Strongest Woman

POSTED BY: deepgirl187
UPDATED: Tuesday, June 13, 2006 15:32
VIEWED: 11810
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DEEPGIRL187

Friday, June 9, 2006 1:48 PM

I'm sure this has been brought up before, but I'm somewhat of a noob, so sue me.

Who do you guys see as the strongest woman on Serenity? Not just physical strength, but strength of character. My personal vote goes to Zoe. Not just because she's a warrior woman, but because she can be a leader when things get rough (and for those who don't believe me on that, just watch "War Stories"). She is confident, puts others before herself, and never loses her cool. To me, real strength comes from those qualities.

So that's my two cents. What about you guys?

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It's just an object. It doesn't mean what you think.

MSG

Friday, June 9, 2006 1:57 PM

I think Zoe is really strong, but I'd say Kaylee. She holds everyone together and no matter how she gets hurt or what happens she can maintain her kindness and sweetness of spirit which is impressive. Inara's really strong too to set out on her own and buck the rules like she did and River...well come on pile o reavers:)
It's one of the things I really respect Joss for. All his characters are well rounded and real and he writes women with strength and personality equal to any male character. It's too bad other writers seem unable to do that:)

You're only young once, but you can be immature any time!

AGENTROUKA

Friday, June 9, 2006 1:59 PM

My vote goes to Zoe, too.

Her only moment of real weakness, to me, was when she was too cowardly to be honest with Wash in "War Stories", and that's something they worked through.

I love every female on Serenity, but Zoe's the one I consider strongest of mind. Just look at her at the end of the movie. Wow.

Kaylee is too easily intimidated and insulted (but getting better).

River has endured incredible hardship, but at times she is incapable of controlling herself, through no fault of her own, and can turn downright useless at the wrong time.

Inara likes to pretend away her problems until she can't ignore them anymore.

DAVESHAYNE

Friday, June 9, 2006 2:09 PM

Inara. She's the only one who will stand up to Mal.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

TRISTAN

Friday, June 9, 2006 2:36 PM

Zoe. I have to agree. She does what needs to be done with the minimal amount of fuss. Like Deepgirl said, she's a leader when she needs to be, and appears to have a very solid grasp on the reality of the 'verse.
'Sides...she's a warrior woman!

My two cents:

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FLAME

Friday, June 9, 2006 3:52 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by daveshayne:
Inara. She's the only one who will stand up to Mal.

I respectfully ask to differ.

Of the women, yes, Inara snarks at Mal more often, but I wouldn't say that made her strong. Inara's a wimp. She can't handle her own feelings and hides behind all of the traditions and pretenses of the companion trade. And she runs from everything. She ran from Shinon, and then eventually she ran from Mal and Serenity. She doesn't have the strength of character to accept people as they really are, but only as they fit her little notions of what's proper or enlightened.

And, she really muffed that whole Burgess thing. She should've just slit his throat instead of talking about it, and Nandi'd still be alive, but she didn't have it in her. Zoe'd have bashed the back of his head in and been done with it.

My vote's for Zoe. And I don't think her "submission" to Mal is a weakness. Takes a lot of guts to say, "This person saved my life and I'm going to follow them to hell and back." She's amazing.

~ Flame ~

SERENITY on the big screen in Raleigh, NC, June 22, 2006!!
http://www.monkeyshinesbeadery.com/serenity/shindig/

DAVESHAYNE

Friday, June 9, 2006 11:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Flame:
Quote:
Originally posted by daveshayne:
Inara. She's the only one who will stand up to Mal.

I respectfully ask to differ.

Of the women, yes, Inara snarks at Mal more often,

I wouldn't say that. Everybody snarks at Mal.

Quote:
but I wouldn't say that made her strong.

No but directly confronting Mal does. Inara has done it on a number of occasions and had the guts to stand up to him when he was wrong. (See Serenity: the Episode right after Kaylee gets shot and Safe when Book needs a doctor.) Nobody else on the ship really has.

Quote:
Inara's a wimp. She can't handle her own feelings

Only in the case of her feelings for Mal which are rather conflicted.

Quote:
and hides behind all of the traditions and pretenses of the companion trade.

I don't see that at all.

Quote:
And she runs from everything. She ran from Shinon,

We don't really know that for sure. We know she left Sihnon and we are told that her leaving was uncharacteristic of her but the reason for her decision to leave was never explored.

Quote:
and then eventually she ran from Mal and Serenity.

She did leave. After coming to the conclusion that staying would result in a change to her life that she didn't think she wanted to make. I wouldn't call that running away myself.

Quote:
She doesn't have the strength of character to accept people as they really are, but only as they fit her little notions of what's proper or enlightened.

I see no evidence of this. Quite the opposite in fact.

Quote:
And, she really muffed that whole Burgess thing. She should've just slit his throat instead of talking about it, and Nandi'd still be alive, but she didn't have it in her. Zoe'd have bashed the back of his head in and been done with it.

Not wanting to kill without need is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of humanity.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

SAMEERTIA

Saturday, June 10, 2006 12:13 AM

Zoe survived Serenity Valley.

CHRISTHECYNIC

Saturday, June 10, 2006 12:28 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by daveshayne:
Quote:
but I wouldn't say that made her strong.

No but directly confronting Mal does. Inara has done it on a number of occasions and had the guts to stand up to him when he was wrong. (See Serenity: the Episode right after Kaylee gets shot and Safe when Book needs a doctor.) Nobody else on the ship really has.

Actually everyone on the ship, save River and Book, has. They all did exactly as much (or rather as little) as she did in those two situations in the movie, and they all, her including her, backed down when he pulled his gun.

Yes she would take a stand against Mal to the same degree that Simon would in dire situations, but that makes her no different from Kaylee and Zoe.

But what happens when someone's life isn't on the line and Mal isn't steering her towards something that looks like suicide. "I didn't mean petty," and as if backing down wasn't enough listen to her voice in the next line.

Inara is a strong woman, I'll give you that any time, but the only time she and Mal really faced off when it wasn't about a third party (like say a dying friend) she backed down so quickly and so totally that I'm almost inclined to agree with the one who called her a wimp.

If we judge Inara's strength based on her confrontations with Mal then she has not strength, she has the will to talk for a very short time provided nothing unexpected happens. That's not strength. Strength requires you actually be able to follow through on what you start.

Quote:
Not wanting to kill without need is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of humanity.

I agree that not wanting to dirty your hands when the death of innocents is the only possible outcome of keeping them clean is not a sign of weakness, but I hope it isn't a sign of humanity.

On the other hand history seems to side with you, how many mass murders could have been prevented if people would have stood and acted rather than made threats that proved idle?

On the other hand I'm not putting down Inara there, a lot of people aren't willing to actually stand up and do something, I'm not sure if I would be in her position but then again I'm hardly strong. I'd be willing to die for many things, killing is another matter entirely, especially in that situation.

DAVESHAYNE

Saturday, June 10, 2006 1:39 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by christhecynic:
I agree that not wanting to dirty your hands when the death of innocents is the only possible outcome of keeping them clean is not a sign of weakness, but I hope it isn't a sign of humanity.

What???

Nandi dying was far from the only possible outcome in that situation.

David

"Not completely as well as the series of Firefly..." - From a review of Serenity at amazon.de

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