Let’s talk about girl heroes again—and let’s take it back 400+ years to Shakespeare’s Girl Heroes.
This week I watched a marvelous DVD from the library: a PBS film entitled “Shakespeare Uncovered.” The 6 episodes featuring different plays are hosted by stars Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Irons, Derek Jacobi, Trevor Nunn, Joely Richardson, and David Tennant.
Joely Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave’s daughter, hosts an episode on As You Like It and Twelfth Night—most especially on the fabulous roles for young women in them: Viola and Rosalind. These roles are famously called “britches roles” because in each story, the young woman is out in the world disguised as a boy. Both characters are clever, outspoken, smart, funny, articulate and enormously endearing. There is not a whit of condescension in these roles. Shakespeare clearly thought highly of women.
These girls would definitely qualify as “kick-ass heroes” in my book.
The business of being disguised as a lad is interesting. The audience knows she is female, so all her attributes clearly belong to her, but there’s no doubt she commands an enormous amount of freedom that would otherwise be denied her – both physically and verbally. It’s not quite like Peter Pan being played by a girl, but the “wearing pants” is still the key to freedom.
What do you think? Times have changed, yes. Would a girl still enjoy more freedom disguised as a boy? Yes. Where do you think the freedom lies for boys over girls? How does that play out? Leave me a comment—I’d like to know your thoughts.
One good thing—now we can wear pants anytime we want!
Piper and her Merry Band, as foster girls in a distant land, have a lot of freedom. One of the reasons so many main characters in children’s books are orphans, is it cuts the otherwise strong parental influence out of the picture. And when you move into fantasy worlds, the rules can change from those of our daily lives.
I got a new great review this week! Here it is:
“The Curse of the Neverland is a great read aloud for children or an independent read for upper elementary and middle school students. I cheered for Piper as she bravely rescued the “Lifers” from Fitch’s miserable excuse for a foster home. This is a great story of the resiliency of youth and the strength that is found in shared experiences….good and bad. Although there are dark, heart wrenching moments in this story, the strength and determination of the girls is inspiring. I hope Ms. MacLaine is hard at work on the next installment in this series. I can’t wait to read what Piper and her Merry Band have in store for Cap’t Lil Jack next.”
— Pam Scholz, Elementary School Librarian, Stafford, VA
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