10 Most Powerful (Fictional) Women Of 2015
7. Bathsheba Everdene
Who doesn't love a period drama?
She may not be fighting killer robots or driving a rig through post-apocalyptic landscapes, but Bathsheba has proves herself both confident and capable in Far From the Madding Crowd. In the original 1874 novel, and this year's film of the same name, she proves herself the equal of the many male characters that surround her. Ginger Rogers may have done everything that Fred Astaire did but backwards and in heels, but Bathsheba does everything her male employees do, including sheep dipping, only in skirts and a corset.
Shortly after taking control of her deceased uncle's sheep farm, Bathsheba quickly finds herself pursued by no less than three different men. Although in many ways a product of her times - the original novel depicts a vain, prideful, overly-emotional woman - Bathsheba is one of those strong, independent women that appeared in the late 19th Century in contrast to the overtly camp Gothic works that dominated popular literature at the time.
And while the original character definitely has her low points, the film manages to include these while emphasizing the qualities that make her a strong, confident heroine.