Is Lolita a victim or a predator?

There’s nothing like a cathartic read, but what happens when a female protagonist behaves like a five dollar whore, a complete wet rag or is just simply a total bitch? Whether bad girls in books either remind you of how not to behave; put you in touch with your shadow self; downright disgust you; or represent nothing but role model material, literature’s love affair with the anti-heroine keeps them fictional femmes as the captors of many imaginations; not least because their badness generally pivots around sex. Running In Heels bring you its ten favourite ladies of literary disrepute…

Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov

Let’s get the socially spurious out the way, shall we? Vladimir Nabokov’s complex woman-child, Lolita, star of the book she gives her name to, has critics split as to whether she’s victim or predator. As she embarks on the highly-famed, highly controversial sexual relationship with her step-father, Humbert Humbert, the barely pubescent “nymphet” Lolita protests at Humbert’s – yes, massively perverse – obsession with his step-daughter, while at the same time seems to manipulate and exploit his bent worship of her to get her own way. Um, let’s just say it’s very unlikely you’ll meet any regular gal called Lolita anymore.

Venus In Furs – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

Running with bizarre sexual persuasions, how about Wanda von Dunajew? Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s kinky 19th century novel-within-a-novel sees the character of Wanda humour the submissive Severin von Kusiemski as she plays out sex-oriented charades of male domination. Yes, she wears furs: dressing up is all part of Severin’s ‘humiliation’, and her props and scripts get riper as their odd relationship develops. However, when the furs are off and the relationship’s out of the bedroom, Wanda herself admits to feeling degraded about being the degrader. All very figure-of-eight, but nowhere near as explicit as Lolita above. And if you don’t already know, Venus In Furs was the book which led to the coining of the expression ‘masochism’. Obviously.

Vanity Fair – William Thackeray

William Thackeray’s novel about material, marital and social dynamics amid the upper class in 19th century England (surprise surprise) centres around the arguably ultimate anti-heroine, Becky Sharp. Much like her contemporary, Emma Bovary, Becky is also pretty adept at ‘working the room’ of its men, conducting outrageous self-serving affairs and all but abandoning her child in favour on her own material interests. Yep, she runs up debts too; out and out lies to procure herself various chattels; and by gum! Even gambles heavily. Another of literature’s manipulators and users, rather boringly, she ends up pretty sorted. Thackeray could have at least killed her off through alcoholism or something. That’s what they’d do on Eastenders.

Bovary: shopaholic and social climber

Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert

Gustave Flaubert’s magnus opum tells the story of Emma Bovary, a shallow piece of work who falls well and truly foul of the human condition. Well, arsenic really. Here we have a bosomy diva who uses people for her own social ambitions and behaves like a monster at parties. Not only that, she’s married to a lovely bloke (okay, he might a bit boring if you’re into Napoleonic disco dancing) but “takes piano lessons in Rouen”; a euphemism for shagging a bloke called Leon in a hotel room once a week. Oh, and did we mention her other bit of extra-curricular muscle, Rodolphe? Emma – who also can’t stop shopping – runs up a bunch of debt, not a good thing back then. It all gets too much for her in the end. Shame…

Breakfast At Tiffany’s – Truman Capote

Much better known for its filmic incarnation, with all this sex-crazed, self-absorption, Truman Capote’s 1958 book featuring the literary Holiday Golightly levels us a little reprieve. So Holly’s also a bit of a gold-digger too, but she’s pretty moralistic on the mattress front. Here we have an expert agent provocateur who’s both charming and despicable. She’s seemingly ashamed of her history, gives little about herself away and keeps erratic hours. Indeed, she might be out for material gain, but at least she realises in the end that friends are all that matter. Show us a woman who doesn’t want to be her.

Moll Flanders – Daniel Defoe

In modern day terms, the character of Moll Flanders would be Social Services’ worst nightmare. Daniel Defoe’s rood gurl protagonist, from his 1722 novel of the same name, is born into crime to a colonially transported mother; marries her own half-brother; abandons her kids in America as she takes off to England to seek wealth (yeah, in the shape of a rich bloke); gets by for the time being by falling back on her skills as a thief and whore; sleeps around with moneyed men; gets sent to jail; tries to reunite herself with her sons years down the line; and all in between this, she gets through five husbands. Quite the little 18th century livewire, we say.

Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy’s novel of 1877 is terrifically meaty. Thing is, there’s something marvellously readable and accessible about the Russian epic. Anna is the centrifugal character but it’s not like she’s a complete harpee or anything. What she represents is courage, integrity and rebellion – against what’s essentially totalitarianism – taken to its limit. There’s adultery, politics and religion. Oh, yes: and more abandoned children. It doesn’t end up well for her. Self-sacrificing or self-centred? Hard call.

Lady Chatterley likes a bit of rough...

Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

Although Charles Dickens’s Victorian novel is centred around a little chap called Pip, the character of Estella – somewhat of an ice maiden – is a fascinating one. Without wanting to get too Carl Jung on you, the unwitting anima/animus parallels between Pip and Estella are compelling reading and Estella plays out her subconscious identity crisis in ways that generally involve guys. She loves to be desired, plays with men’s affections and then gets pissed off with them when they get pissed off about it. Mind you, if you’d been brought up by Miss Havisham, you’d probably be a little, erm, ‘eccentric’ too.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover -  DH Lawrence

Famously banned in Britain until 1960, DH Lawrence’s ‘racy’ novel about the carnal affair between Lady Chatterley and a working-class employee was an outrageous notion back when it was written in the ‘20s. Moreso was the employment of relatively graphic narrative – there’s sex galore. Again, Lady C isn’t a hateful character by any means: it’s more the controversy of her infidelity upon her incapacitated spouse, Lord C, and her rip-roaring inability to keep her passions under control. Forget Me Nots adorning one’s pubic hair? She’s one naughty Lady…

Macbeth – William Shakespeare

Try as one might, steering clear of Shakespeare in any literary run down is difficult. Needing no introduction, Lady Macbeth is perhaps Shakespeare’s most formidable female character out of his whole works. Although she’s not the play’s protagonist, pretty much everything that happens in it can be traced back to her and her frightful capacity for manipulation and hunger for power. It turns out she’s not very stable (duh!) and so in the wake of the murder of the king, which she to all intents she orchestrated, she tops herself, defeating the object of her whole modus operandi. Psycho.