Literary Type: Americana Heroine

I took an American Literature I course in college and found that one of the most interesting things I learned concerned literary "types." I have not done much research into this myself, but based off of the bits I've pieced together from Joseph Campbell's "Hero With a Thousand Faces" (which I've heard talked about but never read...ahem...) and a classmate's final project presentation in American Lit I, it seems that the idea of "types" is applied to stories, in both literary and movie form. I think it's based on Jung's psychology, and the theory proposes that the most popular and lasting stories have characters that fit subconscious archetypes that are shared by all humanity. There are the unlikely hero, the outsider, the guide/guru/wisdom figure, and many more characters, that have a way of showing up in different iterations in all sorts of stories.

I don't subscribe to Jung's ideology and am not convinced of the merits of this form of literary analysis, but I still enjoy picking out character "types" in literature for fun. Therefore, inspired by my recent reading of "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm," I would like to introduce a new literary type: Americana Heroine.

(Alright, it's not actually a newly-discovered type; according to Wikipedia, there was a "girl" or "college girls" literary genre that was popular at this time. However, I'm "discovering" it because no one actually talks about it and I'm giving it a better name.)

What is the "Americana Heroine"?

After reading children's literature of this category extensively (i.e., a couple series and stand-alone books by a limited number of authors), I have been able to distill the essential qualities of this character type. My case study samples include the "Anne of Green Gables" and "Emily of New Moon" series by L. M. Montgomery, "Daddy Long Legs" by Jean Webster, "Old Fashioned Girl" by Louisa May Alcott, and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" by Kate Douglas Wiggin. The shared qualities of these heroines are listed below.

Main Character

The Americana Heroine is always the center of attention in whatever story she is in. It is impossible to keep such a unique personality squirreled away on the sidelines of a narrative.

Adoring Sidekicks

While our heroine must have center stage, it's not much of a story without other people in it. And what beloved literary girl is ever truly happy unless she has less-interesting foils (I mean, friends) to highlight her dazzling personality? Yes, our heroine truly cares for her friends. But these gal pals always seem to hold some level of adoration for their amazing ringleader.

Turn-of-the-Century

The novels in which they star were generally written in the 25 years following the arrival of the 20th century. The one exception in my book list is "Old Fashioned Girl", which was published in 1869. We'll just say Louisa May Alcott was ahead of the trend.

Orphan Child (or something close to that)

The beloved character has many ways of standing out when compared to others, so making her a loner is a great way to accomplish this. By making her an orphan or a child singled out from a poor family to live with distant relations or family friends, there are no siblings to steal her thunder. Her dependency upon the charity of others helps her keep her innocent gratitude for all the blessings in her life, as well as make her an object of sympathy and, therefore, greater affection to the reader.

Struggles With Home Expectations

As an orphaned or destitute child, Americana Heroine's previous experiences have not prepared her for life in a structured (and dull) home environment. Fun shenanigans ensue, as well as awkward scrapes and inevitable reckonings. Disapproving relations play a pivotal role in the discomfort the main character feels; the relation is always won over to some degree by the end of the story.

Solid, Traditional Name

A great way of making the Americana Heroine the kind of "Everygirl" young readers can connect to is to give her the right name. Anne, Emily, Judy (slightly changed from the apparently-hideous "Jerusha"), Rebecca, and Polly are bland, but solid, names of girls everyone would be familiar with and would remember easily.

Some Distinct Physical Feature

This is not necessarily true of all Americana Heroines (I don't remember anything particular about Judy or Polly), but it is a common enough occurrence to warrant mentioning. Authors in this genre are careful to never make their heroines the loveliest in the land, but, seemingly suffering from some guilt over this, make sure to include an endearing feature that somehow makes up for the rest of their lackluster appearance. The feature also probably serves to emphasize the difference between the heroine and the rest of her humdrum society. Who can forget the unnerving eyes of Emily and Rebecca? Certainly not the other characters in the book. And everyone loves Anne's red hair - even she does, eventually. Yes, there must be something so special about our heroine that the difference comes out in her physical make-up.

Imaginative Paragon of Virtue and/or Intelligence

The "imaginative" part is what brings most of the characters round to loving our sweet Americana Heroine. That, or else they must somehow connect to the deeper meanings of life. This character trait sets them up to become a shining example of all that the modern 20th century American girl could aspire to be. Polly instills a love for simple living and familial love in the family of her friends, but also engages in a sort of female-empowerment-through-creative-art community. Anne and Rebecca overcome their wilder tendencies to graduate from prestigious schools and move on to promising careers. Emily's unusual mind captures the attention of different adults who find her a marvel. Judy is picked out from the very beginning as possessing a lively mind with great potential.

Tendencies Towards Authorhood

The potential displayed by the Americana Heroine almost always leads to a desire to write. This was the quality that clued me in to the existence of this literary type. Anne wants to write. Emily wants to write. Others see the germs of genius in the writing of Rebecca and Judy. Polly is a music teacher with no interest in writing, but she rubs elbows with a female authoress in her circle.

Girl Grows Into Woman

A single season would be far too short a time to spend amongst such excellent females. Their stories span multiple years so that readers have time to watch them grow into their best selves (and really invest in the futures of these women).

Falls in Love With Someone Who has Been in Their Post-Adoption/Boarding Life From the Very Beginning

I include this very long and detailed heading because every bit of it is true for every Americana Heroine under consideration here. Our beloved girl grows up and marries a man who has been there the entire time. There's no going off somewhere exotic to find a man; no, it's always some neighbor next door. This set-up is quite satisfying, but in some cases, it can end up being a bit creepy. Don't worry, Polly and Anne, your Mr. Perfect is your age and it seems completely natural that you should fall for each other. However, in the case of the other three, there is at least interest shown by men who are much older than the heroine. Emily, Judy, and Rebecca are all watched over by benevolent and generally well-to-do gentlemen who apparently decide almost immediately that this girl is worth following as she grows up, if not deciding on the spot that they'll marry her once she's old enough. Emily doesn't end up with said fellow in her story, but they come pretty close to it before she ends up with a better-suited peer. Kind of interesting, but definitely creepy, for sure.

Concluding Words

I hope you've enjoyed this literary study as much as I have. I feel that if I keep on like this, I might have a future with Goodreads in their "Recommendations" department.

"If you enjoyed reading this books, you might enjoy the following titles..."