Ranking Jane Austen's Heroines

#JaneAustenJuly
In which I rank Jane Austen’s protagonists . . .

---Books Mentioned---

---My Debut Novel---

My debut novel, The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, is coming out in early 2023.

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[BookwormCalida]

Yes yes yes for Fanny! I grew up with 80's tv miniseries and fell in love with Fanny, her kindness and quiet conviction. I loved how she wouldn't let Mr Crawford 'save' her when she knew she would be happier without him.

[BookishTexan]

Great discussion of Lady Susan the character. I would rank Anne Eliot number 1 for all the reasons you discussed.

[novellenovels]

My favourite is lizzy bennet but I love Anne Elliot sooo much. I’m currently watching Emma on Netflix and hate Emma’s character but love the book.

[НатальяАгапова-пж]

I think my favourite one is Anne, although Elizabeth is also great and more relatable for me, because Anne is too good).

[magpie_mel]

Yay for Fanny!! YES!! I literally clapped when you said her name! :D She is definitely under-rated and misunderstood.

[obsessivefangirl]

Personally my favourite Auten heroine is Emma, just because I'm a sucker for flawed, imperfect female characters who do shitty things but because they are written so beautifully, with so much complexity, naunce and depth that they grow on you. To me, Emma Woodhouse is the exemplification of all those characteristics.

[geraldinegranger]

I fell in love with the character of Fanny after seeing the vlog-style web series From Mansfield with Love. I think that’s the best modern interpretation of any novel from the Austen era. I’ve been watching your videos for over a year now and really enjoy them - especially during Jane Austen July!

[jessicaferreiracoury]

The one I like most, by far, is Elinor. She's the stronger one and most selfless one. Sense and Sensibility is the only Jane Austen book who made me emotional and actually want to cry (even though I love all Jane Austen books, they are not prone to making me emotional at all).
Fanny Price...is not that I don't like her. She does nothing NOT to be liked. But it's more that I pity her from the way they treat her, more than actually LIKE her. I couldn't be endeared to her, I could only feel compassion for her. Maybe because I thought she was too judgemental and she thought she and Edmund were the only perfectly moral cookies in the whole jar and everyone else was beneath them morally, which was kinda off-putting, even though I understand the morals of the time. But the emotional abuse and humiliation she went through by the hand of Aunt Norris and the pressure (borderline emotional violence) she suffered while every single other character of the book was pressuring her at the same time to marry Mr. Crawford made my blood boil, that's the most anger any Jane Austen plot has ever made me feel.
Still, the sentiment was mostly compassion and not admiration.
Which is weird because Brontë's Jane Eyre is quite similar in her moral strictness as Fanny, but I admire her much more, and I can't really understand why. Maybe because she has a richer inner world, we dive deeper into her emotions (Brontë's books are usually more poignant in that aspect) and while she sticks to her morals just as much, she is less judgemental than Fanny.
But I'm still trying to actually understand myself why I love Jane Eyre so much and I can't feel the same for Fanny

[artbyandia]

Good to see the love for Lady Susan and Fanny!

[ludd]

So agree with you about Lady Susan, brilliant character, brilliant book 🥰

[CoynieReads]

Always here for the Fanny Price love! Though I think Emma Woodhouse might be my favourite heroine, personally! ❤️

[marvingayefan]

Yay! Totally agree with Fanny! I love her combination of gentleness with people, but with a steely resolve to do right. I myself rank Elinor higher, only because we see in the narrator's voice that she sees all of the ridiculousness and awfulness of the people around her but she is polite anyway. The scenes in London with her brother tell us that she is brave, insightful and actually rather sarcastic! I love her.

[FullyBookedMelissa]

I've only read p&p, s&s and Emma and my favourites are Marianne and Elinor. I have a hard time separating them when I talk about fave character. Because although they are both well drawn characters in their own rights, I feel like it's their connection as sisters with widely different personalities that endears them to me.

[GenWivern]

Strange exercise really. :-) It rather depends on one's criteria, but if it's general relatability my favourite would be Catherine Morland; for sheer enjoyment, Emma Woodhouse, and for literary achievement, yes, it's Fanny Price. That said, the best of all is the narrator every time.

[maramaothecat]

I read a couple of Jane Austen's books when I was very young (about 11 years old) and I'm looking forward to read those and the others again now! I'm Italian - but I found some good offers for the original English version, and now I've some books waiting for me on the bookshelf <3 I'll be back in a few months with my personal list of favourite heroines haha!

[kayfountain]

I definitely agree with you regarding Marianne and Catherine but one thing we (or should that just be I) tend to forget that they are sheltered 16 year olds. We shouldn't be surprised when they behave like teenagers.

[AliceandtheGiantBookshelf]

I love your love for Fanny Price as I thought I was the only one who likes her so much. Anne Elliot is probably my favourite but Fanny is so much more interesting to me than the louder characters. I love that Fanny stands up for herself when pushed but also that she is a such a quiet unassuming character and I identified with her so much! Thank you so much for saying that. I haven’t read S&S or Lady Susan yet so I skipped those heroines so I can go in blind. I love Emma more than Lizzy, and I need to reread NA. Great video. 😊📚

[bethieandbooks]

Yes Fanny! My favourite, so nice to see her appreciated

[meghanthestorygirl]

It makes me so happy that you love Fanny Price ❤️❤️❤️ Also, I love how polar opposite your top 2 are from each other 😆

[davebonello]

(Melanie here) I love Fanny Price. I have listened to the audiobook so many times because I love her reflections and insights and how different of a character she is. Anne Elliot and Elinor Dashwood are other favorites. As far as interesting characters ... there are so many haha. I love to laugh at Anne's sister, Mary, who is so annoyingly pathetic and self-absorbed.