First of all, yes, there is a double entendre in the word "novel." Most antis and neutrals don't feel like Bella is a great character, or a good role model for young girls.

To argue that point, people point out interesting characters like Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, or Buffy Summers from the show that bears her name. These are common points in the argument against Bella Swan's character, but I was curious to hear more.

My first thought when I try and think of an interesting literary character is Ella of Frell. When I was younger, Ella Enchanted was one of my favorite novels, and it was the first novel where I was actually interested in the romance of it (I was a late bloomer among the girls as far as being interested in that sort of thing).

I think a lot of people who criticize feminists believe that feminists are against the romance novel-- this isn't true. Feminists aren't against romance in the slightest. We just like romance that shows women in interesting roles, rather than the classic "damsel in distress" theme present in a lot of classic romantic literature.

Now, don't get me wrong-- as politically incorrect as they are, I have always loved fairy tales and Disney films, and I always will. But I stopped wanting to be a fairy princess when I was ten-years-old. If you want, you can wait and wait and wait in your ivory tower for a prince to carry you away and see how long it takes. Or, you could go out there and find him.

So after that tangent about feminism and romance, I was wondering who you consider to be more interesting female characters in the novels you have read. I can name a few off the top of my head.

Ella from Ella Enchanted
Scout Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird
Elspeth Gordie from the Obernewtyn Chronicles
Sara Crewe from A Little Princess
Lyra "Silvertongue" Belaqua from His Dark Materials
Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice


There are loads more-- that's just off the top of my head.