Which woman in history do you like most???

Question

Ex: Cleopatra, Joana D'Arc, Princess Diana, Princess Sisi, etc

Answer 1

I admire Catherine Flon, the Haitian woman that was very instrumental in the success of the Haitian Revolution which paved the way for Haiti to be the first free and independant black republic in the Western Hemisphere.

I also admire Simone de Beauvoir, the french philosopher and writer who wrote the book "Le Deuxieme Sexe"(The Second Sex). She was instrumental in the beginning of the womans movement and is famous for saying,"On ne nee pas femme, on le devient" (We are not born women, we become it) She taught that there is no such thing as femininity.

Answer 2

This is a man answering so you may need to make allowances.

By "like most" I assume you mean admire and would have liked to meet. Not feared or respected, and perhaps not attracted to physically.

In that case, one contender would be Charlotte Corday who assassinated Jean-Paul Marat, the bloody-handed French revolutionary, on 13 July 1793. She had been disgusted by the September 1792 massacres in which over 1000 women and young boys (almost all petty criminals with mental problems) had been "executed" for no reason except that they could not explain the revolution that was going on around them.

In her defence, she said "I killed one man to save 10,000", but it did her no good and she was guillotined on 17 July 1793. She was a single brave voice speaking on behalf of the downtrodden and spiritually weak when the Terror was at its height, and she deserves to be remembered better.

Number two is Nurse Edith Cavell who was shot by a German firing squad on 12 October 1915, even though she was non-combatant and not in military service. She had been cut off behind German lines at the outbreak of World War 1, and administrated a hospital in Brussels. She treated the sick and injured of all nationalities who came to the hospital, but the German authorities charged her with aiding and abetting the enemies of the Kaiser because she treated French and British troops.

Her death is a reminder of the greatness of a woman and also the shallowness and cruelty of war and especially of the men (note, the men) who pursue war.

[Greydoc6 below is wrong. Eleanor of Aquitaine married HENRY Second of England. One of her sons became Richard First, so how could his dad be Richard Second?]

Answer 3

Well you took the words right out of my mouth, Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator is my all time favorite historical women.

She was cunning and smart, she was able to seduce men without being incredibly beautiful. She was intelligent, she could speak over 5 different languages, she was the first Ptolemaic Pharaoh to speak Ancient Egyptian.

She was power-hungry, she wouldn't let any other man squash all over her like she was weak. She had this incredible sense of pride which is lost in today's world.

I idolize her so much.

Answer 4

Cleopatra

Answer 5

I admire Mary seacole the black Jamaican nurse who made her own way to the Crimean war, after being rejected by the establishment, despite her expertise dealing with cholera, on arrival she treated men from both sides often while under fire, while Florence nightingale took all the glory and was stationed safely in turkey, but to the troops she treated she was lauded and when the war ended, and Mary found herself stranded and impoverished, they organized a benefit for her. sadly after she died Mary was mostly forgotten due to the prejudices of the Victorian age, and she was not recognized for over a hundred years, today she is noted not only for her bravery and medical expertise, but as a woman who succeeded despite prejudices of the Victorian establishment.

Answer 6

An interesting, if not always likable, woman in history is Eleanor of Aquitaine. Six weeks after her marriage to King Louis VII of France was annulled on grounds of consanguinity, she married an even closer relative, Richard II of England. She bore him four sons, two of whom became kings of England, Richard the Lion-hearted and John.

Her marriage to Richard was likewise contentious. Dispute over her inheritance of large areas in France were largely responsible for the 100 years war between England and France.

She is portrayed not too kindly by Shakespeare in his play, King John. Katherine Hepburn did a magnificent job, along with Peter O'Toole who represented the couple in The Lion in Winter.

Answer 7

Tie
Queen Elizabeth I
Catherine the great of Russia

Answer 8

Emmeline Pankhurst - for getting women the vote

Florence Nightingale - for helping selflessly

Queen Elizabeth I - for fighting the gender roles, and her sister for the good of her country

Answer 9

Boudicca and Elizabeth I

But..."Queen Elizabeth I - for fighting the gender roles, and her sister for the good of her country" - Her sister? Mary? Seriously? For what? Burning protestants and draining the country's finances?

Answer 10

Joan of Arc for beginning the expulsion of the English invaders from her country.