Female characters in novels or plays: a. James Bond's female enemy in Goldfinger? b. Tomboy heroine of Little Women: c. Hamlet's mother, and Claudius's wife:

These characters from literature and film represent a fascinating spectrum of female archetypes. Pussy Galore, from Ian Fleming's 1959 novel and the 1964 film "Goldfinger," is initially an adversary to James Bond. She is the leader of an all-female group of pilots called Pussy Galore's Flying Circus, working for the villain Auric Goldfinger. In the novel, her backstory is even more detailed; she runs an all-lesbian crime syndicate. A skilled pilot and judo expert, she is a formidable opponent for Bond, but famously switches her allegiance to help him thwart Goldfinger's plan to raid Fort Knox.

In stark contrast, Josephine "Jo" March is the beloved tomboy heroine of Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women (Review)." The second of four sisters, Jo is fiercely independent, hot-tempered, and ambitious, with a passion for writing plays and stories. She chafes against the restrictive social expectations for women in the 19th century, at one point even lamenting that she wasn't born a boy. The character is largely based on Alcott herself, reflecting the author's own creative spirit and desire for independence beyond the traditional path of marriage and domesticity.

From the world of Shakespearean tragedy, Queen Gertrude of Denmark is a central and complex figure in "Hamlet." As the mother of Prince Hamlet, her hasty marriage to her deceased husband's brother, Claudius, sets the play's central conflict in motion. Hamlet's fury (Review) and grief are largely directed at what he sees as his mother's betrayal. Gertrude's character is often seen as morally weak and dependent on the men in her life for station and affection. Her true level of complicity in her first husband's murder remains a subject of debate, but her story ends tragically when she accidentally drinks poisoned wine intended for her son.