Time for the ladies of literature! Tell us who your literary valentine is this year?
5. Caris from World Without End
Caris Wooler is a feisty merchant’s daughter. Beautiful, deeply intelligent, and courageous, she’s one of the few characters in the novel unafraid to stand up to the bullying and corrupt church. She’s also an accomplished nurse. This is an adventuresome woman, not the sort to sit around on the couch, content to watch TV and eat bonbons.
4. Hippolyta from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Hippolyta is the Queen of the Amazons. Enough said.
3. Rebecca de Winter from Rebecca
Rebecca de Winter could ride the most unmanageable horse, trim her own sails, and cut an path of beauty through any ball. She’s icy, vicious, and capable of getting exactly what she wants. Though unseen in the novel, she leaves a void that overshadows the living. It might prove safer to swoon from a distance.
2. Brett Ashley from The Sun Also Rises
Lively and liberated, Lady Brett Ashley is a double divorcee who knows all the best places to party in both Paris and Pamplona. You’ll never be bored when you hit the town with her. Just remember to steer clear of the bulls.
1. Helen of Troy
Though Helen’s parentage is not entirely clear, it’s obvious that this lovely lady was in high demand. It is said that Helen’s beauty was “beyond compare,” her abduction sparking the Trojan War. If this is your literary woman of choice, at least you have plenty of company.