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Tell us about your favourite female characters among the women in books you’ve read for the Women’s Web ‘My Favourite Female’ contest!
Welcome to the Women’s Web’s ‘My Favourite Female’ contest, where all you need to do is write about a fictional female character that really appeals to you. (For purposes of this contest, we’re defining ‘fictional’ as a character from a novel).
What? Pick any female character from a novel, that made you sit up, that made you go wow, that made you laugh or cry, that got you angry, that got you thinking, that made you fall in love – in short, a character that made you feel, ‘I wish I had written that!’
How? Tell us what you liked about this character in a blog post. If you don’t blog – drop a note in the comments here, or mail us at contests@womensweb.in. Remember, the character herself doesn’t need to be likeable, so long as you can talk about why the character appealed to you – actions, qualities or anything else.
Rules
– Stick to 500 words or below
– Choose a fictional character – in other words, someone from a novel, who did not exist in the real world (sorry, historical novel characters based on actual people won’t qualify!)
– Your entry must be dated between 12th Oct and 22nd Oct, 2010 (or reach us between those dates)
– If you’re submitting a blog post, include a link to this page – we’ll track your entry that way. (http://womensweb.in/top-level-documents/favourite-females.html)
THE PRIZES
The best written entry a.k.a 1st prize wins a Rs. 500 Flipkart voucher (or a $10 Amazon voucher if you happen to live outside India). The next two best written entries (2nd and 3rd prizes) get Rs. 250 worth Flipkart vouchers each (or a $5 Amazon voucher if you live outside India).
All 3 winning entries will also be published on the Women’s Web blog.
And the Judges?
We have two people from the world of words, who’ve very kindly agreed to act as judges for the My Favourite Female contest. They are: Devaki Khanna, Freelance Writer and Editor, who is fascinated with literature and history and Nivethitha Kumar, who, along with two friends, runs The Banyan Trees, a literary magazine featuring a variety of creative content. Nivethitha is passionate about writing and blogs at Nivispace. (A preliminary evaluation of entries may be done by Women’s Web, if we have a whole of entries – which, we hope we do!)
Go on then – remember, entries close on 22nd Oct 2010, so get your entry in before that…
Women's Web is a vibrant community for Indian women, an authentic space for us
http://readingthroughrsmind.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-favorite-female-character-ww-contest.html – here’s my fav character
I was just thinking of Alison Weir’s portrayal of Lady Jane Grey in the Innocent Traitor till I came across the rule – dangnabit! Will have to think harder.
I am unable to post a 203 word comment. It is getting rejected.
I do not have a blog and don’t plan on starting on ever. So how can I get my post to be accepted? Can’t I just submit it to the moderator or editor?
Malini, Sorry about that; have increased the comment box setting to allow for longer comments.
As the contest post mentions, another option is to mail your entry to contests@womensweb.in
Look forward to receiving your entry!
My favorite female character in a novel is Vianne Rocher from Chocolat by Joanne Harris.
I must confess I am a chocolate addict so there was an instant attraction towards Vianne who was so adept at making confections out of chocolate.
To me cooking food is the most basic form of expressing your emotions. This underlying thread of Vianne struck and chord with me and stayed.
She hands out chili flavored chocolates to re-ignite the spark in a dull marriage and re-unites grandmother and grandson over a steaming cup of hot chocolate. This is a universal theme of women extending their circle of embrace through a simple offering for the senses.
Vianne stayed with me looking over my shoulder when I went through my tough pastry courses and internships and yes, there is something infinitely soothing about stirring a big bowl of melted chocolate to a silken consistency.
Also her open mindedness is something I greatly admire. She is a beautiful contrast against the stuck up Priest who becomes unhinged and devours the chocolate display. I realised that stronger the walls of control the greater the level of madness lurking within and when it all bubbles out for the world to see, it is seldom a pretty sight!
To me cooking food is the most basic form of expressing your emotions. This underlying thread of Vianne struck a chord with me and stayed.
She hands out chili flavored chocolates to re-ignite the spark in a dull marriage and re-unites grandmother and grandson over a steaming cup of hot chocolate. This is an universal theme of women extending their circle of embrace through a simple offering for the senses.
I loved the character of ‘Tanya’ in Vikrant Shukla’s “Call Centre An Inside Storyâ€. Though she carried shades of a Vamp throughout the book, but she made me think many times if we as a society are responsible for creating odd ones? Tanya wanted to live; she wanted to get everything by any means. She betrayed Sumit (her lover), slept with Shiv (for money) and did everything that could create her image as a spoiled girl but as a reader I was forced to find a reason for that. She was used physically by her step father at an age when she did not even understand what sex is all about, she admitted in the book that she enjoyed that as well. She was a kid that time and kids don’t understand any reason for anything, they just express whatever they like and what they don’t. Tanya also did the same thing, she admitted the fact that she used to like that and also opened up in front of Shiv that she is used to living that life style now and also proposed to be his secret girl friend. At the same time she was going around with Sumit (a close friend of Shiv) – She portrayed like a multi dimensional personality – Amazing.Tanya was a balanced character of the book and I am honest enough to say that without Tanya it was not possible for the writer to complete this book.I love this character as she made me think, I read the book about three months ago but still I remember her character and I try to find her in ever female call centre employee. (I am sorry if I am offending someone)
My favourite female character has to be Sara Crewe from ‘A Little Princess’. The story is as follows: Sara is the only daughter of a rich British officer interned in India, and when she’s 7, her doting father puts her in a boarding school for young women in Britain and returns to India. Sara is not a spoiled little child; it is her ambition to be a princess inside and out. Though she speaks French and wears pretty frocks, her princess-like behavior shows itself when she befriends children in the school who have no friends, and she is the only person in the school to talk to the scullery maid. She does not let the adoration and awe of all the other kids to get to her head.
The real story starts when Sara’s father dies in India and all his wealth is lost, leaving her penniless. As a result, she can no longer be supported in the school, and having no relations, she is reduced from being a much adored student to another scullery maid. She has to live in an attic with rats and cockroaches and wait upon other students with no time for her to learn anything. The child is treated miserably by the sadistic headmistress.
However, she refuses to be anything but a princess, though she is treated badly. When people are rude to her, she answers back firmly, but politely. To keep her misery of fatherless-ness, poverty and bad treatment at bay, she plays a pretend game involving the fearsome rats and the other scullery maid.
Why the character tremendously appeals to me is because she is first of all a child – thirteen when we see her last. Secondly, the kind of struggle she has to go though at such a tender age is huge – her father dies, she has no money to keep clothes on her back and has to live on charity, has no one to rely on, and the people at the school ill-treat her. Thirdly – it is the way she chooses to react to such a crisis. By being a princess, inside and out.
We live in a world where it is fashionable to use to four-letter-word for everything from a sneeze. ‘Being a lady’ is an outdated concept. Princesses are barbie dolls with size zero bodies capable of ensnaring men. In such a world, I believe that Sara Crewe is extremely relevant – she embodies womanhood and femininity. Patience and strength are not mutually exclusive, and one does not need to hate our demons to slay them.
Today (17th October) is Vijayadashami in India. It is the culmination of Dussera, associated with the slaying of Ravana. A woman, Sita, had a very significant role in the process, and she displayed the same patience, and lady-like behavior that Sara Crewe does. It is a common theme in ancient mythology – the strong, powerful, lady-like woman, and Sara Crewe, when I think about her, is the embodiment of the same feminine energy. A little girl, a princess, a woman, a Goddess.
Hi.Here’s my link http://jottingsmine.blogspot.com/2010/10/long-time-no-see.htmlto the favourite females contest.
My entry to the contest is at http://hiphopgmom.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-entry.html
And here’s my favorite character : http://reviewroom.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-favorite-female-character.html
Here’s my entry! http://starsinmeyes.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/anne-inspiring-heroine/
Hi,
This is my link-http://mirra-macherie.blogspot.com/2010/10/ww-contest.html
I have written about Panchali .
Thanks & Regards,Devasena
http://gradwolf.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/the-dominatrix/
http://bellbajao.org/2010/10/22/marji-my-role-model/
I hope i’m not too late with this submission.
Thanks!
might be late but the urge was too strong to share – http://endowedwithmetis.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/anonymously-familiar-and-strikingly-similar/
Hope this is not too late…
http://sanjanaj.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/my-favourite-female-character/
Great entries, folks! Not to worry about the time – we are open for entries until 10 p.m IST today.
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