Janie Crawford, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hua Mulan (The Ballad of Mulan, 6th century Chinese poem): While most people nowadays know Mulan from her forays into Disney fame, this warrior woman has been legendary in China since the 6th century when she first appeared in a poem called The Ballad of Mulan. 5. Dressing as a man to take her father's place in the army, Mulan's story of rebellion doesn't revolve around avoiding marriage or seeking passion, but is one centered on familial love, honor, and war. In fact, its closer to a fairy tale, the kind in which you onlyslowly come torealize there is a thief at work at all. I have a degree in English Literature and my favorite genre is historical fiction. She doesn't consider marrying Rochester until after inheriting her own money, becoming financially independent. But when one of them accidentally stuck asword into someone deeply inconvenient for the ruling class, the twins find themselves on the runand areforced to become highwaymen, scrabbling to survive far from the capital and under assumed names. In literature and pop culture, women often come in threes, deriving power from solidarity even as they work to forge their own paths. Naomi Blumberg was Assistant Editor, Arts and Culture for Encyclopaedia Britannica. Membership, B&N Fictional gentleman thieves (1 C, 40 P) P. Fictional pirates (5 C, 72 P) Pages in category "Fictional professional thieves" The following 82 pages are in this category, out of 82 total. She takes a blank-faced rube of a colleague, played by Sissy Spacek, under her wing, and an enigmatic artist (Janice Rule) becomes the third note in the chord, offering a vision of womanhood as generative, even motherly. Images: 20th Century Fox (3), Focus Features (1), Loew's Inc (1), Summit Entertainment (1), The Weinstein Company (1), Buena Vista Pictures (2), Lionsgate (1), ITV (1), 20th Century Fox (1), Warner Bros Pictures (1), Everything To Know About The New 'Bridgerton' Prequel Book, 'Queen Charlotte', How Zibby Owens Built A DIY Podcast Into A Book Empire, Everything To Know About 'Mayfair Witches' Season 2, Get Even More From Bustle Sign Up For The Newsletter. November 20, 2018. Joan of Arc (Joan of Arc by Mark Twain): Few are even aware that Mark Twain wrote about Joan of Arc. In a literary world of good versus evil, theyre so solidly on the side of evil that you dont feel fooled or lured in by their wicked ways. The pair and their group were famous for carrying thefts from trains and banks. Traditionally depicted dressed in Lincoln green, he is said to have robbed from the rich and given to the poor. Never camp, despite her Gothic surrounds, she takes a scalpel to the skin of the every day., Hermione Granger, the Harry Potter series. They were eventually caught and killed by the police in Louisiana when a friend revealed their whereabouts. Cleopatra (Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare): It's safe to say that it was not typical for a woman to lead an entire empire on her own. Each of them features a female thief in a different way making them exciting and compelling stories in their own way. Today, as we watch her efforts to uphold the version of ideal womanhood she strives to represent fall flat, part of the cringe comes from imagining her 21st-century counterpart: her adaptogenic smoothies, blowout appointments and flawlessly curated Instagram account; her midi skirt caught in an Uber door. Despite her faults, she appeals to Pip, who can't resist her conflicted nature. We might think we know this basic story, but there is much more to this tale. Most of them use thievery as a means of survival. In some versions of the legend, he is depicted as being of noble birth, and in modern retellings he is sometimes depicted as having fought in the Crusades before returning to England to find his lands taken by the Sheriff. Many of these female thieves use this magic to help them in their pursuits, but that is not always the case. The story of Tomoe Gozen has inspired artists and writers for centuries. IT'S HERE! From mere pickpockets to full-fledged con artists, you have to keep your wits about you to make sure you dont get ripped offno matter how charming the thief may be. & Author Guidelines, B&N Part of HuffPost News. Theres a reason femme fatales are so dangerous its difficult to ignore that kind of character. Luckily, both elements are equally involving. At the start, theyre members of a professional duellists guildswords for hire who nonetheless cling to theold knightly codes. When she was released, she went to live in South Carolina, where she proceeded to lead the rest of her life in an uneventful domestic fashion. That said, Livak is not always doing things for a good reason, but she always has a clear motivation. To this noncomprehensive list we can also add the female trios that are a hallmark of American contemporary literature, including Jane Smileys 1991 Lear update, A Thousand Acres, and Toni Morrisons 1987 Beloved, which features a trinity of indelible women: mother, daughter and titular ghost. Dalloway. The novels conceit is that the three are united by Woolfs novel (the first is reading it, the second is a character inspired by it and Woolf is, of course, writing it), but they are also united by the confines of heteronormative culture; its unsurprising that Clarissa, an out lesbian editor who lives with her longtime partner, is the happiest and the most self-realized. The Redemption of Althalus, by David Eddings Your email address will not be published. and featuringdisreputable, charming, and roguish characterspirates, mercenaries, soldiers of fortune, and, of course, thieves. A gentleman or lady thief is characterised by impeccable manners, charm, courteousness, and the avoidance of physical force or intimidation to steal, and often has inherited wealth. This list of thief characters will have you checking your safe to make sure everything is still there. Young readers were invited to make comparisons and alliances, to consider their own not-so-neatly divided personhoods in formation. Yes. (Few playwrights have better captured the paradox of lived time, how tediously slow it seems to move, all the while catching us suddenly unawares on a name-day celebration, as in the play, or on a birthday.) Josephine "Jo" March (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott): Jo has a strong personality that can get her in troubleespecially as a woman. The Thief of Always, by Clive Barker Selina Kyle, AKA Catwoman, is a burglar whosnot afraid to take some big risks if itll result in a big payouteven if it means going against Batman himself. From Rachel Trickett's The Honest Muse to Roger Lonsdale's pioneering editing and Marilyn Butler's ambitious myth-mapping to the current work of Gerrard, Johnston, Williams and Womersley, we have promoted sustained interest in the dynamism and diversity of eighteenth-century poetry. The three-act structure can be traced to that ur-text of dramatic theory, Aristotles Poetics, written in the mid-fourth century B.C., though surely its hard-wired in our humanity. We keep tuning into their adventures with each new installment to see if they get away with it. Now that's power. Treasures of Knowledge, is Carmen Isabella Sandiego. Fantasy featuring a female thief is a genre that has become quite popular. Conspirators? Born in Gunma prefecture in 1952, a promising young student, Mukai . It is common for female thieves to be a nuisance to the antagonist of a novel, and even sometimes to the protagonist as well. We're even ranking immortal female characters, like Galadriel from Lord of the Rings and the goddess Athena you read about in Greek mythology. You can get paid to write for us! She prefers trousers to skirts. Gangsters? In the Robin Hobb diversity thread yesterday, there was some discussion about whether or not a female Han Solo character can work. So you know, shes probably not a thief you want to mess with. Hermiones steadfastness and sheer intelligence (plus the fact that shes the only one who has ever read Hogwarts: A History) save her two best friends time and time again, and shes the only one of the three never to wholly break down in a crisis. Scarlett is extremely vain and selfish, but she's also intelligent and passionate. The mystery and drama creates a real page turner that ends with proof that women are better together.Good plotting and vivid setting about real Western . It's thieves' lit that reminds you, hey, thieves need a coming-of-age novel, too. The daughter of French nobles, Cordays allegiance during the French Revolution lay with GirondinsFrench republican politiciansand the French constitution. Luckily, both elements are equally involving. IF A SOLO male was, once upon a time, the traditional actor of narrative, female trios have often been given another task: illuminating a cultures traps and hypocrisies. All Rights Reserved, Lets be real here: there are a lot of shady, Aladdin is a street rat with a penchant for, Home Alones wannabe notorious thieves may, How do you get more evil than a woman who, Before he came to be our favorite kinetic, This charming thief made his debut in Disneys, This badass lady is one of the only people, Selina Kyle, AKA Catwoman, is a burglar whos, And now meet TINA from Natalie C. Andersons, After her mothers murder, Tina spends four years on the streets of Sangui City working as a master thief, Cover Reveal: THIEVES GAMBIT by Kayvion Lewis, Cover Reveal: THIN AIR by Kellie M. Parker, Cover Reveal: THE GLASS SCIENTISTS: VOLUME ONE by S.H. This badass lady is one of the only peoplewho can give Sherlock Holmes a run for his money. Swords and Scoundrels, by Julia Knight Although she first ruled with her father and then brother, Cleopatra ascended to sole ruler. Replies to my comments The malleability of female identity is at the unsettling heart of the film, which is filled with reflective surfaces, windows and mirrors in which Millie is always primping. They may be young or old, charming or black-hearted, but they are all memorable. That kind of consonance is a big part of why I read novels or sit in theaters, now that the season of girlhood imaginings is well in my past and the singular experiences of women of a lone woman, arbiter of her own plot are being heard, in books and television, onstage and, to a lesser extent, in films. Hans Matheson (R) portrayed Zhivago in the 2002 mini-series by Giacomo Campiotti. It is the first novel in the Shades of Magic trilogy, of which there are three novels. Doyle: Tell you what. Eight hours. Abigail is pretty dang crazy, but you have to admit that she's interesting. A shieldmaiden who is itching to defend her countrymen from the first minute we see her, owyn disguises herself as a man to follow her friends into battle. Hester Prynne (The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne): There's nothing like some harsh Puritan rules to bring out the rebellion in a woman. Its 2023, the Harry Potter fandom is still growing strong, and it doesnt seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Rogues of the Republic is a fantasy trilogy with a female thief protagonist by Patrick Weekes. At the time the play was written, the Russian aristocracy was in twilight, the serfs had been emancipated, swaths of the taiga were being deforested. Here, the oil portrait Me, Em and Nat (2020) that the London-based artist Chantal Joffe painted of her and her sisters as children in the 1970s. This series crosses over into many other genres including priestess fantasy, military fantasy, and psychic fantasy, to name a few. Even the human personality is divided, or so Freud proposed in 1923, into three: the id, the ego and the superego. Her full name, according to Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? She and her husband, a Cherokee Indian named Sam Starr, were known for housing outlaws on their ranch in the Oklahoma Indian Territory and for preying on travelers and cowboys passing through. This feisty French maiden was put on trial for "insubordination and heterodoxy" and was burned at the stake for heresy, only later to be named innocent and a martyr posthumously. One identified with Jo in her sections, with Amy in hers, and so forth: an early lesson in subjectivity. Just hit the button below to get in touch. In fact, when Celie tells Sofia's husband, Harpo, that the only way to make Sofia listen is to beat her, Sofia ends up fighting back and hurting Harpo badly. Please, no comic book characters. Not too shabby for 14th century literature. Program, Publisher She was arrested and sent to the guillotine four days later. Countess Elizabeth Bthory de Ecsed aka The Blood Countess (Tragica Historia by Lszl Turczi): Although the legend of The Blood Countess has now reached mythical proportions, she is first mentioned in this Jesuit scholar's work. Becky Sharp would do anything to climb the social ladder, and her cunning and manipulative plots make her an ideal anti-heroine. A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar. She goes to war in place of her father, wins all over the place, and then comes home and returns to her normal life. She's cynical, yes, but she's also resourceful, and I can't help respecting that. She attempts to stow away on a ship and comes face to face with many challenges and dark secrets. But my main character, Theresa, decides to face that fate. Although the novel was inspired by the true story of a secret document that changed the course of the Western World, the more personal story of Theresa's search to be more than the women of her time was inspired by literary rebels such as those below. The book ends, the lights come up, and we return to ourselves enlarged. A fire is raging somewhere nearby; meanwhile, just offstage, a band plays jubilantly. Required fields are marked *. Giacomo Campiotti . Please enable javascript to add items to the cart. Paperback $8.99 ADD TO CART The Adventures of Robin Hood Roger Lancelyn Green , John Boyne Discover your next favorite show with the ultimate Streaming TV guide and watchlist. Through retellings, additions, and variations, a body of familiar characters associated with, Historians Keep Trying To Prove Robin Hood Was A Real Outlaw. Sofia (The Color Purple by Alice Walker): Unlike Celie, Sofia won't let any man beat her. And if you want to read more about unique fantasy subgenres on this blog, check out: Lastly, feel free to leave a message in the comments below if you have questions about this or another fiction-literature-related topic! 63. Last fall, the visionary Brazilian director Christiane Jatahys medium-bending version, What if They Went to Moscow? half of which played out live, the other half onscreen came to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and in June, Gerwig returns to the stage as Masha opposite Oscar Isaac in a New York Theater Workshop production, directed by Sam Gold. Chekhov gets under our skin because he locates the banal emptiness and solipsism of our self-soothing rhetoric (to be in the moment, to tend your own garden). NPR has described her as being among the first and most important female protagonists in American literature. Murderers? Vote on your favorites to show the world who the best thief of all is. 1. Not Sell My Personal Information. Although she first ruled with her father and then brother, Cleopatra ascended to sole ruler. To those who have never been introduced to the glory that is David Eddings, this book is a wonderful one-volumedistillation of his work. Intelligence often translates into strength, but only when wielded by a steady hand and Hermione just happens to have both, and compassion to boot. Meowth. Luna Lovegood is a fictional character from the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling. Mary Surratt ran a tavern with her husband in Maryland, where they welcomed Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. All of us have three characters within us: the one we display publicly, the one we actually are and the one we think we are, to paraphrase the 19th-century French critic Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr. Ben Mitchell (EastEnders) Billy Mitchell (EastEnders) Phil Mitchell. The Forty Elephants Gang, or the Forty Thieves, was a British gang of ladies that formed in the 18th century. Not one bit. 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The only peoplewho can give Sherlock Holmes a run for his money characterspirates, mercenaries, of!