// “woman up!” – female character tag //

…which is basically an excuse to do something I really enjoy doing: rambling about fictional characters. I had such fun writing this up!

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Rules of this tag:

1.) List five of your favorite female characters (book or screen)

2.) Tagging other people is optional

3.) If you are tagged link back to the person that tagged you (that would be Eva :))

4.) Link back to Revealed In Time

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Protagonist: Anne Shirley (the Anne of Green Gables series)

Well, I think the fact that I keep coming back to her book series over and over again is a testament to just how much I love her… But seriously, she’s just the best, especially as she gets older and pursues college and writing and love and all that fun stuff. I’ve always loved her vivid imagination and compassionate nature, not to mention the beautiful way she has with words, and let me tell you, she’s downright hilarious once she really develops her sense of humor. I laugh so hard at some of the situations she gets herself into. She’s got such inner strength and determination, and yet she’s not afraid to be feminine. It’s encouraging– that there are other (perhaps more important) strengths besides just physical, that you can be both girly and strong.

Anne brightens every place she goes just by being herself, by being a ray of sunshine, and I would say that’s one of the best kinds of role models to have. After all, Jesus Himself calls us to be lights in this dark world… Anne lives that calling out every day, and that’s why she’ll forever be one of my favorites.

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Villain: Madame Thénardier (Les Misérables)

I know, I knooow, but just bear with me while I explain.

Yes, she’s loud and obnoxious and garish and bitter and rather inappropriate in general. And she was horribly cruel to poor Cosette. And she kicked her young sons out of their home, which is totally not cool, girl. BUT, I can’t help but think that had her circumstances been different, she would’ve been pretty awesome. If she hadn’t married Thénardier– a decision which she clearly regrets in all adaptations of the story (and really, who can blame the poor woman?)– who knows what she could’ve done with her life? It’s clear that she despises what she and her family have become, and it’s a shame that she can’t (doesn’t) do anything to change that.

And even with her unfortunate lot in life, we still see that she has a heart– look at how much she cares for her daughters. At least she tries to take care of them, to give them a good life. She may have failed in the end, but she truly did love them, and it’s really hard to dislike a mother who loves her children. But then that brings us back to her giving her sons up… and that does make me dislike her, I’m afraid. See? She’s incredibly complex and a fascinating character.

Say what you will about Madame, but she’s tough as nails and has a heart, deep down. If she hadn’t made such poor life choices (read: Thénardier), she could’ve been so great– and her children would’ve had good lives as well. But alas, that’s not what happened… Thanks, Victor Hugo, for making your characters miserable. (See what I did there?)

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Superhero: Honey Lemon (Big Hero Six)

Yes, she gets GIFs because she’s awesome.

Bet you weren’t expecting an animated superhero, right? Well, there you go. HONEY LEMON IS AMAZING.

She’s incredibly smart– the girl’s majoring in chemical engineering. Hello. And she’s also a tad bit crazy, as chemists tend to be– she LOVES explosions and incorporates them into her weaponry (which, by the way, is a periodic table purse that shoots out these brightly colored chemical balls that each have a different cool function and I really really want it). She’s compassionate– always the one to make sure the rest of the team is okay, always the one to point them towards the bright side of things. AND THE BEST PART: She’s essentially a whirlwind of sunshine and flowers and all things adorable. Which is definitely NOT something you would typically associate with a superhero. Way to defy stereotypes! (Also, she wears glasses– pink ones, at that– so we are clearly kindred spirits.)

Personality-wise, she’s basically me as a chemist-slash-superhero (my dad’s even confirmed it) and I love it.

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That I would want to be friends with: Jo March (Little Women)

…Not that there aren’t a ton of other characters I’d love to be friends with (especially Anne and Honey and Éponine and Lizzy Bennet and…), but I think that Jo and I would get on quite nicely.

See, we’re both writerly people, and we have a similar sense of humor, so between that and our mutual love of good books and tea we’d never run out of things to talk about. And yes, there are other funny, writerly characters out there (again, Anne), but the thing about Jo is that she has a fiery temper. She gets into all kinds of mischief. And me, well, I don’t. I need friends who will stir me up from time to time, friends who bring out my adventurous side that tends to lie dormant when I’m alone.

It would be so much fun to be friends with Jo, don’tcha think?

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That I wish had better development: Éponine Thénardier (Les Misérables — in the musical/movie, anyway)

*takes a deep breath* SHE IS NOT JUST THE GIRL WHO LOVED MARIUS WHO DIDN’T LOVE HER BACK, OKAY? Thank you. Just wanted to clarify.

Yes, I get that unrequited love was a significant part of her character– but that isn’t her entire identity as a person! She’s a Thénardier. A daughter. An older sister. A girl of the streets who knows Paris like the back of her hand. A girl who likes books and is curious about everything, yet had to give up her education at a young age. A girl who isn’t afraid to speak her mind in a time and place where that is severely frowned upon. A girl who’s been turned to steel by her rough life yet still has a heart. A girl who has no ray of sunshine in her life except the one man who has ever been kind to her, and as a result fancies herself in love with him because a good man is her (seemingly unattainable) dream. A girl who, in the end, is willing to sacrifice herself to save another.

‘Ponine is SUCH an amazing character, and I feel that, as great as the movie and musical were, they hardly skimmed the surface of her character. Maybe that was the point, to give her a bit of mystery– or maybe they just couldn’t fit it in with the way they had to condense 1,200 pages of fiction into a couple of hours.

And then, of course, there’s the issue of her dying before she has the chance to really develop and grow (again, thanks Hugo). A good portion of the Les Mis fandom has determined that 1.) if they’d lived, she and Enjolras (the leader of the revolution) would’ve made the perfect couple and 2.) she would’ve gone on to better herself, learning to read and write and work for a living, perhaps even venturing into politics (after all, who better to stand up for the poor than one who was poor?). The fandom has proved that Éponine had so much potential as a character… but nope, Victor Hugo can’t have any happy characters in Les Mis. It wouldn’t do. *shakes head scornfully* Ah, well. Thank goodness for imagination, I guess. ^_^

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That’s all. Thank you for reading my ramblings. 🙂

If you’d like to do this tag (it’s quite fun), be my guest!

{love, Em}

// normal. //

For me, normal is…
-getting up reasonably early (which admittedly varies from day to day), going to sit at my desk, and opening up my laptop, my quiet time notebook, and my Bible for a She Reads Truth study.
-after which I stumble downstairs and immediately grab a mug from the cupboard and a bag of (usually breakfast) tea to make my morning tea in the microwave (because I unfortunately do not own a teapot or anything). Then I add a dash of almond milk to my tea, fix my breakfast, and enjoy the next twenty minutes or so with a good book, good food, and good tea. It’s my happy place.
-giving my whole family good morning hugs. And goodbye hugs. And goodnight hugs. And spontaneous hugs.
-jamming to Spotify while I get ready, both in the morning and for bed at night. I have to wait until after Matt leaves for school, though– he isn’t usually a fan of my music xD
-doing all the homework that I can right when I get home because then it’s DONE and I don’t have that constant dread of “oh wait I still have to do this”. And also eating a snack with it. Which usually involves pretzels or Goldfish or a mixture of both.
-writing SOMETHING during the day. Anything. Blog post, journal entry, story snippet, random opinionated rant, note to a friend– something. The time at which I write varies from day to day; I don’t schedule my writing. I probably should; I’d likely write more.
-lately our family has decided that we like watching TV together while we eat dinner. Matt and I bring down a towel to sit on, and we all watch either a movie or the Goldbergs or Cops or Food Network– and it’s quite nice. This doesn’t happen every night, of course, but when it does it’s nice.
-reading something in spare moments throughout the day. While eating– between classes– just whenever. I can’t just NOT read.
-I’ve come to really enjoy the drive to and from school every day. It’s so nice and peaceful, and I play my Christian radio and *usually* am happy with the songs playing.
-doodling all over notes and such. It’s kind of funny when people comment on it, especially teachers.
-if you notice I’m being quiet or look lost in thought, that’s because I’m plotting something. Something fictional. Either that or I’m reliving my favorite parts from other stories. Tis great fun either way.
-going to church in a movie theatre. Which is also fun.
…and that’s my current normal. 🙂 Not too exciting, but it’s the little things that make life beautiful. I’m very grateful!
Love, Em

// “from twilight to unclouded day” //

The surprise of it bewildered Anne. For a few moments she could not speak.

“You know it’s so, don’t you?” said Ruby insistently.

“Yes, I know,” answered Anne in a low tone. “Dear Ruby, I know.”

“Everybody knows it,” said Ruby bitterly. “I know it — I’ve known it all summer, though I wouldn’t give in. And, oh, Anne” — she reached out and caught Anne’s hand pleadingly, impulsively — “I don’t want to die. I’m afraid to die.”

“Why should you be afraid, Ruby?” asked Anne quietly.

“Because — because — oh, I’m not afraid but that I’ll go to heaven, Anne. I’m a church member. But — it’ll be all so different. I think — and think — and I get so frightened — and — and — homesick. Heaven must be very beautiful, of course, the Bible says so — but, Anne, it won’t be what I’ve been used to.”

Through Anne’s mind drifted an intrusive recollection of a funny story she had heard Philippa Gordon tell — the story of some old man who had said very much the same thing about the world to come. It had sounded funny then — she remembered how she and Priscilla had laughed over it. But it did not seem in the least humorous now, coming from Ruby’s pale, trembling lips. It was sad, tragic — and true! Heaven could not be what Ruby had been used to. There had been nothing in her gay, frivolous life, her shallow ideals and aspirations, to fit her for that great change, or make the life to come seem to her anything but alien and unreal and undesirable. Anne wondered helplessly what she could say that would help her. Could she say anything? “I think, Ruby,” she began hesitatingly — for it was difficult for Anne to speak to any one of the deepest thoughts of her heart, or the new ideas that had vaguely begun to shape themselves in her mind, concerning the great mysteries of life here and hereafter, superseding her old childish conceptions, and it was hardest of all to speak of them to such as Ruby Gillis — “I think, perhaps, we have very mistaken ideas about heaven — what it is and what it holds for us. I don’t think it can be so very different from life here as most people seem to think. I believe we’ll just go on living, a good deal as we live here — and be ourselves just the same — only it will be easier to be good and to — follow the highest. All the hindrances and perplexities will be taken away, and we shall see clearly. Don’t be afraid, Ruby.”

“I can’t help it,” said Ruby pitifully. “Even if what you say about heaven is true — and you can’t be sure — it may be only that imagination of yours — it won’t be just the same. It can’t be. I want to go on living here. I’m so young, Anne. I haven’t had my life. I’ve fought so hard to live — and it isn’t any use — I have to die — and leave everything I care for.” Anne sat in a pain that was almost intolerable. She could not tell comforting falsehoods; and all that Ruby said was so horribly true. She WAS leaving everything she cared for. She had laid up her treasures on earth only; she had lived solely for the little things of life — the things that pass — forgetting the great things that go onward into eternity, bridging the gulf between the two lives and making of death a mere passing from one dwelling to the other — from twilight to unclouded day. God would take care of her there — Anne believed — she would learn — but now it was no wonder her soul clung, in blind helplessness, to the only things she knew and loved.

// L.M. Montgomery / Anne of the Island / (‘twas I who bolded that one sentence for emphasis) //

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I love this novel and read it about once every six months or so (maybe more now that I’m on the brink of college life myself), and every time that passage just gets me.

Because I don’t know about you, but I see a bit of Ruby Gillis in myself— that part of me that gets all caught up in this entertainment-oriented world we live in. The part of me that longs for attention and praise. The part of me that gets distracted so very easily from the Lord. The part of me that wants to say, “Oh, well, no worries, there’s always tomorrow to focus on God.”

But the thing is, there isn’t always a tomorrow. Eventually, tomorrow runs out. And I don’t want to reach the end of my tomorrows and realize that I’m afraid of death— that I’ve invested all my heart and life into nothing but earthly things. Temporary fills.

No, my purpose on this earth is so much greater than that. I want to be brave and take a stand for my faith, no matter what. I want to speak up for the broken, for the defenseless, because that’s what Jesus did. I want to shine His light everywhere I go, with everything I do. I want to love others with the agape love He first showed us. I want to bring Him glory and honor and praise, always.

And… I want heaven to be my heart’s home. I don’t want to be disappointed because it won’t be what I was used to. But somehow… somehow I don’t think that’ll happen. Honestly? I think I’ll be too in awe to even think about my life here. And that’ll be the most amazing experience— finally being in the Lord’s presence. Finally coming home where I belong, where all of us do. Can you even begin to imagine?

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“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

// C.S. Lewis / Mere Christianity //

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“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

// 2 Corinthians 4:18 / NIV //

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{love always, Em}