Not So Demure Literature Ladies, To Fall in Love With

Demure, in its historical use, refers to a woman of modest, reserved, or shy demeanour, and can also be used to describe a person’s style of dress or behaviour. The term was once commonly used to describe heroines in Regency-era romance novels, but has shifted in its connotation, from being a compliment to sometimes implying affectation. Demure literature, as a term, also carried negative connotations, suggesting a form of coy or affected shyness. However, it has gained new traction online, with it being used in various contexts, sometimes to describe a mindful or even “cutesy” approach. Who sent the tone for this type of female in literature, and who are these often shy, retiring types who deep down seem to have the internal strength of an army? Find out more in Not So Demure Ladies Of Literature To Fall in Love With

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Sometimes ironic, in its use, sometimes not. Derived from Middle English, the adjective “demure” means calm, reserved, sober, or serious. 

Historically used to describe women and girls who were quiet, modest, and of composed demeanour. While originally positive, particularly in literature, the term was later seen as a slur on women who were seen as too placid and weak.

Lady with an Ermine Leonardo da Vinci.

Yet it has been refreshed and reborn as a positive word. Demure was Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year for 2024. The phrase”very demure, very mindful” became a social media sensation with Dictionary.com reporting a significant increase in usage of the word, with searches for “demure” spiking by as much as 1,200% between January and August of 2024.

The ideal of a demure woman was historically well represented in very British Regency-era literature heroines, including Elinor Dashwood from Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, known for her calm demeanour and adherence to propriety, and Anne Elliot from Austen’s Persuasion, who was seen as gentle, sensible, and quietly resilient. Emma Woodhouse from Austen’s Emma is also a good example, though her demure nature is often more an outward appearance, masking a lively and mischievous spirit.

 Girl with a Pearl Earring, Johannes Vermeer, 

But what of the opposite? But what of the best defiant women in literature? Sometimes young, teenage or fully grown; from the 20th century up until now, there are some wonderfully feisty women in books.

Think of Scarlet O’Hara in Gone with the Wind, Becky Sharp from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, and Marian Halcombe from The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, all of whom broke from social constraints to be strong, independent women at a time when it was not acceptable. So, who has recently flown the flag for heroic females?

Lisbeth Salander -The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 2005 by Stieg Larsson

Lisbeth Salander is the perfect female anti-hero, an antisocial computer hacker dressed in black leather with multiple piercings and she defies the female stereotype type, in the Millennium series of books by Stieg Larsson

In the only interview he ever did about the series, Larsson stated that he based the character of Lisbeth Salander on what he imagined Pippi Longstocking might have been like as an adult.

In the Millennium series, Salander has the name “V. Kulla” displayed on the door of her apartment on the top floor of Fiskargatan 9 in Stockholm. “V. Kulla” is an abbreviation of “Villa Villekulla”, the name of Pippi Longstocking’s house

Salander is a world-class computer hacker. Under the pseudonym “Wasp”, she becomes a prominent figure in the international hacker community, and she uses her computer skills as a means to earn a living, doing investigative work for Milton Security. She has a photographic memory and is skilful at concealing her identity; she possesses passports in different names and disguises herself to travel undetected around Sweden and worldwide.

Salander disdains established rules, authorities, and conventional behaviour, preferring to operate on her own terms. Instead of seeking legal recourse, Salander takes violent and brutal vengeance against those who have wronged her or others, particularly if the victim was female.

Jean Louise “Scout” Finch To Kill A Mockingbird, 1960 by Harper Lee

Jean Louise “Scout” Finch is the main protagonist and narrator in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. She is the daughter of Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer and the sister of Jem Finch.

Throughout her early childhood, Scout is a precocious child who enjoys causing mischief, but as an adult, she is the narrator of the book. She comments on how she could not understand something at the time, but now can appreciate it.

She gets into trouble with Miss Caroline, her teacher, because she is expected to learn reading and writing her way. She is a tomboy and spends most of her time with her brother Jem and best friend Dill. To Jem’s advice to pretend to “be a lady and start sewing or something”, she answers, “Hell, no”. The hints the narrator gives us about her grown-up life reveal that she has not attempted to change herself to please.

Being only six, Scout does not know how to handle such situations, so she tries to resolve her problems by fighting or by talking to Atticus about what she has heard in the way of racial slurs from the townspeople. She is naive yet still an anti-hero, but from a child’s perspective. Her journey reflects a coming-of-age narrative, as she learns to control her temper, stand up to injustice, and make moral decisions even when they are difficult. 

Lauren Olamina in Parable of the Sower, 1993 by Octavia E. Butler

Parable of the Sower is a 1993 speculative fiction novel by American writer Octavia E. Butler. It is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth heavily affected by climate change and social inequality.

The novel follows Lauren Olamina, a young woman who can feel the pain of others and becomes displaced from her home. Several characters from various walks of life join her on her journey north and learn of a religion she has envisioned and titled Earthseed.

The main tenets of Earthseed are that “God is Change” and believers can “shape God” through conscious effort to influence the changes around them. Earthseed also teaches that it is humanity’s destiny to inhabit other planets and spread the “seeds” of the Earth.

Lauren’s hyperempathy is a physical manifestation of the world’s pain and collective trauma, but her ability to endure it and still envision a better future makes her a unique kind of heroine.

As society collapses around her, Lauren grows more secure in her faith and emerges as a charismatic leader, drawing others to her vision for the future and building a community from the ashes of the old world. Lauren’s unwavering ability to adapt to her harsh, dangerous environment is a testament to her resilience. She doesn’t just survive; she actively seeks to create meaning and a future for humanity.

Lyra Belacqua from His Dark Materials 1995 by Philip Pullman

Lyra is a resourceful and spirited young girl who embarks on an epic adventure, showing immense strength and courage. This young, mischievous, and resourceful protagonist lives in a world where human souls manifest as animal-like companions called dæmons.

Accompanied by her dæmon, Pantalaimon, Lyra’s adventures lead her to uncover a vast conspiracy orchestrated by the oppressive Magisterium and ultimately to become the second Eve, playing a crucial role in the liberation of knowledge. 

Her destiny is to fall into temptation and to bring about a new era of awareness and freedom, which is a central theme in the books. It is her ability to lie and deceive effectively earns her the name “Silvertongue,” a skill she uses to manipulate those around her and advance her own agenda.

Lessons in Chemistry 2022 by Bonnie Garmus.

The narrative tells the story of Elizabeth Zott, who becomes a beloved cooking show host in 1960s Southern California after being fired as a chemist four years earlier under sexist terms.

She encounters resistance from a male-dominated field at work and ultimately loses her research job after her intellectual property is stolen by her boss. As a single mother, her nest step is to become the star of, Supper at Six, a popular cooking show.

Instead of just teaching recipes, Zott uses the show to explain cooking as a scientific process, using chemical terms to educate and empower her viewers.  Zott’s show gives millions of housewives a platform to see their own potential for change and to demand more from their lives. 

Through her unconventional approach, she encourages women to challenge societal expectations and design their own destinies. As a heroine she is brave, original and completely unafraid. a

The female protagonists of the 20th and 21st century were and are groundbreaking for their time, challenging the traditional roles and expectations placed upon women. While earlier literature often depicted women as either virtuous, demure heroines or one-dimensional villains, these characters showcased a more realistic complexity. 

If you enjoyed reading Not So Demure Literature Ladies, To Fall in Love With, then why not read Spotlighting the 90’s here.

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