Luna Lovegood
The latest character to be featured in my ‘Women in Fiction’ series is Luna Lovegood from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, who is portrayed by Evanna Lynch in the movie adaptations. Having already featured her Potter contemporary, Hermione Granger, in part for her unwillingness to compromise who she truly is, I couldn’t fail to also mention Luna, who has a level of self-love, acceptance and comfort in her own skin that most of us can only aspire to.
Delightfully quirky, Luna is unashamedly herself and though it would have been easy for such an oddball to have been painted as a loner, she instead showed us that kindness and loyalty will always win out in the end by proving herself to be one of Harry’s most reliable companions who is not at all afraid to stand up for what is right. In doing so, she also proved that sensitivity and compassion need not be seen as signs of weakness.
Essentially, Luna taught us that being true to ourselves may not necessarily be the fastest way to make the most friends, but it’s the best way to make the right ones.
