Today is the sixteenth day of the 30-day book challenge, in which I will be writing about a different book or book series every day for 30 days, with each book chosen according to the daily prompt. Today's prompt is: "favourite female character".
So. Once again I have failed to get back on track with these daily instalments, despite my promise in the previous post that I would. At this point, I'm sure none of you will take me seriously if I say that this time I genuinely will get back to doing a post each day, so I'm going to refrain from stating that here. However, I will say that I hope that the post for Day 17 will be less delayed than this one was. You'll just have to check back to see if my hope was justified (or subscribe by email - hint hint).
I had originally planned to upload this post on Galentine's Day, i.e. the day before Valentine's Day, when women around the world celebrate their female friends and other women in their lives. It would have been the perfect conclusion to a day I had spent sending e-cards and soppy messages to real-life women, to then come online and write about a fictional woman who I adore. Sadly, it was not to be. For various reasons, the post was delayed, with the result being that you are now getting to read it approximately one month later than was initially intended. Sorry about that.
However, my own tardiness does not mean that the topic of this post is any less important. In fact, the prompt of "favourite female character" is one that's very close to my heart. I love female characters, so much so that I had the reverse problem with this prompt as I did in the previous "favourite male character" challenge: there were simply so many great women to choose from.
In the end, I settled on a female character who not only do I love and find inspiring, but who I also think is less well-known than the likes of Elizabeth Bennet or Anne Shirley, and thus deserving of a little extra attention. My choice is Mame Dennis, the title character of Patrick Dennis's 1995 novel Auntie Mame.
As is tradition, let's start this post with a Goodreads summary of what this book is about:
count list the ways.
I had originally planned to upload this post on Galentine's Day, i.e. the day before Valentine's Day, when women around the world celebrate their female friends and other women in their lives. It would have been the perfect conclusion to a day I had spent sending e-cards and soppy messages to real-life women, to then come online and write about a fictional woman who I adore. Sadly, it was not to be. For various reasons, the post was delayed, with the result being that you are now getting to read it approximately one month later than was initially intended. Sorry about that.
However, my own tardiness does not mean that the topic of this post is any less important. In fact, the prompt of "favourite female character" is one that's very close to my heart. I love female characters, so much so that I had the reverse problem with this prompt as I did in the previous "favourite male character" challenge: there were simply so many great women to choose from.
In the end, I settled on a female character who not only do I love and find inspiring, but who I also think is less well-known than the likes of Elizabeth Bennet or Anne Shirley, and thus deserving of a little extra attention. My choice is Mame Dennis, the title character of Patrick Dennis's 1995 novel Auntie Mame.
As is tradition, let's start this post with a Goodreads summary of what this book is about:
When shy young heir Patrick is orphaned at the tender age of ten, the only family he has is his wealthy and eccentric aunt, a fabulous New York socialite named Mame. While prone to dramatic costumes, flights of fancy and expensive whims - not least her lives as a muse and a Southern belle - Auntie Mame will raise Patrick the only way she knows how: with madcap humour, mishaps, unforgettable friends and lots and lots of love.Based on that first sentence alone, you already know a little about Mame. She's rich, she's eccentric, and she's undeniably fabulous. But there is more to know about her, and specifically why I love her so much, than can be gleaned purely from this summary. So, let's do this in semi-list format. Why do I love Mame Dennis? Let me
She's glamorous and unapologetically decadent
I knew that I would love Mame's character from page eighteen, in my copy of Auntie Mame, when our narrator Patrick is summoned for his first proper meeting with his aunt. He enters her room to find her still in bed, wearing a "bed jacket made of pink ostrich feathers" and "reading Gide's Les Faux-Monnayeurs and smoking Melachrino cigarettes through a long amber holder". This meeting, referred to by Mame as being in the morning, takes place at 1pm. Patrick writes, "Morning, I soon discovered, was one o'clock for Auntie Mame. Early Morning was eleven, and the middle of the night was nine."
This isn't even Mame's first appearance in the book, but as the first scene where we and Patrick are properly introduced to her, it makes a hell of an impression. We can see here that she is a woman who does what she wants, even if that means her perception of the world is slightly divorced from the common view (more on that in a minute). She's glamorous and perhaps a little endearingly self-indulgent - rather how I've always imagined Princess Margaret to be. Although Mame comes without the association of enjoying all this decadence at the taxpayers' expense, so that's a bonus.
Following on from my previous point that Mame's ideas and behaviour are often at odds with wider society, I'd go so far as to say that she is even something of an iconoclast. Besides her unusual personal behaviour, the first great display of Mame's unconventionality comes when she alarms Mr Babcock (the trustee of Patrick's inheritance and ever-present adversary of Mame) by sending her nephew to a school she describes as "revolutionary", which turns out to be more or less a coeducational nudist institution.
This is hardly the only instance of Mame's unique sensibilities causing trouble. Her taste in fashion and art ("more with the Bauhaus of Munich than with the rocaille and coquaille of Versailles"), for example, is unconventional enough to cause conflict a number of times, but even if she briefly appears to change to accommodate others' expectations, Mame always returns to her same unorthodox self in the end.
I knew that I would love Mame's character from page eighteen, in my copy of Auntie Mame, when our narrator Patrick is summoned for his first proper meeting with his aunt. He enters her room to find her still in bed, wearing a "bed jacket made of pink ostrich feathers" and "reading Gide's Les Faux-Monnayeurs and smoking Melachrino cigarettes through a long amber holder". This meeting, referred to by Mame as being in the morning, takes place at 1pm. Patrick writes, "Morning, I soon discovered, was one o'clock for Auntie Mame. Early Morning was eleven, and the middle of the night was nine."
This isn't even Mame's first appearance in the book, but as the first scene where we and Patrick are properly introduced to her, it makes a hell of an impression. We can see here that she is a woman who does what she wants, even if that means her perception of the world is slightly divorced from the common view (more on that in a minute). She's glamorous and perhaps a little endearingly self-indulgent - rather how I've always imagined Princess Margaret to be. Although Mame comes without the association of enjoying all this decadence at the taxpayers' expense, so that's a bonus.
She's a unique thinker
Following on from my previous point that Mame's ideas and behaviour are often at odds with wider society, I'd go so far as to say that she is even something of an iconoclast. Besides her unusual personal behaviour, the first great display of Mame's unconventionality comes when she alarms Mr Babcock (the trustee of Patrick's inheritance and ever-present adversary of Mame) by sending her nephew to a school she describes as "revolutionary", which turns out to be more or less a coeducational nudist institution.
This is hardly the only instance of Mame's unique sensibilities causing trouble. Her taste in fashion and art ("more with the Bauhaus of Munich than with the rocaille and coquaille of Versailles"), for example, is unconventional enough to cause conflict a number of times, but even if she briefly appears to change to accommodate others' expectations, Mame always returns to her same unorthodox self in the end.
She never gives up
In his narration of the book, Patrick admits that, looking back on when he first came into Mame's care, she was no doubt "just as terrified [...] as I was" but, he adds, "Auntie Mame was never one to admit defeat." Mame throws herself into raising Patrick, doing everything she can to bring him up well. In other areas of life, Mame shows determination as well. When she loses all of her money in a financial accident, she hops from job to job trying to make ends meet. Even when her aforementioned eccentricities lead to her being fired more than once, she still refuses to give up and continues to move on to different opportunities.
She's loving
Mame's approach to raising Patrick is definitely controversial, but for all of the slightly questionable decisions she makes, it is always clear that Mame truly loves and cares about her nephew. She gives him her time, attention, and affection, with the result that they develop an incredible bond. Even if there are times when they are pulled apart, by external forces or personal conflicts, the familial love they share for each other is enough that they always end up forgiving each other in the end.
She stands up for what she believes in
As we've already established, Mame Dennis is not one to change herself for others' comfort. Nor is she willing to compromise her beliefs for the same reason. The most obvious instance of this comes when Mame is taken to meet the parents of Patrick's fiancée, who turn out to be virulently anti-Semitic. Not wanting to upset Patrick by openly fighting with his wife-to-be's family, Mame begins by gently questioning the father's comments about Jews. When this fails and the man begins to voice even more violently prejudiced opinions, Mame finally snaps. She lets the anti-Semitic father have it, telling him exactly what she thinks of his harmful views. The result might be that Patrick's engagement fails to remain unscathed, but he and Mame leave the meeting both feeling that Mame did the right thing in speaking up.
***
Mame Dennis is definitely one of the memorable characters I've encountered in literature, and she remains one of my solid favourites. She is seen by some to be eccentric and perhaps slightly frivolous at first, but underneath her wonderfully glamorous exterior is a determined and caring woman. She doesn't do anything by halves, and she always does everything in her own unique way. She is a devoted aunt, an inspiring woman, and (most of all) a brilliant book character.
PS: Although I highly recommend reading the original novel if Mame's character appeals to you, in the case that that's not possible I can also suggest watching the 1958 film adaptation of the same name, starring the great Rosalind Russell. It might not capture 100% of the humour and glamour of the book, but it comes pretty close.
PS: Although I highly recommend reading the original novel if Mame's character appeals to you, in the case that that's not possible I can also suggest watching the 1958 film adaptation of the same name, starring the great Rosalind Russell. It might not capture 100% of the humour and glamour of the book, but it comes pretty close.
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