Growing up a millennial girl was a unique experience.
While older generations had the classic books, and many of them were well-known, millennials had TV to grow up with, the internet as we became teens, and cell phones not long after that.
Disney’s golden era, Nickelodeon slime, and Saturday morning cartoons created a world in which most of us knew the same characters and lived the same stories at the same time, even when we were oceans apart.
When a new movie came out, we all were glued to the screen. Lined up at the theater. Or fighting over the brand-new DVD release at the store.
If we missed Saturday morning cartoons, we were out of the loop….and out of luck. With re-runs months away we just had to hope not one of your friends spoiled it for you.
And while today there are many mixed feelings about it all, most of us grew up with a favorite princess, wore her pretty dress, and dreamed that one day our prince would come.
I know, damsel in distress is outdated.
And really, it’s always been stupid because even the princesses we loved were not passive characters, but the main story showed their determinization, hard work, and grit.
As we grew, the Harry Potter craze came along and the whole world became a magical place again, even for us teens.
It, like the princesses, admitted that evil was in the world, and it told us it could be beat. Not in a sparkly dress, nor because a prince showed up- but because friends worked together, stuck with each other, and simply kept going.
And while everyone wants to talk about how Hermione is the anti-damsel-in-distress (I don’t disagree), I think that we overlook one of the strongest women in the series if we focus solely on our favorite bookworm.
Luna Lovegood is my daughter’s favorite character.
And really, she’s an unspoken hero in a lot of ways.
Her belief in herself, and in something greater than herself, refusal to compromise, and undeterred gentleness makes her pivotal in the downfall of Voldemort.
Not only does Luna fight in actual combat, she fights battles throughout her life and comes out just as grounded, kind, and determined as before.
Luna is introduced as an eccentric character, reading upside down in glasses no one else would dream of wearing.
Everyone, even the kind Hermione, thinks that Luna is weird and more than a little crazy.
Luna sees the world in a way that no one else at school does. She believes in things that can’t be proved and sticks to. She doesn’t argue or debate. She simply continues on with her beliefs, speaking them in a matter-of-fact tone, leaving them for others to pick up or abandon, and acting on them even if no one believes her or supports her.
How many of us have that kind of confidence?
Luna is bullied relentlessly. Her things are regularly stolen, which she reacts to simply by having faith that they will eventually return. She is isolated and often alone, but always kind to those around her when given a chance. She watches others, remembers things that are important to them, and, when they need her, she is there with understanding that isn’t always shown to her.
How many of us have that kind of patience?
Luna never falters. Even as the world falls apart around her, a war rages, and the main character questions himself, Luna never once wonders if she’s doing the right thing. She knows.
And she strengthens those around her with her own showing nothing but acceptance the second someone else needs it.
Luna lost her mom at a young age and was raised by her dad. She watched her mother die in a horrible accident. She carries grief and trauma, but not as a badge, as something that can help those around her.
How many of us come out of something horrible thinking only of how to help others?
When Luna does talk about her own grief, loneliness, or struggles- it’s always with her signature matter-of-fact tone, as if these things don’t make her weaker or lesser. They are simply another part of her story.
Luna shares the bad in her life just as freely as stories of good times- if someone needs to hear it. She is comfortable with their feelings, because she has processed them, learned from them, and now stands in a place to pull others upwards when they feel the same things she did.
Even at a young age, she understands that part of life is accepting the good and the bad, and that rare skill is exactly what guides the teens around her through all that happens.
From the beginning, Luna joins Dumbledore’s Army. In fact, she is one of the first to sign up.
While the government, school, and many of those around her is denying the truth, Luna bravely faces is and figures out what she is going to do about it. Without hesitation or second-guessing, she learns to fight back. All without losing her wonderful, gentle heart.
She never expected a prince to save her, never left Harry to do it alone, and never was okay with ignoring the danger and hoping it happened to someone else.
She quietly used her free time to improve her own skills and support those around her that wanted to do the same. She armed herself in every way she knew how. She refused to be unkind, immoral, or go against her beliefs in any way, even when it made life more difficult or dangerous.
As the war comes to a head, Luna was in the middle of the battles, literally fighting against evil. While readers are on a journey of hope- knowing the horcruxes exist and can be destroyed- Luna fights simply because she cannot accept evil. She doesn’t know there is a plan. She doesn’t where Harry went. And she doesn’t know there’s a way to win.
She has hope, not because she knows there’s a way to win, but because she knows where she stands.
“It’s easy to be a naive idealist. It’s easy to be a cynical realist. It’s quite another thing to have no illusions and still hold the inner flame.” (Marie‑Louise von Franz)
Not only did Luna carry her own flame in a hopeless situation, she fanned that flame for most of the group at some point.
When Harry feels alone, Luna tells him that is exactly what the enemy wants. When Nevelle needs someone to help him during the take-over of Hogwarts, Luna boosts his confidence and does all she can to help. When Hermione needs support after being tortured, fellow prisoner Luna is there. When a goblin needs nursing back to health, a house-elf dies, and a hero needs information- Luna is there.
Even kidnapped, covered in cuts and bruises, locked in a dungeon, and in a battle where her friends are dying around her-Luna stays unique, sure of herself, and loving.
She is a rock for everyone around her.
And she takes up any task, no matter how small, to help the cause and build up her friends.
Luna calls Dobby sir, yells at Harry Potter in the midst of a deadly battle, and encourages her fearful father to print truth at the risk of both their lives. She learns all she can, helps lead a rebellion inside the school, stands in a battle that makes adults fearful, and never loses herself through it all.
Not because she wants to be famous.
Not because she is the chosen one with some glimmer of hope.
Not because it is what a normal person would do.
But because it is right.
And to her- there is simply no other choice.
She is smart, remembers everything she learns, and knows when to use it.
When the world calls Harry a liar, she reads the signs and decides she believes him- even when no one else does.
Her mind is logical. Analytical.
She’s a Ravenclaw.
But her ability to see the world in a different way allows her to rise above other Ravenclaws that were given the same information.
Her desire to make sure no one feels alone allows her to rise above many Hufflepuffs in kindness.
And her self-assuredness and moral strength allow her to rise above many Gryffindors in bravery.
All while wearing amazing outfits, looking beautifully strange, and keeping up with school.
And like her, my daughter looked at the female heroes we all know and love- and she picked her favorite.
Not a princess.
Not the strongest, or the loudest, or the most well-known.
Not the main character.
But the one who saved the world, nonetheless, in her own way.
Simply by having the courage to be herself and stand for what was right no matter what.
Because we know Harry needed all the help he could get, but so did everyone else around Luna.
And she picked up the pieces, handed everyone the tools they needed to keep going, and pushed them forward while walking into absolute hell herself.
And while few of the girls in the story were damsels in distress, none of them would’ve made it through without Luna and her wonderful weirdness, absolute kindness, and solid determination to do the right thing.
Click here to learn about another woman hero, Abigail Adams.