Today marks the beginning of the Chinese Zodiac’s Year of the Rat. Interestingly, along with such celebs as Scarlett Johansson, Katy Perry and #Prince Harry, Charlotte Bronte was born under this sign. Consider the personality traits of Female Rats:
- Hardworking, adaptable & cheery
- Frugal & clean–hey, it may look like a rat’s nest but it’s really a home!
- Dedicated to family
- Clever & shrewd; detail-oriented
- Known to have a jealous streak, due to the strength of their love
- A survivor, though sometimes also a social outcast
These qualities were not only evident in Charlotte, who urged her sisters to publish their creations and who was a feminist before her time, but in her most famous heroine: Jane Eyre. An orphan, Jane succeeds by taking diligent step after step towards her goals (and exhibits classic rodentine luck by getting a windfall inheritance–not to mention a sexy if moody employer). She is smart, independent and thrifty, living on very little money and often seeming to eat only bread and cheese. Not only does she triumph, she endures.
What other literary heroines do you think might be Year of the Rat?
Fiction Gets Real: Classic Literary Characters Transported To The Modern World 