My Top Heroines From My Top Musicals

Last year for my birthday, I posted my top five musicals. This is a follow that up with a post about the heroines from those shows. I define a heroine as someone who defends their family and friends to the end, and fight for what they believe in, someone who goes on a hero's journey,.

Fantine from Les Miserables

Fantine is the mother of the ingénue Cossette, and that makes her the heroine of this musical in my opinion. Fantine cared so much for her daughter, she sent her to live with another family in hopes of a better life. Although she was poor, she sent what money she could. Even on her deathbed, she is only thinking of Cossette when she told Jean Val Jean to raise her daughter because Fantine knew she could have a rewarding life with Jean Val Jean. Not all heroines are perfect, but they’re real and flawed. Fantine is flawed because she was a single mother, which in those days, was seen as a flaw. The other flaw is that she falls into prostitution, a flawed profession.  Fantine is the perfect example of a heroine who didn’t have the best life, and even in the end, she was thinking about her daughter and how she could improve her life, defending her to the end.

Sonya from Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

While we can make a case for Natasha, the heroine of this musical in my eyes is Sonya Rostova, the cousin of Natasha. The main characteristic of Sonya is that she is loyal; this makes her my candidate to be the heroine in the musical. Natasha makes some poor choices, such as seeing Anatole when she was already engaged to Andrey, and yet, Sonya never left her side. She was loyal towards one of her best friends. A plot point in the musical is Sonya saving the day when Anatole wants to elope with Natasha, even though he is already married. Sonya saves Natasha from making what would probably be the worst decision of her life. Sonya loved her cousin so much that she would do anything for her, including saving her even if it risks her relationship with Natasha. If Sonya and Natasha didn’t make amends in the end, it could have been devastating because Natasha would lose her anchor. Sonya would be losing the one who brought her out of her shell, and gave some fun and spontaneity to her life. A heroine is loyal and one that wants to protect the ones they love.

Elphaba and Glinda from Wicked

Elphaba starts Wicked being misunderstood for who she is, and how other people see her because of her outward appearance. As the story progresses, we learn that Elphaba really is a good person with a good heart for others who misjudged her. With Glinda, they both grow their friendship for each other from a rocky start. Glinda is the mirror image of Elphaba because, from the start of the show, she brags about her good character. As the story moves, we learn that we had misjudged Glinda and her braggadocio, so the two heroines have an opposite journey. These two women are heroines because a heroine is not perfect, and they both go on a journey to find themselves. 

Madame Giry from The Phantom of the Opera

 Madame Giry is the heroine because after her father died, she took Christine in and loved her like a daughter. She didn’t have to take Christine in and treat her the way she did; she did that out of love for the girl who just lost her father. To further demonstrate her care for Christine,  she guided Raul underground so he could save Christine from the Phantom. A heroine is the one who saves the day or has a heroic action.   

Maureen from Rent

Rent is a tough show to identify a heroine in the narrative, as the female characters don’t fit a typical heroine profile. As I have to identify someone, (or I would have to change the title of the article,) I nominate Maureen is my heroine in Rent because she helps save the apartment building with her protest when it was in jeopardy of being torn down for a Cyber Arts Studio. Maureen’s protest helps save the building. Heroines are women who have a cause and fight for a cause, which is what Maureen does in Rent.  

I hope you enjoyed this look at my favorite musicals. If you didn’t know these, I hope you look more into them if you have an interest. If you already know of them, I hope you had fun revisiting them with me.