Fantastic Feminine Friendships//Collab with Megan Chappie

Hey guys! Today's post is the result of a project that Megan Chappie and I have had a lot of fun with. (Or at least, I have, and I hope Megan has, too.) After she wrote THIS post about Marvelous Masculine Friendships, I asked if she was planning to do one on female literary friendships. One thing led to another, and so today we're both putting up posts about our favorite literary female friendships! 

One thing we noticed while brainstorming together is that we could think of far fewer female friendships than either male friendships or male-female friendships. So if any of y'all are waffling on what kind of friendship to put into your current WIP...we need more excellent female friendships! (Although she and I did come up with quite a few for these posts. :))

Megan's post is HERE! I hope you have as much fun reading both of our posts as we had writing them. 

Maddie and Queenie 

From Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

I know that Megan is going to be writing about these girls, too. And we're both going to gush like idiots. It's going to be great. Okay, but these two. These two lovelies. 

I think I'm going to be saying this a lot in this post, but they are so different, yet work together SO. WELL. Maddie is a phenomenal pilot who is terrified of war; Queenie is an upper-class radio operator/interrogator who is the chic-est and not terrified of anything. Or so it seems. (Yes, that was unnecessarily dramatic. Sue me.)

They initially meet because they're on the same airbase during an...air raid, I think? (I am bad with the war terminology, sorry Megan!) and they end up in the same shelter. Maddie is terrified, so she brings an umbrella (because that's rational...but it makes her feel better) and everyone is more-or less making fun of her for this umbrella...until Queenie asks to share the umbrella. Then right after the air raid, Maddie comments that Queenie can't possible be afraid of anything, which leads to Queenie sharing her ten worst fears...and then, they're friends. And I love it, because this is just like it works in real life--some small thing happens, and then a friendship blossoms.

They're so different, and yet so close, and one of my favorite things about the book is how Wein uses the narration to show this--on a reread, Maddie's part of the story seems almost dull until Queenie shows up. When Queenie ends up telling her story, she tells it from Maddie's POV. (I love that. I love it so much.) 

One of my favorite lines in the whole book is from right after the girls go through a harrowing experience which really cements their friendship, and one of them says "It's like being in love, discovering your best friend." ALL THE HEARTS. Because it IS. And even for me, who doesn't know if she's ever had a best friend (I can grammar today) I can see HOW this would and will be. And it's one of the things I love about this book, that I love SO MUCH about this book, is the middle part of the quote "it's like being in love". Because in this day-and-age, not only can women and men no longer be just friends without fingers being pointed, in some ways women can't either, men can't either--but this book defies those horrible pointy fingers, because being friends is different than being in love, even if it's similar, and friendship is a different and beautiful thing all on its own. *jumps off soapbox* *clears throat*

Another thing I love is that the friendship is developed through small moments, and the letters that are written, and the adventures that are had, and the little moments of sharing, and care, and worrying, and crying (yes, really).
And then the second half of the book hits, and please ignore me, I'm just sitting in a corner sobbing. It's fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine. 

Kate and Constance 

From The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

These two. They are hilarious. Quite possibly the most dysfunctional friendship on this list. Initially, it seems pretty one-sided: Kate is always the one taking the initiative to reach out to Constance to ask her if she's doing ok, Kate is the one who's carrying Constance around on her back when they need to get somewhere fast, it's all Kate. But you can tell that Constance starts to care, and then, in the end...well. I shan't spoil it for you. 

Ella and Areida 

From Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

If I think hard about it, this was probably the first female friendship I ever read in my life. And while it's not the most spectacular one on this list (that's Maddie and Queenie, no question), it's still very sweet.

Both Ella and Areida are rather misfits at their boarding school, so they draw together into a strong friendship that is, if I recall correctly, often cemented while everyone else is sleeping.

They care about each other, stand up for each other, and worry about each other, and it's really, really sweet. And nothing like the movie.

(Okay, I like the movie. But the book is a whooooole different entity). 

Angelica and Eliza 

From the musical Hamilton 

Yes, I know, I know, they're sisters. But. But. They are also friends, very good friends. They're absolutely on the same wavelength absolutely all the time, from their excitement about the revolution in "The Schuyler Sisters" (side note, but why on earth do people always get excited about war?) to falling in love with the same person in "Helpless" and "Satisfied". 

But see, here's where it gets good. Because instead of falling into sisterly rivalry, Angelica steps aside, because she sees her sister as the better person, the one who deserves Alexander. She marries lovelessly, moves an ocean away, and does not do anything with Alexander (the steamy letters don't count XD) because she doesn't want to destroy her friendship with her sister. 

And then she helps her sister tell Alexander's story. For the rest of her life. *resists the tears*

Just try to tell me this isn't a beautiful friendship. 

(Also, in real life, Philippa Soo and Renee Elise Goldsberry are also friends, which makes me inordinately happy.) 

(Image credit: YA Bibliophile)

I & H 

From The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner

I'm going to call them by these initial pseudonyms, which will probably not make sense until at least book 2 or 3 where you'll start to be less surprised by the friendship...because I don't want to give any spoilers for these books. Because spoilers would ruin it. (Okay, not completely, but it would be less fun, imo.)

In any case. These two women seem like they would be unlikely friends. They have similar positions in the world, but they're separated by both distance and temperament. 

I is a cold-blooded, rather calculating person, who is the most ruthless, seems like she has no emotions, uses people to her advantage, and will hurt anyone who gets in her way. At the same time, when she loves someone, she will care about them so hard it will hurt her, but show it in the strangest ways. She's very much a woman, and uses her womanliness and her beautiful clothing to the highest effect, but at the same time has a cool and calculating head for diplomacy and complicated politics. (I think she's an INTJ. I want to be just like her when I grow up.) Oh, and did I mention that she's gorgeous?

H is a tomboy who seems to have no business in a role that is more-or-less designed for a womanly woman. She hates wearing fancy clothes, and in fact wears pants most of the time. In addition, she can fight as well as a man, and has a broken nose due to an unfortunate bout of sword practice. She's the despair of all her female relatives, and does. not. even. care. Despite her high-ish role, she's fairly naïve, and knows very little about romance in particular. She's very caring for those close to her, and hates having to use people. She can carry a grudge for ages, but will reconsider when handed new information. She's also not especially pretty (see: broken nose). 

Now, unexpected circumstances bring these two women into close contact. Initially, H resents I for complicated political reasons, but not much later, they begin to become friends. (Argh, I'm trying to figure out how to convey the beauty without giving spoilers!)

There's really two scenes that, in my mind, convey the friendship between these two. 

I'll have to be vague about the first one, but there's a situation where I realizes that she deeply cares about someone--but he doesn't know it. He loves her, but thinks she hates him. She and H are going up to his room, and they find him lying on the floor with a broken pot next to him. And due to complicated circumstances, she thinks he's dead. And she's frozen in the door, thinking that she loves him, and now she's dead, and that she deserves it because of what she has done. And H, who still is in the resenting phase, walks past her to check on the man on the floor, looks up at I, realizes what she's feeling and gently tells her, "He's only sleeping". No blame. The resentment vanishes. Forever. 

In the second instance, H has fallen in love with a man who is about to go away to war. Possibly never to return, as tends to be a risk with war. She's standing next to I while the man is about to depart, while they're saying their good-byes--and I, crusty I, without saying anything, takes her hand. And holds it. And it's a lifeline to H, the only thing holding her upright. Because I knows what H is going to be feeling, even though H doesn't know that she's going to be feeling that until she feels it. (I'm literally about to cry just writing about this. It's beautiful. I told you I wanted to be just like I when I grow up.)

I'm hoping this rambliness gave you some idea of how wonderful this friendship is...because I'm not sure how well I did with expressing in words how much I love it. <3 (This is also the part where I also tell you...go read the book.) 

Natalie and Zoey 

From The School Story by Andrew Clements

This is another pair of super-different-yet-get-along-wonderfully friends. Natalie is the quiet writer, Zoey is the spitfire jack-of-all-trades, and they're been friends basically since birth. 

When Natalie writes a book that Zoey loves, she decides that Natalie should publish it (yes, okay, this is a little unrealistic. But once one suspends disbelief it is fun). And while Natalie is shy and unsure, Zoey consistently believes in her and pushes her to do her best, and is just an awesome friend. And Natalie lets Zoey in, lets her help, and believes in her crazy ideas. <3

Rosalind and Anna 

From The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall

I feel like many of the friendships in these books are between sisters, but we cannot possibly forget Anna! 

She's one of the friends who I love seeing in books who can just sort of walk into the house at any time like she's a sister, and no one actually cares. (My house is not like this in real life. I kind of wish it was.) She helps the sisters craft goofy plans to keep bad things from happening (which often backfire), and she invites Rosalind on trips when she needs breaks. It's not the most flashy or fantabulous friendship on this list, but I still love it. 

Theodora & Bodhi 

From Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald

This pair just makes me laugh. Because Theodora is a self-sufficient, scrappy, poor kid who is trying to keep the house from falling down around her clueless mother's ears, and Bodhi is a super rich, persistent, unschooled brat (if I'm honest) who really needs to find her next unschooling unit. And when they come together...there are sparks. Lots and lots of sparks. But also, the two of them end up becoming a great team for the adventures that come their way. :)

Harriet & Lalla 

From Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfield 

Another pair of unlikely friends--Lalla is a rich skating champion, and Harriet come from a poor family, and takes up skating to get stronger after a long illness. As the two of them start to share their experiences with each other, both gain empathy (especially Lalla), and despite the bumps in the road, they end up better for it. 

Elizabeth & Charlotte 

From Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 

I don't know that I would say that these two have a beautiful friendship, but I am intrigued by their friendship. 

Jane Austen tells us that they are friends, and, if I recall correctly, we get to see a few short conversations between them...and then Charlotte *does spoilers*, and moves. After that, Elizabeth does go to visit her, and they have a few conversations then, too, but really not many. 

This is where what-we-know ends, and what-I-wonder begins.

• Lizzie is confused and somewhat disgusted when Charlotte agrees to marry *spoilers--if you know, you know*--does it surprise her, from what she knows of Charlotte?
• Does Charlotte have so little respect for her friend's opinion that she would take Lizzie's leavings? 
• How did they become friends in the first place?
• What did they have in common, before *spoilers happened*?
• Did Lizzie ever go visit her again? Did Charlotte see Lizzie's fortune and even wonder if, had she waited, something like that might have happened to her?
• Was Charlotte's baby a girl, and did she name her after Lizzie? (Okay, that's not a friendship question really, it's just a Sam-is-obsessed-with-babies question). 
  
  

Emma, Jess, Megan & Cassidy 

From The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick 

It took me so long to find good female friendships for this post...and then suddenly I remembered this book/series, which, if you do the math, technically has six female friendships in it. :) 

I love the matrices of friendships in this book, from the best-friendship between Jess and Emma to the new friendships that they all forge with Cassidy. And the best part--everything is based around books! Because they're a book club! 

Throughout the series, the friendships are strained and stretched as the girls grow, but through all the difficulties of growing up, they're there for each other. Always. And that is a beautiful thing. 

(Image credit: Corby Eisbacher)

Mary and Elizabeth 

From, well, the Bible

Okay, I'm going to end with what is quite possibly my favorite pair of Biblical friends (not that there are many to choose from, but oh well). Elizabeth shows up only in the beginning parts of Luke, where A) she finally conceives a child after being barren for years and B) Mary goes and visits her. (We're going to focus on B. Obviously.) 

I find it so interesting that the first thing that Mary does after the Annunciation is she rises and "goes in haste to the hill-country of Judea" to visit Elizabeth. The first thing isn't warning Joseph, it's not talking to her parents, it's not taking some time to process, her first instinct is to go find Elizabeth. I know this is partially to point to Mary's role as the New Ark of the Covenant (look it up! I don't have time to explain it here. :D), but I like to imagine that it's also because she and Elizabeth are good friends, and she wants to share the good news (Evangelium) with her friend. After their initial greetings, (which include the absolutely gorgeous Canticle of Mary) Luke simply tells us that Mary stays with Elizabeth for six months (i.e. until John was born) and then returns home. I like to imagine, based on what I know of the Blessed Mother, that she helped Elizabeth with a lot of housework as Elizabeth progressed in her pregnancy, and that the two women had a lot of heart-to-hearts. 

One of the other interesting parts of this story (to me, at least, but I am a patent Latin and Greek nerd) is the word that's used to describe Elizabeth's relationship to Mary. It's sometimes translated "cousin", but the Greek word "συγγενής" (pronounced suggenes), which St. Jerome translated into the Latin as "cognata", most literally means "kinswoman" or "relative". From what I understand, it's a step of closeness away from the word "ἀνεψιός" (pronounced anepsios), which means "cousin", or "sibling". So Elizabeth wasn't Mary's cousin, but a close-ish female relative, who she may have gotten to know at the Passover when the whole family was in Jerusalem, or at some other time. 

Nerdery aside, I think my favorite part of this friendship is that it's developed between two women of very disparate ages. While there's debate about how old Mary is, it's pretty well established that she was a teenager, while Elizabeth is most certainly quite a bit older, given that she's described as conceiving "in her old age". Mary obviously trusts Elizabeth, given that she's the person to whom Mary goes first when she finds out that she has been chosen to be the Mother of God. And I love this. I think that friendships are age segregated too much, and while being friends with people one's own age is 100% a good thing, being friends with someone older or younger than you is a beautiful, beautiful thing. 

Did I miss any excellent female friendships? What are your favorite female friendships in literature? Why do you think there are fewer female friendships than other kinds in literature?