Help me think of a happily single (female) fictional character?

[HuckingFellHire]

I can't think of one? 🤔

Miss Marple?

Miss Climpson?

Phryne Fisher and some of her friends, like Bunji Ross, and her adopted daughters Jane and Ruth.

Oh, and Granny Weatherwax, of course!

Sarah Burton, South Riding.

V I Warshawski.

Vera Stanhope.

Rebus's colleague Siobhan.

Betsey Trotwood, David Copperfield.

Elsa! (Frozen)

Rey (Star Wars)
Ahsoka (Star Wars)
Irene Adler (Sherlock Holmes, then later an author did a wonderful pastiche called “Good Night Mr. Holmes”, but she does get married later on in the series, unfortunately.)

Irene Adler marries Godfrey Norton in A Scandal in Bohemia - Holmes, in disguise, is drafted as a witness.

Circe - Greek myth with feminist sensibility, I love it.

The Power - girls and women develop an electrical impulse which can maim or kill, society turns upside down. I've seen it described as dystopian, but it has a happy ending!

And as pps have suggested, definitely Miss Marple, who is generally very patient with men's weaknesses and stupidness, and Granny Weatherax, who isn't, from the Discworld books.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and every teacher in every girls school books ever - female teachers who got married and left St Clara's, or Malory Towers or the Chalet School seems so wet!

I keep thinking of more!

For a comfort read, almost as cosy as the TV series, the Murder She Wrote books - books supposedly written by a fictitious author - are great. While Jessica Fletcher is a widow she has no interest at all in giving up her independence for some man, even Dr Seth.

The school teacher in the Miss Read books, she hates it when her friend matchmakes.

Miss Lemon from Poirot

The Currie sisters from Hamish Macbeth

Prudence from the Barbara Pym books

I do realise these are old books, set in villages. @HuckingFellHire its depressing isnt it?

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g VI Warshawski was previously married, it only lasted 18 months.

Yes, but as far as I can recall, she never lives with a man thereafter. She has partners, but they don't usually last, for understandable reasons. Betsey Trotwood was married too, in her youth.

Most of P. G. Wodehouse's aunt characters are either spinsters or widows.

Kinsey Millhone - alphabet series books.

Is the Frances McDormand character in the Four Billboards film single? There's a strong character for you (from my hazy memory of seeing it a couple of years ago).

The Sigourney Weaver character from Alien (I think - decades since I've seen that one).

Mrs Wilberforce in The Ladykillers - widowed umpteen years before, remains single thereafter.

Miss Fritton, Headmistress of St Trinian's. (As others have said, any woman in fiction with a career in days of yore was likely to be single or widowed.)

Lessons in Chemistry (without wanting to give away spoilers…she’s not single for all of it but the book is about trying to find professional success)

Ripley in alien was gutted she lost her daughter from being in stasis for years. I assumed she was also married though she was less gutted about that.

Me and my friend Nurse Crane. I mean we've both had gentleman callers but am perfectly happy on our own too.

Catherine Cawood from Happy Valley (swoon)

Miss trunchbull doesn’t seem bothered about a man. Peverell sisters, even once older. The hogwarts teachers (mcgonagall, pomfrey, sprout, etc)

Yes! Catherine Cawood! I was trying to think of someone badass lol.

Just thought of another... Sarah Connor from The Terminator 👊

Betsey Trotwood. She is badass too. So badass.

Moana 😛

Paula Grey in the various Colin Forbes novels.

The literary category 'aunt' seems to be relatively rich in happily unmarried women. As well as Betsy Trotwood there are unhusbanded aunts aplenty (I think)in EM Forster and n PG Wodehouse?