Literary Heroine Blog Party!

Hello sisters! I decided to participate in this year's Literary Heroine Blog Party over at the beautiful blog Accordion to Kellie - be sure and head over to participate in the fun activities and check out the awesome giveaway (which has prizes so cool it might tempt me out of my Internet paranoia ...)!

Here are the questions:

~ The Questions ~

1. Introduce yourself! Divulge your life's vision, likes, dislikes, aspirations, or something completely random!

Hi there! My name is Victoria, but I go by Vicki, and I'm a Christian, a college student, and a romantic dreamer. My life's vision is very big and vague, something involving helping people and spreading the Gospel; it manifests itself in various unrelated goals like becoming a doctor, writing life-changing novels, marrying a man with a heart for ministry, and being a fabulous mother to a handful of children who will grow up to change the world. However, my preoccupation with the act of dreaming tends to reduce me to simply philosophizing here on my blog, Sunshine and Shadow.

2. What, to you, forms the essence of a true heroine?

The essence of a true heroine is faith and moral strength. Heroines in great literature inevitably face huge challenges and obstacles, and a true heroine will overcome her enemies through faith in God and through unswerving reliance on what is true and right and good.

3. Share (up to) four heroines of literature that you most admire and relate to.

Jane Eyre (1997)

Admire:
- Jane Eyre, for her moral courage

Relate to:
- Elinor Dashwood, for her difficulty in expressing her true feelings to others
- Jo March, for her love of writing and music and her difficulty fitting into expected social customs
- Catherine Morland, for her silly naivety and thirst for adventure


4. Five of your favorite historical novels?

- Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson
- A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
- Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
 - Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
- Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

5. Out of those five books who is your favorite main character and why?

Sydney Carton, as I shall forever see him

- Kidnapped: Alan Breck, for his brazenly dashing charm and lovely rolling Scottish accent

- A Tale of Two Cities: Sydney Carton, dear Sydney, for his pure and beautiful heart

- Jane Eyre: Jane Eyre, for her strong heart and courage to sacrifice everything she loved for what was right

- Pride and Prejudice: Mr. Darcy, for his gentle affection and sacrificial devotion to the two women he loved

- Sense and Sensibility: Colonel Brandon, for his quiet and undying love and grave gentlemanly manners

6. Out of those five books who is your favorite secondary character and why?

- Kidnapped: Hoseason, in an odd way, because he's dishonorable and yet honorable at the same time
- A Tale of Two Cities: Mr. Lorry, because he's honest and reliable and always trying to help
- Jane Eyre: St. John Rivers, because he is icily beautiful and chillingly awe-inspiring
- Pride and Prejudice: Mr. Bingley, because he's sweet and charming and delightful
- Sense and Sensibility: Mrs. Jenkins, because even though she's annoying, she's very sweet

7. If you were to plan out your dream vacation, where would you travel to - and what would you plan to do there?

I'd visit England, Scotland, and Ireland for an entire summer! In England, I would primarily visit historical sites and famous buildings; in Scotland, I would primarily visit the big museums and do a lot of nature walks; and in Ireland, where I would spend the majority of my time, I would almost exclusively wander through the countryside and the little villages, while making sure to catch my favorite groups and singers in Dublin.

8. What is your favorite time period and culture to read about?

*Sigh* ... Such a hard choice. I would probably be most likely to pick up a book about ancient Rome, colonial America, the Industrial Revolution, or America between 1900 and 1945.

9. You have been invited to perform at the local charity concert. Singing, comedy, recitation - what is your act comprised of?

I would play my guitar and sing something with my sister - probably one of our favorite lyrical Irish folk tunes, like "Red is the Rose" or "Ar éirinn Ní n-Eósainn Cé h-í".

10. If you were to attend a party where each guest was to portray a heroine of literature, who would you select to represent?

Catherine Morland, my Austen doppelganger.

11. What are your sentiments on the subject of chocolate?

Ah, chocolate! How do I love thee? Your soul-nourishing warmth and rich flavor fill my heart with the very essence of happiness, of comfort, of love and romance. You are equally divine in the howling primal jungles of South America where you are born, as you are in the elegant dark-red cafes of the wealthiest lovers. You are the delight of a child, happiness of a holiday, the comfort of the cold, sick, and alone. Hail chocolate, thou ministrant spirit of health and good cheer! I raise my mug of hot cocoa in a toast to thee, restorer of health and enricher of life!

12. Favorite author(s)?

Louis L'Amour, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Janette Oke, Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Robert Elmer

13. Besides essentials, what would you take on a visiting voyage to a foreign land?

My camera (with LOTS of batteries), iPod, sketchbook and colored pencils, a couple of favorite books, my guitar, and at least one really beautiful dress.

14. In which century were most of the books you read written?

Nineteenth.

15. In your opinion, the ultimate hero in literature is…

Is it possible to pick just one? He is Robin Hood and Alan Breck, D'Artagnon and Romeo; he is Mr. Darcy and Colonel Brandon, Jim Hawkins and Pip Pirrips, Captain Smollett and Captain Aubrey, Sherlock Holmes and Sam Spade, Hawkeye and Hondo, Sydney Carton and Aslan, Don Quixote and Hamlet. Trying to choose the ultimate hero in literature is like trying to describe the perfect man. It can't be done.

Which is why, when it comes right down to it, the ultimate Hero in the ultimate Book of Literature is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the greatest Rescuer and Lover of all the ages!

16. Describe your ideal dwelling place.

I would love to live in a white, thatched cottage by the seaside, a little place with white walls, windows on every side of the house, a snug yellow kitchen with green shelves and a copper tea kettle, and a white picket fence in either the front or the back. Everything would be decorated in soft, cool, ocean colors. I'd like to have hollyhocks by the door and grow lettuce and carrots in the backyard, and I'd love to have a couple of chickens or a little goat, and a playhouse for the children and a place to hang the laundry. Mostly, I'd like to be close enough to the ocean that I can smell it in the breeze when I open all the windows.

For more information, see my Pinterest page.  :-)

17. Sum up your fashion style in a short sentence.

Ahm, I drag out of bed every day and put on jeans and tennis shoes, and either a hoodie or a tee and cardigan. But inside, I love full-skirted sundresses.  :-)

18. Have you ever wanted to change a character’s name?

Not really, but I would rather Mr. Darcy have received a more romantic first name than "Fitzwilliam" ... 

19. In your opinion, the most dastardly villain of all literature is...

Madame DeFarge from A Tale of Two Cities! I'd like to string her up with that ghastly knitting of hers!!

20. Three favorite non-fiction books?

Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, Foxe's Book of Martyrs, and The Most Beautiful Villages of Ireland.

21. Your duties met for the day, how would you choose to spend a carefree summer afternoon?

I would don a blue sundress, grab my camera, hop on a little blue bicycle, and take a long ride out in the country.

22. Create a verbal sketch of your dream hat - in such a way as will best portray your true character.

Some kind of a small, quiet navy-blue beret that had a slight jaunty tilt to one side but sat nearly flat on my head. Like an artist or a philosopher.

23. Share the most significant event(s) that have marked your life in the past year.

Probably my decision to be a doctor ... I've had other significant things happen, but I think that's the most significant!

24. Share the Bible passage(s) that have been most inspiring to you recently.

1 Corinthians 1:17-31. So much power in these verses - and it's so amazing that God would choose a weak, foolish thing like me to confound the wisdom of the wise!!

***

Thanks to Kellie for the fun party! These questions were not easy to answer, and I had a lot of fun thinking about my favorite books and characters! Head on over to her blog and check out the great prizes and the other entries!  :-)

Lots of love,
Vicki