The idea of living and surviving in a world without adults has always been popular with children. Imagining doing your own things, eating whatever you want to, going to bed whenever you want; it’s all so appealing to children when they feel that their lives are dominated by rules and adults. The theme has hence has been used many times in children’s literature and film and television.
My favorite story of a self-sustainable child was always Pippi Longstocking, first published in 1945; the gorgeous red headed Swedish nine year old.
‘She had no mother or father, which was actually quite nice, because it meant that no one could tell her that she had to go to bed just when she was having most fun. And no one could make her take cod liver oil when she would rather eat sweets.’
Pippi is fun, warm, loyal and unusual. She is financially independent because she owns a suitcase of gold pieces. She can shoot a revolver and sail on the seven seas. She can carry a horse, outsmart burglars, she owns a monkey and she can outlift the strongest man in the world. Her house is Villa Villekulla and her friends are her neighbours; brother and sister Tommy and Annika.
Apart from being an outrageously fun character Pippi also has always represented to me a strong female role model. Although it has been noted that author Astrid Lindgren did not intend Pippi to have a feminist agenda, I do have to attribute to Pippi my love of strong female characters in my reading. Pippi is not pretty, she’s tough and acts on impulse, some may call her a tomboy and as a somewhat shy child I relished and admired all her qualities.
‘The light from inside the house fell all around her. There she stood with her red plaits sticking straight out. She was wearing her pappa’s nightshirt, which dragged around her feet. In one hand she held the pistol and in the other the sword. She used the sword to present arms.’
Pippi has been translated into 91 languages and in 2007 was published with illustrations by the beautiful Lauren Child. In that edition Lauren had this to say about Pippi…
‘I suppose the real key to Pippi is that she is an entirely free spirit; she is a girl who is both exciting and funny, refreshing to encounter even after all these years.’
There is also a really lovely illustrated collection of the three Pippi books illustrated by Michael Chesworth.
You can stay at Astrid Lindgren world and there is an online shop where I thought this little skirt was pretty cute …
The largest prize for services to children’s literature in the world has been named in Astrid Lindgren’s memory (Lindgren died in 2002). It is awarded to a body of work by authors, illustrators, storytellers or promoters of reading. Australia’s Sonya Hartnett received the award in 2008.
While writing this post I have been thinking about the other strong female characters that shaped my world. Here are some I came up with but I’d love to hear about the female characters in others’ lives.
The Paper Bag Princess – Robert N. Munsch – Princess Elizabeth is the ultimate in strong characters. I couldn’t resist the fact that she tells the prince where to go. Who needs an ungrateful Prince who only wants you when you look pretty?
Judy Woolcot – Seven Little Australians - This novel first published in 1894 absolutely devastated me and I have never ever forgotten it. Judy and her six brothers and sisters have a violent and distant father and a step mother who has no idea what to do with them. Although Judy often inspires mischief in her siblings she is also incredibly strong willed and protective.
Matilda – Roland Dahl - I have already mentioned that I loved the Matilda movie version. Matilda is smart and incredibly patient, especially with her horrible parents. In classic Dahl style he gives Matilda, the child, all the power in this book.
The four sisters in Little Women left an incredibly strong impression on me when I first read the book. Perhaps it was because I also have four sisters, but I was amazed at how honest these girls were to their own passions and dreams. They each pursued their own course in life with determination and (mostly) grace, and of course, in the end they all lived happily and successfully.
This is a particularly nice edition of Pippi. I am rather partial to Lauren Child’s illustrations
I love this post about strong female characters. Pippi is very close to my heart – strangely my own daughter is not quite as fond – maybe I wanted her to like it just that bit too much!!
I was thinking about strong female characters which I loved as a child. I immediately thought of Anne of Green Gables – smart, funny, passionate. I adored Anne’s world! I can still see her floating down the river quoting the Lady of Shallott.
I was also a HUGE fan of Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew. They are quite dated now but my daughter is a fan in spite of that. I have bought some of the rejacketed Trixie books and they make me quite nostalgic.
On a new book note – last week I read a book called The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This one is meant for teenagers – wow! It has a fantastic female character in it called Katniss Everdeen. She is smart, strong, resourceful and just a bit scary! She is chosen to take part in a fight to the death called the Hunger Games. 12 boys and girls are chosen by the Capitol to be sent in to the arena until there is only one left. Sort of Survivor meets the Collosseum. Frightening but gripping for the 12+ reader – there are 2 more on the way and I can’t wait!!
A strong female character I remember is Lovejoy Mason, one of the street children central to the plot of Rumer Godden’s ‘An episode of sparrows’. This was set in Catford Street, London, I think post-WW2, where ‘there was not as much as a blade of grass, nothing that was not man-made’. The story tells how two children from poor backgrounds endeavour to make a garden, their efforts unknowingly observed. It is a little reminiscent of the more famous The Secret Garden. It was one of those books ‘forced’ on me as a class text in I think year 7; not one I would have chosen – (it had a very unexciting cover, but I see later versions were more appealing), but the memory of Lovejoy is a strong one. Rumer Godden was born in 1907 in Eastbourne, Sussex, and died in 1998 in Dumfries, Scotland. She apparently kept writing right up to her death in the late 1990s, and so has a surprisingly large body of work, some for younger children. At some stage, she converted to Catholicism and some reviewers see echoes of this in this book – not a feature I remember at all. Apparently, the book was also made into a film.
I loved ‘Dicey’s Song’ too, and wanted to be as protective and as good at looking after my little sister as Dicey was at looking after her siblings (I wasn’t!). I’m glad the book is still going strong.
Another book that feels like it shaped my childhood via its strong female character is ‘The Good Master’ by Kate Seredy. It is based on the author’s childhood in Hungary. Kate goes to live with her cousin, Jancsi, on a farm. ‘From the moment Kate arrived, things happened. She was afraid of nothing and full of ideas. When Kate looked most angelic, you could be sure she was thinking up some mischief.’ A schoolfriend and I read this book and its sequel, ‘The Singing Tree’, simultaneously when we were 12; every day we’d come to school and talk about what had happened in Kate’s world.
Kate Seredy was an illustrator and her books were ‘an excuse for making pictures’. Thinking about the impact they had on me, I’m glad she found the excuse.
I remembering devouring Dicey’s Song as a child – thanks for the flashback.
I loved Episode of Sparrows, and all Rumer Godden’s books. But yes, Lovejoy Mason is a perfect heroine.
Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird
George AND Anne in Famous Five. I know Anne gets a bad wrap, but honestly, she’s a girl who likes dolls and camping. I love her, she doesn’t sacrifice her femininity in order to live an active life, particularly considering all the forces conspiring to keep her down (like her brothers, always so quick to tell her what girls can’t do and George, sneering at Anne’s girliness).
Ramona. She knows herself.
All the Pen and Pencil Girls, from Clare Mallory’s NZ novel.
I liked Seven Little Australians better than Little Women. I like how (spoiler) Judy rages against the dying of the light. She so way fully does not go gently.