I love thinking about the rise of the plain heroine– and the plain secondary heroine. There’s Agnes in David Copperfield – he can’t see her as marriage material for a long time, preferring instead the ridiculous and childish but conventionally lovely Dora. In George Eliot’s Middlemarch, Mary Garth is described as a “Brown Patch“ and Eliot tells us that she doesn’t really need to describe her further because we “pass her on the street every day.“ Fred Vincy is obsessed with her nonetheless – and he’s hot. She’s the best and most deserving character in the whole novel, if you ask me. If we want to go earlier, back to Jane Austen, we’ve got Elinor Dashwood,Fanny Price, and Anne Elliot, all of them, one way or another, considered to be unmarriageable due to a combination of reduced beauty standard, and reduced circumstance. There is Marion Hawthorne, narrator of much of Wilkie Collins’ Woman in White, who is described as “ugly“ – even as men desire her. Finally, and perhaps most fun, is Becky Sharp, the wicked manipulator of Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. She’s far from beautiful, and yet she manages to exert tremendous power over men. She is Jane Eyre’s contemporary, which is fun to think about.
Thank you, Erin! Yes, I do think that these novelists were likely well aware of the power of their “plain” heroines. Often overlooked and dismissed, these are the characters we come back to, and feel less one-dimensional and more interesting to us as readers.
I suspect that for the writer, depicting a beautiful heroine felt constraining and dull because of the expectations and dull stereotypes surrounding it. There's no character to write if it's already been written, especially if she's a boring character, which the idealized woman on the pedestal is. Everyone is happier when we can side step looks and give our heroine a personality and put her through things that challenge her and make her do interesting stuff. Also, the novel is a genre of interiority -- the sweet spot is the mind of a protagonist who is outward appearance is not the beginning and end of things
This really made me think about how Hollywood portrays beauty, and how it is always external and obvious. Your piece shows a real reflection of strong women in literature.
“I can live alone, if self-respect and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.”
A rarely achieved level of self-sufficiency/identity for sure!
What an interesting essay. I am unfortunately not very well acquainted with the classical novels and so really appreciate your informed discussion. Like many people I suppose, I have become aware of these characters and the authors, via the screen. It is so interesting to consider how the needs of the box office dictate the attributes of the main female characters, although it’s not surprising. Very thought-provoking. Thank you!
I always think of Jane Austen’s Anne in Persuasion as a plain heroine—but I’d have to read back. It may be more of a “she’s lost her bloom” situation 🙃.
Ironically in the US, the (excellent) 1995 film adaption actually replaced the actors with “prettier” stand ins for both Anne and Captain Wentworth in the promo and packaging in some places!!!
I love thinking about the rise of the plain heroine– and the plain secondary heroine. There’s Agnes in David Copperfield – he can’t see her as marriage material for a long time, preferring instead the ridiculous and childish but conventionally lovely Dora. In George Eliot’s Middlemarch, Mary Garth is described as a “Brown Patch“ and Eliot tells us that she doesn’t really need to describe her further because we “pass her on the street every day.“ Fred Vincy is obsessed with her nonetheless – and he’s hot. She’s the best and most deserving character in the whole novel, if you ask me. If we want to go earlier, back to Jane Austen, we’ve got Elinor Dashwood,Fanny Price, and Anne Elliot, all of them, one way or another, considered to be unmarriageable due to a combination of reduced beauty standard, and reduced circumstance. There is Marion Hawthorne, narrator of much of Wilkie Collins’ Woman in White, who is described as “ugly“ – even as men desire her. Finally, and perhaps most fun, is Becky Sharp, the wicked manipulator of Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. She’s far from beautiful, and yet she manages to exert tremendous power over men. She is Jane Eyre’s contemporary, which is fun to think about.
Thank you, Erin! Yes, I do think that these novelists were likely well aware of the power of their “plain” heroines. Often overlooked and dismissed, these are the characters we come back to, and feel less one-dimensional and more interesting to us as readers.
I suspect that for the writer, depicting a beautiful heroine felt constraining and dull because of the expectations and dull stereotypes surrounding it. There's no character to write if it's already been written, especially if she's a boring character, which the idealized woman on the pedestal is. Everyone is happier when we can side step looks and give our heroine a personality and put her through things that challenge her and make her do interesting stuff. Also, the novel is a genre of interiority -- the sweet spot is the mind of a protagonist who is outward appearance is not the beginning and end of things
This is really useful and these ‘plain’ characters you mention are all favourites of mine
The new Wuthering Heights looks ghastly!
Totally agree!! 😄
Great essay, Kate! Always delighted to see Agnes Grey getting the airtime it deserves ❤️
Thanks! 🌟
This really made me think about how Hollywood portrays beauty, and how it is always external and obvious. Your piece shows a real reflection of strong women in literature.
Thanks!
“I can live alone, if self-respect and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.”
A rarely achieved level of self-sufficiency/identity for sure!
Yes! Definitely.
What an interesting essay. I am unfortunately not very well acquainted with the classical novels and so really appreciate your informed discussion. Like many people I suppose, I have become aware of these characters and the authors, via the screen. It is so interesting to consider how the needs of the box office dictate the attributes of the main female characters, although it’s not surprising. Very thought-provoking. Thank you!
Thanks Phil! I'm glad you enjoyed it 😀
A great read.
I always think of Jane Austen’s Anne in Persuasion as a plain heroine—but I’d have to read back. It may be more of a “she’s lost her bloom” situation 🙃.
Ironically in the US, the (excellent) 1995 film adaption actually replaced the actors with “prettier” stand ins for both Anne and Captain Wentworth in the promo and packaging in some places!!!
How interesting! (And disappointing!)
Thank you for reading :)
Miss Maple is the ultimate invisible woman who uses her ordinary-ness to do extraordinary things
That's very true, and I believe Christie deliberately made her that way, to show how her invisibility worked in her favour.
Wonderful essay! Makes me want to teach Jane Eyre again.
I loved my undergraduate studies of the novel! It's so rich for further study. Something new to discover every time.
A fabulous essay, Kate. And such an interesting and enduring subject. Thank you! 🤎
Ah, that means so much! Thank you for reading :)
Such a good and thought-provoking subject Kate. As always! Made me think too of Sonia in Uncle Vanya... one of my favourites characters.
Thanks Laura!