What would it be like to live forever? Would you see it as a blessing…or a curse? Some of our favorite women in fantasy wrestle with this question throughout the entirety of their immortal (or very long) lives. Check out some of our favorite long-lived women here, and let us know who you’d add to the list in the comments.
Addie LaRue from The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever—and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name. Trade Paperback on Sale Now!
Circe from Circe by Madeline Miller
Not unlike Addie LaRue, the Greek goddess Circe was also cursed to an eternity in a more literal exile. Cast out of the halls of her father Helios and forced to live alone on her island, she becomes more powerful than anyone could expect by using her own unique talent: witchcraft. Relegated to a few lines in Homer’s Odyssey, Madeline Miller re-invents the sorceress into a symbol of resilience, heartbreak, and, ultimately, humanity.
Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings series by J. R. R. Tolkien
The “Lady” of the woods of Lothlórien, Galadriel is one of the greatest Elves in Middle-earth and the bearer of Nenya, one of the three Elven rings of power. Beautiful and aloof, Galadriel is witness to some of the greatest battles of Middle-earth’s many ages and still manages to surprise herself after long centuries of life by supporting the Fellowship on their quest and facing and rejecting the seductive evil of The One Ring.
Claudia from Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Trapped in the body of a five-year-old girl, Claudia, the adopted vampire “daughter” of vampire power couple, Louis and Lestat, has an innocent appearance that belies her bloodthirst and the blessing of immortality comes with a curse of not being able to survive on her own without an adult companion, making her perhaps the loneliest and most vulnerable of this central family.
Yennefer from The Witcher saga by Andrzej Sapkows
Sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg is one of the main characters and the love interest of protagonist Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher saga. One of the most powerful mages in the series, Yennefer is known for her beauty, chaotic neutral tendencies, and hot temper. By way of her magic, Yennefer is able to live for an indefinitely long period of time, but at the cost of her fertility, a fact that haunts her throughout the series.
Polgara the Sorceress from The Belgariad was the first one that sprang to mind.
I still vaguely remember a scene where She Has Had Enough Of This Shit and calls out a city gate guard, proclaiming herself the Duchess of Erat, and the guard doesn’t know where that is or if it’s real, but he does know that if it is and he doesn’t let her in, he’s in a world of trouble. And then shortly thereafter we find that there was an Erat (hundreds? Thousands? of years ago?), and that Polgara was, in fact, its Duchess, and this Raises Some Eyebrows in the city she’s in, since in general they tend not to believe in “the old myths of Polgara and Belgarath”.
Or something like that, it’s been a few decades. 🙂
You ARE right and I agree. Polgara was the first one I thought of too! And who is more famous in Fantasy than Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz)? She is perhaps every child’s first exposure to fantasy (whether in a book or on film).
Andromache the Scythian!
Yvaine, the star in Neil Gaiman’s Stardust. The book is unusual in that it continues slightly beyond the death of the main character, Tristan. Yvaine becomes the ruler of Stormhold in his place (forever).
One of my faves is Ash, from Mary Gentle’s ASH: A SECRET HISTORY.