100 Kick-Ass Female Characters: #88
88. Astrid Magnusson, as seen in the novel White Oleander by Janet Finch and the film White Oleander, portrayed by Alison Lohman
I am fascinated by the concept of family. Maybe it's because mine is highly dysfunctional and I prefer friends to family, maybe it's because no two families are alike, but either way, I devour books about the family dynamic. White Oleander asks questions about what is a family, how easy is it to adapt into a family not of your birth, and how do you become the adult you want to be when your past is weighting you down.
White Oleander is the tale of Astrid and Ingrid Magnusson. Astrid has grown up with her mother, a poet with delusions of grandeur who never speaks of Astrid's father. Ingrid begins to date a man named Barry, whom ends up cheating on Ingrid. Enraged, she poisons him with white oleander and is sent to jail for murder, leaving Astrid to be shuttled from foster home to foster home. At the first (an alcoholic stripper turned born-again Christian) Astrid ends up shot after Starr relapses with alcohol after figuring out Astrid and Starr's boyfriend are having an affair. At the second (a home with two small children who use her as a babysitting service) she ends up exchanging oral sex for pot in the park and getting sent away. At the third (a woman who only feeds the girls dinner but locks up the food the rest of the day) Astrid has to resort to eating out of the school garbage cans. At the fourth (a never-quite-made-it actress and her philandering husband) Astrid finally feels at home only for her foster mother to kill herself. This leads to Astrid being sent to a group placement, where she meets Paul, another foster kid with artistic talent. Her last foster home (a Russian immigrant whose boyfriend Astrid also sleeps with) leads her to remember a woman named Annie, whom Astrid comes to find out took care of her for over a year when her mother abandoned her as a child. The book/film ends with Ingrid asking Astrid to lie to get her out of jail; finally having power over her mother, Astrid gives her an ultimatum: make her lie on the stand and Ingrid will lose Astrid completely. She lets Astrid go, and Astrid goes to Berlin with Paul to become an artist.
What I love about Astrid is she is the very definition of resilient. She experiences more pain than most people can ever fathom, and, while it scars her both physically and emotionally, she keeps moving forward. By the end of the book/film, Astrid has some form of peace with Paul, but she never feels entirely free of her mother and her influence. Astrid learns to navigate the world by making increasingly poor choices, but she also has no one to teach her differently. She is a girl who has to find her way with no guidance, and, given the end result, she does find her path. Astrid is intelligent, insightful, and hungry for a happier life but also wary of any offer to one. At the end of the day, Astrid is a woman who is shaped by her past but choosing her future rather than let her mother choose it for her.
And that's a great kind of kick-ass.
I am fascinated by the concept of family. Maybe it's because mine is highly dysfunctional and I prefer friends to family, maybe it's because no two families are alike, but either way, I devour books about the family dynamic. White Oleander asks questions about what is a family, how easy is it to adapt into a family not of your birth, and how do you become the adult you want to be when your past is weighting you down.
White Oleander is the tale of Astrid and Ingrid Magnusson. Astrid has grown up with her mother, a poet with delusions of grandeur who never speaks of Astrid's father. Ingrid begins to date a man named Barry, whom ends up cheating on Ingrid. Enraged, she poisons him with white oleander and is sent to jail for murder, leaving Astrid to be shuttled from foster home to foster home. At the first (an alcoholic stripper turned born-again Christian) Astrid ends up shot after Starr relapses with alcohol after figuring out Astrid and Starr's boyfriend are having an affair. At the second (a home with two small children who use her as a babysitting service) she ends up exchanging oral sex for pot in the park and getting sent away. At the third (a woman who only feeds the girls dinner but locks up the food the rest of the day) Astrid has to resort to eating out of the school garbage cans. At the fourth (a never-quite-made-it actress and her philandering husband) Astrid finally feels at home only for her foster mother to kill herself. This leads to Astrid being sent to a group placement, where she meets Paul, another foster kid with artistic talent. Her last foster home (a Russian immigrant whose boyfriend Astrid also sleeps with) leads her to remember a woman named Annie, whom Astrid comes to find out took care of her for over a year when her mother abandoned her as a child. The book/film ends with Ingrid asking Astrid to lie to get her out of jail; finally having power over her mother, Astrid gives her an ultimatum: make her lie on the stand and Ingrid will lose Astrid completely. She lets Astrid go, and Astrid goes to Berlin with Paul to become an artist.
What I love about Astrid is she is the very definition of resilient. She experiences more pain than most people can ever fathom, and, while it scars her both physically and emotionally, she keeps moving forward. By the end of the book/film, Astrid has some form of peace with Paul, but she never feels entirely free of her mother and her influence. Astrid learns to navigate the world by making increasingly poor choices, but she also has no one to teach her differently. She is a girl who has to find her way with no guidance, and, given the end result, she does find her path. Astrid is intelligent, insightful, and hungry for a happier life but also wary of any offer to one. At the end of the day, Astrid is a woman who is shaped by her past but choosing her future rather than let her mother choose it for her.
And that's a great kind of kick-ass.