A still from the 1949 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women." From left to right: Janet Leigh as Meg March, June Allyson as Jo March, Elizabeth Taylor as Amy Marsh and Mary Astor as Marmee.
Fictional females —
A still from the 1949 film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women." From left to right: Janet Leigh as Meg March, June Allyson as Jo March, Elizabeth Taylor as Amy Marsh and Mary Astor as Marmee.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios
Keira Knightley stars as Anna Karenina in a 2012 film adaptation of "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy.
Fictional females —
Keira Knightley stars as Anna Karenina in a 2012 film adaptation of "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy.
From Focus Features
Emma Watson plays Hermione Granger in the 2010 film adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling.
Fictional females —
Emma Watson plays Hermione Granger in the 2010 film adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling.
Courtesy Warner Bros. PIctures
Cover of "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. Mariam, the book's protagonist, is married against her will at the age of 15 to an abusive man 30 years her senior.
Fictional females —
Cover of "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. Mariam, the book's protagonist, is married against her will at the age of 15 to an abusive man 30 years her senior.
Courtesy Bloomsbury
Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre in the 2011 film adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's novel "Jane Eyre."
Fictional females —
Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre in the 2011 film adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's novel "Jane Eyre."
Courtesy Focus Features
A drawing of Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare.
Fictional females —
A drawing of Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Viola Davis as Aibeleen Clark in a 2011 film adaptation of "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.
Fictional females —
Viola Davis as Aibeleen Clark in a 2011 film adaptation of "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.
Courtesy DreamWorks II Distribution Co./LLC.
Mary Badham plays Scout Finch in a 1962 film adaptation of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Fictional females —
Mary Badham plays Scout Finch in a 1962 film adaptation of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Courtesy Universal Pictures
Patricia Neal as Dominique Francon and Gary Cooper as Howard Roark in King Vidor's 1949 adaptation of Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead."
Fictional females —
Patricia Neal as Dominique Francon and Gary Cooper as Howard Roark in King Vidor's 1949 adaptation of Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead."
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Cover of "1Q84" by Haruki Murakami. His character Masami Aomame is a lonely female assassin who finally finds love in a fictionalized 1980s Tokyo.
Fictional females —
Cover of "1Q84" by Haruki Murakami. His character Masami Aomame is a lonely female assassin who finally finds love in a fictionalized 1980s Tokyo.
Courtesy Vintage Publishing