And so we have the critical attributes of the archetypal heroic feminine:

1. The hero challenges the external threat and the heroine challenges the hero. The inverse of that is a figure we're all familiar with, namely Lady MacBeth who rather than challenging the hero to virtue, goads him into evil. A positive example would be Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice where she challenges Darcy for his actions.

2. The heroine is a bulwark against disaster and a store of wisdom. This is the primary role of the matriarchal heroine.

3. When the hero fails, the consequence is largely on him, i.e., he dies. The community also suffers but secondarily. The heroine is the inverse. When the heroine fails, the community suffers primarily.

4. The heroine binds and builds the community. See Jonathan Haidt's argument that morality binds and builds. Also Carol Gilligan's proposition that feminine morality is more akin to a web of inter-connectivity.

5. The feminine selects. It acts as moral judge: the essence of nature. This is seen most widely through the personification of nature and natural forces as feminine. The Greek mythological figures Nemesis, the Fates, Sirens, are particularly prominent but this is likely the most universal and widespread idea regarding femininity.

https://kennaquhair.substack.com/p/the-missing-heroic-feminine

Faith, Fantasy, & the Female Knight

The Way of the Heart