Courage in Literature

Every thought she has is for her children and if they will manage to have enough food and money to survive the next day

Shiloh Adlar
Writer, Ravenclaw

For this article, I will be focusing on two literary works of historical fiction. This summer, I spent a lot of time reading a variety of genres, but historical fiction has always been one of my favorites. This genre takes real events and then creates a story from it. However, there are certain historical fiction writers who take true events, but also true stories from people’s lives and create something more. If you have ever seen or heard of the musical “Hamilton,” you’ll know what I’m talking about.

The first book I read is The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah. This books starts off in the present day of 1995 with a female narrator. She is going through a trunk in her attic when she discovers an identification card from the past. What is incredible from a literary critique standpoint is that the narrator is never defined with a name. As the story goes along, the reader understands it is one of the female characters in the book, but who it is remains a mystery. This is done extremely well and kept me pushing on throughout the story because I needed to know who was talking.

Vianne must fight to survive at home when a Nazi captain billets with her. Every thought she has is for her children and if they will manage to have enough food and money to survive the next day. She also must fight for the protection of her dear friend and her family, who is Jewish, when the Nazis begin rounding them up to take them to camps. She had always been dependent on her husband to take care of them, but he is sent away to fight for France and she must now figure out how to provide and survive without him.

Isabelle has always wanted to be loved by her father but never felt as if she could do anything to earn it from him. She is strong-minded and willed, and when she finds a chance to fight, she takes it. She risks her life as a spy, and to rescue Allied soldiers from being taken prisoner by the Nazis. In this, she takes treacherous journeys across the Pyrenees mountain range in the dead of winter, leading them to safety.

Hannah, however, has narrated the stories of many women throughout the war that fought in the resistance against the Nazi regime, many stories which we never hear about. In her research, she discussed with many of these women about their experiences and has finally been able to bring them to light. Even though women were often seen as weak, “women do not go to war,” these women fought with everything they had, whether it was against the Nazi’s like Isabelle did, or on the home front like Vianne to protect those she loved and do the best she could to provide for her children when roles suddenly changed. It truly proves how strong women can be when they are when faced with difficult times.We soon discover that this woman lived during World War II in Nazi Occupied France, and that we are being told the story of two courageous women who fought the war in their own ways, one on the homefront and the other as a resistance fighter helping British and American soldiers escape France and return home.

The second book I read is The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. Kidd takes the life of Sarah Grimké and creates a story detailing 35 years of her life. This novel takes place in the United States during the Abolitionist Movement. Sarah, much like Isabelle in The Nightingale is a strong believer in doing what is right. She wants to step out of her role as a woman and become a lawyer so she can fight for human rights. When she is given Handful, a slave girl, as a present for her birthday, she tells her mother that a slave is not a present, but she has been given legal ownership of her. One night she signs a document to free her, but it is found ripped up in the morning.

The novel goes back and forth between the point of views of Sarah and Handful, and we truly see how the two change and influence each other. When Angelina, Sarah’s younger sister is born and Sarah becomes her godmother, Angelina also takes in Sarah’s beliefs and soon enough becomes an outcast in her community as well for having them.

While the novel itself is a fictional account of the Grimké sisters’ lives, what Sarah and Angelina fight for in the novel is real. The Grimké sisters were the first two female abolitionists fighting to end slavery as well as two of the first women’s rights activists. In this, they faced many hard challenges not only from their home in the South but also from others in the movement simply because they were women. They created a storm and this storm frightened many, but it did elicit change. Their stories have somehow gotten lost in history textbooks, but Kidd brings them to life again to show what is possible if one has enough faith and belief in themselves and what they are fighting for.

These are only a couple of amazing books that show courageous characters fighting for what is important to them. While one may not feel comfortable being an Isabelle, Sarah, or Angelina, one may find themselves in Vianne’s shoes and fighting a war more close to home. In the present day, we have the power of social media to blog and raise awareness about different issues in the world, while others, who have the ability to do so, may choose to donate to causes that are important to them. Whatever step you decide to take, is a step in the right direction. Even a small act is an act of courage may spark hope for someone else and maybe even hope for yourself.