"We Can Do It"

"I do not wish them to have power over men, but over themselves."  ~ Mary Wollstonecraft

"Rise to the occasion which is life!"
~ Virginia Woolf

In honor of Geraldine Doyle

So, I read the other day about Geraldine Doyle's, the model for Rosie the Riveter, passing at the age of 86 and this has inspired me to write about some strong female roles/characters/books/poems that have inspired me over the years. I do so enjoy strong females who do what is right and good in the face of some sort of incomprehensible driving force and I also enjoy those female roles that kick butt and take names.

Non-Fiction (Books and Essays)
I have never read all of The Femine Mystique, but I do enjoy and have taught it's first chapter as an essay titled "The Problem That Has No Name".
Are Men Necessary? When Sexes Collide Maureen Dowd
Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity, and the Women Who Made America Modern Joshua Zeitz
Ruth, Esther, Mary et cetera in The Bible
A Vindication on the Rights of Women Mary Wollstonecraft
A Room of One's Own Virginia Woolf

Fiction (Books, Short Stories and Plays)
Anything Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale especially
Bridget Jones's Diary Helen Fielding...although I think the Americanized version is just silly...I mean look at the cover!
Anne of Green Gables series by LM Montgomery
"The Yellow Wallpaper" Charlotte Perkins Gilman
"The Story of an Hour" Kate Chopin
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe Fannie Flagg
How to Make An American Quilt Whitney Otto
The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan
"Trifles" Susan Glaspell
"A Wagner Matinee" Willa Cather
Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
A Room with A View EM Forster
anything by Jane Austen
The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne...first powerful American female in literature! :)
Little Women Louisa May Alcott
The Hours Michael Cunningham

Fiction (Poetry and Music)
anything Alanis Morrissette
anything Fiona Apple
"Song" Adrienne Rich
"Self in 1958" Anne Sexton

And, for fun
because we all watch movies, The 100 Best Female Character Roles