More Than Strong: What Makes a Female Main Character Likable

Last week I wrote about why I thought Bella and Katniss were unlikable FMCs. And yes, I know I said we’d focus next on the reluctant chosen heroine, but I changed my mind. This week, I want to talk about what I think makes any female main character likable.

Hey, it’s my blog. I can write whatever I want.

There are very few books I’ve reread in my life, and Ella Enchanted is one of them. I’ve read it multiple times, including out loud to my husband, because Ella is just that delightful. And while the movie is cute and whimsical, the book exists on an entirely different level. It’s richer, funnier, sharper, and far more emotionally resonant. Ella remains one of the best examples of what makes a female main character genuinely likable.

Part of her charm comes from the way she’s handed something impossibly hard yet refuses to be defined by it. Cursed with compulsory obedience as an infant, she must obey any command spoken to her, no matter how dangerous or humiliating. Instead of just accepting her fate, she rebels in every tiny way she can. That spark of resistance makes her instantly relatable. We love characters who push back, even when the odds are stacked against them. Her rebellion is often hilarious. Like the moment she steals Hattie’s wig because it’s the only act of retribution she has. Those flashes of clever defiance make us root for her from page one.

Ella’s kindness never turns her into a pushover. She’s not easily intimidated, she’s resourceful, and she stands up for herself and others even when she’s magically compelled to obey. That balance is one of the most powerful combinations in a likable heroine.

And when she finally breaks her curse, it’s so satisfying! She doesn’t wait for Prince Charming to save her. She frees herself through a selfless act, choosing to sacrifice her own happiness to protect someone she loves. Because she’s willing to give up everything, she ends up gaining everything: love, freedom, and a future. Ella is likable because she’s funny, selfless, determined, hopeful, and imperfectly perfect.

Another great example is Wanda from The Host.

Although Bella from Twilight never resonated with me, Wanda absolutely did. From page one, her story pulled me in. I felt she was a great example of a character whose arc pushes her to discover her own worth, and inevitably she chooses where she belongs.

Wanda begins with a deeply ingrained belief that humans are inferior. Watching that worldview shift through her experiences is fascinating. She’s kidnapped by the very people she’s been taught to despise, and instead of breaking, she starts to empathize. Eventually she chooses to join them, and they accept her. That shift alone is compelling, but the added twist of another character living inside her mind (actually, it’s she who is she’s living inside Melanie’s) makes every decision layered and tense.

I have made it very clear that love triangles are not usually my favorite—though I do have one planned for a future book—but this is one of the few I genuinely enjoyed. Perhaps that’s because in my mind it’s not a true love triangle.

This FMC’s character arc is about identity, loyalty, and the collision of two worlds inside one girl. Wanda is likable because she’s layered, flawed, curious, empathetic, and brave. She feels real, and her growth feels earned.

Neither of these FMCs face trials we’ll ever experience. None of us will be cursed to obey, and none of us will have an alien living in our brain (although some may disagree). But we do empathize with Ella’s sense of powerlessness—that feeling of being pushed along by forces outside our control. We recognize the longing for more, the frustration of limitations, and the hope that creativity and determination might carve a new path. Her story inspires us to believe we can overcome our trial, whatever it may be.

And we relate to Wanda’s drifting, searching, and reshaping her identity. Many of us have felt that same uncertainty. Maybe it was trying to fit in during junior high and high school, choosing a college major only to realize it wasn’t right, or discovering that our first perception of something wasn’t the full truth. Wanda reminds us that it’s okay to change our mind, to grow, and to shift direction as we learn more about ourselves and the world.

Both Ella and Wanda make us feel things, recognize things, and learn things about ourselves, often without realizing it, because we’re so immersed in their stories. Their journeys impact our own life stories.

I feel that Ella and Wanda are truly likable FMCs because their journeys inspire us. They remind us that through creativity, courage, and learning, we can break our own “curse” and discover who we really are and where we belong.