always keep me in a safe position, so I can relate to Molly in that way and appreciate watching her responses to these difficulties.
- (2) Fanny Price (Mansfield Park). I LOVE FANNY!! That is, the Fanny of the book. I think that her character is so Christlike, so unlike a character can be outside of a walk with God, that filmmakers just haven’t been able to get it right any time they try. Fanny is patient, selfless, faithful in her love for Edmund, strong in her principles and convictions, wise and discerning, and courageous in doing what’s right even when it’s not popular. And, like most any girl, I’ve been in a similar situation as her (liking someone who doesn’t like me back) so reading how she acted and felt in that circumstance has been helpful to me.
- (3) Margaret Hale (North and South). There have been periods of time, actually, when I did not like Margaret, but at this point I do. She’s a strong, courageous woman who leaves all that is familiar to her and sticks by her family despite their problems. She has compassion for the hurting, and a great deal of emotional strength when she goes through intense trials. She struggles with prejudice and “uppiness”, but she changes. She is independent and can take charge when needed, but she is also there for others. She also has a tender conscience and the book seems to indicate that she has a love for and walk with the Lord.
- (4) Millie Keith (A Life of Faith: Millie Keith series). Some of my readers may be shocked to find out I’m talking about the Millie of the edited series, NOT the originals by Martha Finley. She was one of my favorite heroines and closest friends in my pre-teen and early teen years. Her struggles with siblings, friendships, romantic feelings, and her relationship with God are so real-life and reading of how she goes to the Word and lets the Spirit of God completely fill her and change and grow her helped me so much when I was that age. She was definitely a role-model for me. I think I should read those books again, even if they are written for a younger age group… 🙂
- Five of your favorite historical novels?
- Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
- Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
- The Curate of Glaston trilogy by George MacDonald
- Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
- Out of those five books who is your favorite character and why?
- Probably Fanny from Mansfield Park, closely followed by Bella Wilfer from Our Mutual Friend (I would have put her on my list of four, but ran out of room. 😉 )
- If you were to plan out your dream vacation, where would you travel to – and what would you plan to do there?
- A dream vacation (not necessarily just travelling to a different country with a specific purpose) would be the British Isles… England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland… I’d visit London, Lacock, and Lyme; meet my English relations; see the Isle of Skye and the Scottish Highlands; attend the Jane Austen Festival in Bath…that is definitely a dream vacation. Maybe one day it will come true. 😉
- What is your favorite time period and culture to read about?
- Oh dear. It varies. I enjoy reading about the Reformation in Europe, the American Westward Expansion, World War II in England and America… I also enjoy reading about the “boom” in Christian missions in the late-1800s and after World War II.
- You have been invited to perform at the local charity concert. Singing, comedy, recitation – what is your act comprised of?
- Probably singing with my family! 🙂
- If you were to attend a party where each guest was to portray a heroine of literature, who would you select to represent?
- I actually was possibly going to attend a literary ball, though I’m not sure it will work out now, but I was planning on going as Amy Dorrit from Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. I’m not much like her, but I am small like her and I love her dresses in the miniseries, particularly her wedding gown.
- What are your sentiments on the subject of chocolate?
- Well, I can’t exactly fall into raptures in my answer because, while I do love chocolate, I just don’t fall into raptures over it. 😉 I do love truffles and turtles and chocolate bars, though. 🙂
- Favorite author(s)?
- Definitely George MacDonald, Amy Carmichael, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis, Elizabeth Gaskell….
- As a small, imaginative, red-haired damsel might query; would you rather be divinely beautiful, dazzlingly clever, or angelically good? Why?
- I’m not sure I’d want to be any of those, particularly. There’s no need to be divinely beautiful; to be dazzlingly clever would be very out of character for me and I don’t mind so much not being dazzling clever; and angelically good sounds, well, not “too good” but just not the perfect kind of good, if that makes sense. I guess if I had to choose I’d choose good though, but I can only be so by God’s grace!
- In which century were most of the books you read written?
- 19th century, of course!
- In your opinion, the ultimate hero in literature is…
- Once, in real life, not in literature, there was a man–not an ordinary man, either. He grew up the alleged son of a lowly carpenter and was not looked at as a very important person. Then at the age of thirty a band of men began to follow Him, and He taught them how to know God personally and live for Him. But His ultimate act of heroism, if you want to call it that, was when He gave up His life on behalf of another, by His own will, though He Himself was sinless, and by doing so gave life to that “another”. As a matter of fact, it was not for just one “another” but for the whole world. A few days later, He conquered the grave and rose again, and continues to live and to save the souls of men. An ultimate hero is one who reflects this God-Man, Jesus Christ, in his actions, attitudes, and relations to others. No one can perfectly, but some do in one way or another. Some literary heroes who, in my opinion, exhibit Christlike traits in their lives would be Arthur Clennam (hearts 😉 from Little Dorrit), Malcolm MacPhail (from The Fisherman’s Lady and The Marquis’ Secret), Mr. Knightly (from Emma), Sir Percy Blakeney (from The Scarlet Pimpernel), and others.
- Describe your ideal dwelling place.
- It varies. I would love a two-story white house with a white porch stretching across the whole front, and a deck in the back facing a large lawn, with a South Carolina private beach of my own beyond it. Mmm!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 A British sort of cottage would be lovely too… to be honest, I love Huntsford in the 1995 P&P. But the South Carolina white home is probably what I would like best. 🙂
- Have you ever wanted to change a character’s name?
- Only in my own books… I want to change the main pirate’s name (it’s been Darkie for about ten years now) but my sisters won’t let me and I can’t think of another name. (Ideas? What would you call an evil but not always intelligent pirate if you wrote a book about one?) I think I may have sort of wanted to change a Dickens name now and then just to make it sound a little more realistic, but most of the time I like the names he chooses for his characters. 😉
- In your opinion, the most dastardly villain of all literature is…
- Does literature-inspired count too?? JUDGE CLAUDE FROLLO from Hunchback of Notre Dame. I’ve only seen the Disney animated version, which I’m sure is very different from the book, but still, it’s at least literature inspired, and I am convinced he is one of the WORST villains ever. Perhaps because he is not so much a picture of evil (like the White Witch or someone like that) but a real person and not unlike someone you might actually meet… and about as degraded as one can get. Manipulative, controlling, lustful, murderous, “saw corruption everywhere, except within.” I hate that guy. Oh yeah, and that guy from Horatio Hornblower too…Simpson? Wow, you can’t get much baser than that. *shudders*
- Three favorite Non-fiction books?
- Green Leaf in Drought by Isobel Kuhn (the true account of the last CIM missionaries in China before the Communists took over)
- Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot (how to bring your love-life under Christ’s control)
- all of my Amy Carmichael books 😉
- Your duties met for the day, how would you choose to spend a carefree summer afternoon?
- Oh dear. I’ll probably be lazy and spend it on the computer. Or getting a photo shoot with my dolls, or reading, or writing a letter or book, or taking a walk if it’s not too warm. If I could, I’d go swimming, but there’s not much chance to do that around here.
- Create a verbal sketch of your dream hat – in such a way as will best portray your true character.
- My dream hat?? I don’t know if I have a dream hat. I do like pageboy caps (I think that’s what they’re called)… gray, with a little faux-jewel heart or a buckle on the side 🙂
- Share the most significant event(s) that have marked your life in the past year.
- Um… I’m going to decline to answer this, because it just happened this last week and hasn’t cleared up yet, and a “significant event” isn’t always free of stress or pain, and I don’t want to talk about it. 😉 So there. 😉 (Obviously, I’m not too stressed now because I’m feeling free to joke around and stuff, so don’t worry too much about me. 😉 )
- Share the Bible passage(s) that have been most inspiring to you recently.
- “Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute? They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.” (Psalm 94:12-22)
- “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
- And lastly, as I am a rather businesslike hostess, may I ask you your views regarding those adorable little items – namely pin back and mirror back buttons? 1). Where would you choose to display a button badge to best showcase your unique style? 2). What image and/or sentiment would most make you smile were it inscribed on your very own compact mirror?
- Well, first, I think the pins and mirrors are lovely, especially the ones with Molly Gibson. 🙂
- 1) I’m not sure where I’d display the button badge, as I’ve never had one since I was very little. Possibly on a handbag or my backpack.
- 2) Probably the one with Audrey Hepburn…”smile!” 😉 Gotta love Audrey…!
🙂
Miss Dashwood Sewing 
