Women in history

March is Women's History Month.

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich said, "Well-behaved women rarely make history.”

When you start to think about it, how right is that?

If Joan of Arc had stayed home? She wouldn't be the hotly debated matyr that she is. If Susan B. Anthony hadn't tried to buck the status quo to get women the right to vote, would she be on a coin today? If Rosa Parks hadn't refused to stand on that bus, the Civil Rights Movement would have had a different beginning. If Madame Curie had taken to heart that women weren't ment for science, what would we have lost?

I think that applies to heroines in novels, too. Most of the time, women are bucking traditions. They are standing up for themsevles in some way. Were Scarlett O'Hara a woman who backed down because the love of her life was married, "Gone with the Wind" would have lost a lot of richness. If Julie Collins weren't this bad girl who's so very human, would the series be a must read for me? Probably not. If Stephanie Plum weren't so darn untraditional, if she had gone to work in a factory instead of as a bounty hunter, I'm not sure there would be so many books in the series.

I'm sure you see where I'm going though I could list books all day long and women from history to illustrate the quote.

In honor of women's history month, go research a woman from history who fascinates you. And remember, she probably wasn't well behaved!

Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com
http://www.melanylogen.com