"We may love the protagonists of our favorite novels, but without an
antagonist to struggle against, those novels would be very dull. Lots
has been written about the roles played by women in literature, and this
list celebrates female villains. Some we hate and some we love to hate.
Here are ten of the best worst women of literature.
- Ben Gazur"
In ascending order, they are:
9. Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper from the novel Rebecca.
8. The White Witch from Narnia.
7. Miss Havisham from Dickens' Great Expectations.
6. Grendel's Mother in Beowulf.
5. Marquise de Merteuil, from Les Liasions Dangereuses, a novel that scandalized France when it was published in 1782.
4. Livia from Robert Graves' I, Claudius.
3. Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth.
2. Lady de Winter (Milady) of The Three Musketeers.
1. The character Medea as shown in Euripides' play.
So tell us...
What makes a good villainess?
What kind of lady do you love to hate?
Ooh, I detested Dolores Umbridge! She was just so ... sickly sweet and UNFAIR!
ReplyDeleteOf animated fame, Cruella de Vil. I mean, the woman was after puppies, for heaven's sake. THAT is evil personified (or cartoonified).
ReplyDeleteI second this! ;)
DeleteAh, Lady Macbeth - a classic villainess.
ReplyDeleteVery pretty and classy, love the look :)
ReplyDeleteI follow you now FOLLOWER #89! Wanna be your friend!
Follow me back on facebook ,twitter,and GFC and add me as a friend in GFC
love you dear :)
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There are very few characters that I would like to smack in real life. Umbridge topped the list :D
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth too. Urgh so frustrating!
Definitely the White Witch!
ReplyDeleteI second THIS. :)
DeleteAm I allowed to mention past romances :)
ReplyDeleteROFL xD
DeletePoor Mark.
Medea was definitely pretty messed up. That's a good choice. I think modern day villainesses would be the ones found in Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects and Gone Girl. I like female villains who lull the world around them into a false sense of security and strike in such a way that people kind of suspect them but ultimately think they're not capable of such things. I think that's really scary. The manipulative sociopath with pseudo-nurturing tendencies.
ReplyDeleteOoo. Good point. :)
DeleteI LOVE to hate Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter. I'm intrigued with her wickedness, but man, she's EVIL to the core.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea you lived so close to me!
ReplyDelete