A heroine can be defined in two different ways: first, as the main female character of a novel; or the second way, as a woman known for a courageous action or significant achievement. The heroines of King Lear, Crime and Punishment, and To the Lighthouse fit both of these definitions. Cordelia, King Lear's good daughter and heroine, refuses to flatter her father insincerely with false professions of love and is consequently disinherited. Despite this rejection, she still loves her father unconditionally and eventually returns to save him from his evil sisters. Sonya is the heroine of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. She is extremely religious but more devoted to her family. To support her poor family, she sacrifices her body and purity by becoming a prostitute. Providing optimism, hope, and reassurance to all those around her, Mrs. Ramsay's role in To the Lighthouse is to bring unity to her family and guests as a provider and restorer of the needs of others. Each of these characters is comparable in that they all embody both meanings of the term heroine; as the main female characters in each work, they sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others around them and whom they love, a truly significant achievement. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In Shakespeare's King Lear, Cordelia embodies a heroine through her actions when she selflessly returns to save King Lear from his sisters. Shakespeare characterizes Cordelia as devoted, kind, beautiful, and honest. However, it was this honesty that caused King Lear to disinherit her when she refused to sing him false praises stating, "I cannot put/ my heart in my mouth. I love your majesty/ According to my bond, no more, no less." (Act I.1.91-93) His honesty was perhaps his only fault. This honesty can be contrasted with that of Goneril and Regan, Cordelia's sisters, who are neither honest nor loving and who ruthlessly manipulate their father for their own ends. By refusing to take part in Lear's love test at the beginning of the play, Cordelia establishes herself as a paradigm of virtue, and the apparent authenticity of her love for Lear makes clear the extent of the king's mistake in banishing her. When Cordelia returns to save King Lear, she says, "Are your tears wet? Yes, faith. Please don't cry. If you have poison for me, I will drink it. I know you love me not; for your sisters have (as I remember) hurt me. You have some reason, they don't." (IV.7.74-78) He believes that she can no longer love him because of his immense misdeeds. Despite this incredible mistake on King Lear's part towards Cordelia, her love for him never ceases, nor does she reluctantly reproach him for his stupidity. He makes this clear when he leads France's invasion of Britain with the sole motive of saving his father from the manipulation and mistreatment of Goneril and Regan. In the same scene where King Lear expects mistreatment from Cordelia, she says "No cause, no cause." (IV.7.79) This is Cordelia's reunion with King Lear, indicating the restoration of order to the kingdom; but above all the triumph of love and forgiveness over hatred and resentment. Cordelia and King Lear are eventually captured by Edmund when the French lose the war. Although King Lear hopes to spend time with her to crystallize their reconciliation, she is hanged by Edmund before anyone can begin to help her. Thus, Cordelia ultimately gives her life to save her father, who unjustly treated her so cruelly, consequently demonstrating her endless sacrifice for the sake of her father whom she loved dearly. Dostoevsky describes his heroine, Sonya, as thepersonification of purity and innocence. , despite having to physically corrupt herself by becoming a prostitute to support a destitute family. Sonya is quiet, hesitant, and often scared, but she is also extremely spiritual and committed to her stepmother and sisters. “We are all one, we live as one,” says Sonya. He even loves his abusive stepmother. He tells Raskolnikov that "He's going crazy, have you noticed? That's how he is; he keeps worrying like a little girl that everything will be done right tomorrow, the meal and all... then he wrings his hands, coughs up blood, cries and at suddenly she starts banging her head against the wall, as if in despair. And then she consoles herself again, says that now you will be her help, and that she will ask her to borrow some money, and she will go back with me to the house. city ​​and establishes an institute for noble girls, and she will appoint me supervisor, and a completely new, beautiful life will begin for us, and she kisses me, hugs me, consoles me, and truly believes in it (Dostoevsky 318) Her sacrifice for the well of his family is made even more heartbreaking by the fact that it would not be necessary if his father was able to control his drinking problem. However, it is through his father's death that Raskolnikov When Raskolnikov gives the family money for the funeral, she goes to his apartment to invite him, and there begins their strange relationship. She is not horrified by his crimes, but rather concerned for his soul and mental well-being, so she urges him to confess. Raskolnikov sees her, at first, as a fellow transgressor, someone who has crossed the line between morality and immorality, just as he has. However, there are crucial differences between their transgressions: she sins for the sake of others, while he sins only for himself; Raskolnikov's soul is in turmoil, while Sonya's is protected and protected in her religious faith. She demonstrates this when Raskolnikov asks her if she believes in God and she replies, "what would I be without God?" (Dostoevsky 323). Through her interactions with Raskolnikov, Sonya clearly becomes a Christ figure because she represents the only path to salvation, which is through faith in God and suffering as a means of bearing the repercussions of one's actions. Furthermore, Sonya's devotion is notable when she follows Raskolnikov to Siberia for his forced labor. He waits patiently for Raskolnikov to come to repentance, which he eventually does. Thus, through the extreme measures that Sonya takes to provide for her family and through her gift of salvation to Raskolnikov, Sonya embodies a heroine through her great display of boundless faith and devotion. In To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf depicts Mrs. Ramsay from life at the beginning of the novel not only as a woman of great thoughtfulness and tolerance but also as a protector. As the mother and central force that maintains the harmony of guests and family in their vacation home, her main goal is to provide others with what they need most. For example, in the first few pages Mrs. Ramsay's main goal is to preserve her youngest son James' sense of hope and wonder surrounding the lighthouse. Although he realizes, as perhaps does James himself, that Mr. Ramsay is right in declaring that bad weather will ruin the next day's journey, he insists on assuring James that the journey is a possibility." "Perhaps you will wake up and find the the sun is shining and the birds are singing,' she said with compassion, smoothing the boy's hair, because her husband, with his caustic saying that it would not be all right, had upset his soul, as one could see. Going to the Lighthouse was a passion of hers, she saw, and then, as if her husband hadn't said enough, with his caustic saying that tomorrow everything wouldn't be all right, that hateful little man went and threw it all in his face all over again." (Woolf p.