Literary Heroine Party

Thanks to Elise at Ribbons of Light  I found this!  A lovely lady named Miss Kellie is hosting a 'Blog Party' and all 'eligible young ladies are invited to attend,' as The Duke in Cinderella would say.  I do feel rather as if I'm attending a ball, I'm so excited!  Have a look over at her blog, A Maiden's Musings, through the picture below.  It's delightful.

~ The Questions ~

Compiled by Miss Kellie & Miss Natasha

What, to you, forms the essence of a true heroine? Hmm...kindness, strength of character, just overall goodness.  Someone I can look up and relate to.


Share (up to) four heroines of literature that you most admire and relate to. 
Catharine Morland from Northanger Abbey - She's not perfect, and is very different from all of Jane Austen's other characters.  I think I am more like her than any of them.  She is imaginative, which gets her in trouble sometimes (check), falls for Mr. Tilney (check), and loves a good book (check).
Emily Starr from The Emily Series - Not only do I share her name, but her temperment.  I was always able to relate to Emily more than Anne.  She's more laid back and less exuberant.
Edith Hamilton from The Inheritance - I haven't actually read the book, so I am just assuming that her character is the same as in the movie.  She is such a sweetheart!  I hope someday to be as good as she is.

Five of your favorite historical novels? I'm just going to assume this means written in a historical time period, but not necessarily around a certain historical event.


The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen


Out of those five books who is your favorite character and why? I would have to say Henry Tilney.  He's just so...so...wonderful!  Kind, funny, and good.

If you were to plan out your dream vacation, where would you travel to - and what would you plan to do there? I want to go to Prince Edward Island because of L. M. Montgomery...but I'm not sure whether I would like to go to Europe first; Italy in particular.  It's so romantic over there!  And Spain!  I want to go to Spain!  Oooh and Australia...I could even visit Elise :)  And I've always had a yearning for the United Kingdom: all of it!  It must be my ancestors.

What is your favorite time period and culture to read about? A wide variety!  But I've been gravitating toward the Victorian era. I just love the romantic feeling.

You have been invited to perform at the local charity concert.  Singing, comedy, recitation - what is your act comprised of? Well, I would probably sing.  Something like Oh Danny Boy...because I'm obsessed with Irish folk songs.  And I love Always There sung by Orlagh Fallon!  Beautiful.

If you were to attend a party where each guest was to portray a heroine of literature, who would you select to represent? Oh goodness.  Err, give me a minute... Either Catherine Morland or Margaret Hale.  The latter mainly for her hairstyle, I must confess!  (Although I did just watch it again, and I love her clothes!  Why can't we wear those dresses without getting strange looks from people?  Why?!)

What are your sentiments on the subject of chocolate? I must confess I am rather partial to the milk and white types.  They are my one weakness (Lark Rise to Candleford influence there hehe).

Favorite author(s)?
Good grief...
L. M Montgomery
Jane Austen
Charles Dickens
C. S. Lewis
Louisa May Alcott
Here's the list if you're interested.
 
As a small, imaginative, red-haired damsel might query; would you rather be divinely beautiful, dazzlingly clever, or angelically good?  Why? As Elise has already very aptly put, to say angelically good 'smacks of hypocrisy and goody-two-shoeism.'  But I really would rather be angelically good because that is the only option that would lead to true happiness, even though that is a bit of a selfish reason to choose it.

In which century were most of the books you read written? 19th century.

In your opinion, the ultimate hero in literature is… Henry Tilney.  (Sorry, Elise! I really don't mean to copy, but I must add Sir Percy Blakeney as well!  This is getting pretty funny.)

Describe your ideal dwelling place. Anywhere my family is...but if I had them and this house described below, life would be perfect.  (Not that it isn't already!)

A sweet little white cottage (Victorian style) with gables, blue shutters and a white picket fence around the garden.  There would be trees; a willow in the back by a rippling brook (yes, it must ripple), and an apple tree in the front that produces the best apples for apple pie and cobbler.  Also, I would love a silver birch just for the beauty of it.  There would be a vegetable garden in the back where I would grow peas and beans and potatoes and cucumbers and radishes and lettuce and carrots and many other yummy vegetables.  I would have a flower garden in the front and roses along the fence and little patches of flowers around the house.

Outside the garden, I would have a red barn, one of those friendly looking ones.  We would have goats and chickens and sheep and maybe even a donkey!  It would smell of sweet hay, and we would build houses out of the hay bales just for the fun of it.  Hay Day in August would be the party of the summer!  (We would hay our own hay, of course...doesn't that sound funny!)

Inside the house, I would have wooden floors, staircases that squeak happily when you walk/trip/dance up/down them.  I would have an official library with floor to ceiling bookshelves absolutely crammed with books, and one of those ladders that rolls along them.  (That would be the official place for books, but knowing me, I would have many cracks and crannies where I would tuck a little book in).  I would have a kitchen with a wooden table and gingham curtains that overlooked my vegetable garden.  I won't list all of the rooms, but I would have the bedrooms upstairs, and a nursery for my babies, all of whom will have dimples and laughter.  And when they get older, we'll have a swing set in the back for them to play on (all wooden, of course.  Those plastic things are horribly ugly!).  If they get hurt playing outside, I can comfort them and cuddle them and put band aids on  their sores.  (Can you tell I want children, badly?  I hope I can have eight...)  And every night before they go to bed, we'll all sit together and I'll tell them stories, or read them fairytales and Peter Pan (that book is a must).

And as I've rambled on quite enough, I think I should probably stop before I bore you to tears.  This is so much fun! 

Have you ever wanted to change a character’s name? Come to think of it, no I haven't!  A bit odd, after all the books I've read.

In your opinion, the most dastardly villain of all literature is... Chauvelin, Bill Sikes, Heathcliff, Carver Doone...yes, I agree with you Elise! Oh! And John Thorpe.  Horrible man!

Three favorite Non-fiction books? 
The Bible
My Family and Other Animals
The Heavens Proclaim His Glory
can I add a fourth?  The Best of James Herriot

Your duties met for the day, how would you choose to spend a carefree summer afternoon?  Read outside in the sun, probably either curled up on a bench or sprawled out in the grass.  Or I might go for a walk (somewhere where there are trees...lots of trees!).

Create a verbal sketch of your dream hat - in such a way as will best portray your true character. Something elegant with a rose in the sash...probably broad brimmed.

Share the most significant event(s) that have marked your life in the past year.  1) My little cousin's birth, and 2) My acceptance into the library program (I'm currently in my studies for a Library Technician Diploma)

Share the Bible passage(s) that have been most inspiring to you recently. I tend to go back to the ones that have comforted me constantly, so I would have to say Romans 8: 35-39, Deuteronomy 4: 29, Psalm 91: 11-12, and Psalm 27: 1.  There are many others, but they would take up too much space.