Awesome Female Role Models- Maria

In case you missed it last week...

I am starting a series on fictional female role models. Sometimes with all of the awful characters we see in film, TV, and books we can get discouraged about the influences that are coming into our brains. They say that you become the most like the 5 people you spend the most time with. There are times when those people are fictional characters. (Especially if you love stories like I do and spend a lot of your time reading and watching Netflix!) 

In spite of some of the not so good influences we see on TV, in movies, and in books, there are some great ones too. Here is just one of the awesome women characters I think is a good role model. Not just for kids, but for teenagers and adults too!

FYI- this is me we're talking about. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter is a given. I'm sure she will pop up in this series at some point. All of the Stark women from Game of Thrones are also a given. So it Katniss from The Hunger Games.

This week's awesome female role model is:

Maria from West Side Story.

When Romeo and Juliet finished I hung out at home and watched West Side Story. (Limited entertainment tastes recently. Haha.) It made me want to write about  Maria.

Reasons why Maria is awesome:

• She's innocent. How often these days do we see characters who are innocent but still likable? Through the whole movie she keeps her innocence. Even though all of these awful things happen to her, she still stays that way.
• She loves with her whole heart. Not just Tony. But Anita, Bernardo, and everyone else. She doesn't hold back love from people, even if they don't deserve it.
• Maria wants peace. She doesn't care about the rivalries between the gangs or anything. She even convinces Tony to try and break up the rumble (although the results don't turn out well) because she doesn't want people fighting and hurting each other.
• One of the biggest differences between Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story, is that she doesn't kill herself in the end. I love this! Maria is heartbroken over Tony and probably wants to die. But she doesn't. She must go on without him even though it hurts.
• At the end she's broken and has hate. She holds a gun and it's the perfect opportunity for her to take revenge on everyone who has broken her - but she doesn't take it. She still won't kill and hurt other people.

Maria and Tony in the "balcony" scene. Source

Some flaws to look out for:

• While she's innocent and that's a good thing, she's pretty naive. 
• Falling in love with a boy you met for two seconds at a dance isn't really a good life choice.

Maria and Anita trying on her dress for the dance. Source

Quotes:

• All of you! You all killed him! And my brother, and Riff. Not with bullets, or guns, with hate. Well now I can kill too, because now I have hate!
• Hold my hand and we're halfway there. Hold my hand and I'll take you there.
• My brother is a silly watchdog!
• I have not learned how to joke that way. Now I think I never will
• Loving is enough.

What do you think of Maria and West Side Story? What do you think makes a good character role model?