Jessticulates: Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a Father's Day freebie, so I figured I'd talk about some of my favourite father/father figure-daughter relationships in fiction!

Hans Hubermann and Liesel Meminger from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

‘I'm not such a good reader myself, you know. We'll have to help each other out.’

Will I ever be over The Book Thief? Probably not, no. It's not everyone's cup of tea but the book made me bawl like a baby and the relationship between Hans and Liesel has to be one of the purest, most loving relationships in fiction. I love Rosa, too - as a mother figure she has a brash charm all her own - but Hans is too sweet a man to leave off this list.

Atticus and Jean Louise Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

‘If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.’

Atticus Finch is the original DILF and I love his relationship with Scout. He has to be one of the most soothing, comforting fathers in fiction and I adore him. I've chosen to ignore the existence of Go Set a Watchman because I'm still not certain Harper Lee really wanted that book to be published.

Theoden and Eowyn from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

‘Duty? No... I would have you smile again, not grieve for those whose time has come. You shall live to see these days renewed.’

I haven't read the books - sorry! - but I adore the films and I love the relationship between Eowyn and her uncle. He could have been a better guardian but he could have been a hell of a lot worse - looking at you, Denethor - and there's no denying there's a genuine love and affection between them. Eowyn loves him enough to stay by him and protect him even when Rohan was a dangerous place for her and her brother, so there's clearly a strong bond there.

Mo and Meggie Folchart from the Inkworld trilogy by Cornelia Funke

‘I don't know any father who's more besotted with his daughter than yours.’

I loved the Inkworld books when I was younger and it's such a shame the 2008 adaptation of Inkheart was pretty poor because Brendan Fraser was a great choice for Mo. To be completely honest with you Meggie started to irritate me as the books went along, I do think it's a shame her story became more along the lines of choosing which boy she loved more while Mo got all of the action, but their relationship is a lovely one and they're clearly very close.

Mr. and Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

‘Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.’

It's so hard to find gifs of these two! Also yes, I prefer the 2005 version to the 1995 version. Come at me, bro. Mr. Bennet is probably my least favourite on this list, on account of him not being a very good father. His relationship with Elizabeth is lovely, but he doesn't hide it from his four other daughters that she's his favourite and therefore the one most worthy of his time. Mrs. Bennet is often seen as a silly woman there for comedic effect and while the woman is pretty insufferable, she's actually the better parent when we consider the Bennets' situation; should Mr. Bennet die their house will no longer be theirs, and Mrs. Bennet wants her daughters to be provided for and safe in a society that won't let them inherit their father's house because they don't have a penis. That they might marry someone wealthy is a bonus and isn't unusual for the time - a big part of marriage was the chance to climb up the social ladder. So Mr. Bennet's relationship with Elizabeth is a lovely one, but he's not the best parent and I think Elizabeth knows that, too.

Belle and Maurice from Beauty and the Beast (1991)

‘My daughter? Odd? Where did you get an idea like that?’

Maurice is a bit of a ditz, clearly intelligent but not so people smart, but it's clear he thinks Belle is the best thing since sliced bread (and so he should). Their relationship is clearly a close one considering Belle literally gives up her freedom to set her father free, something I'm sure she would have done whether he was sick or not. The Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast added an extra song for Belle and her father, 'No Matter What', and it's one of my favourites.

Sara and Captain Crewe from A Little Princess (1995)

‘I believe that you are, and always will be, my little princess.’

This is one of those occasions where I prefer an adaptation to the original book; Frances Hodgson Burnett's book is lovely, and I recommend reading it, but I grew up with the 1995 adaptation and I'm so fond of it. It still makes me cry. Captain Crewe (played by Liam Cunningham, aka Davos Seaworth in Game of Thrones if, like me, you've been trying to figure out where you've seen him before) is a doting father and and all-round very nice chap and his relationship with Sara makes me feel feelings.

Annie and Mr. Warbucks from Annie (1982)

‘Absolutely not! I'm a businessman. I love money, I love power, I love capitalism. I do not now and never will love children.’

Unfortunately the gif is from the 1999 adaptation, which isn't a bad adaptation but isn't the one I grew up with, as yet again the gifs are scarce. Yes it's corny, but I love Annie and I love the way that it encourages the idea that children are allowed to love their birth parents and their adopted parents.

King Mongkut and Princess Fa-Ying from Anna and the King (1999)

‘I will be there in your dreams, as you will be in mine.’

Really, internet? Not a single gif?! Oh well. Anna and the King is essentially a more serious version of The King and I without any of the sing-a-longs, and it's probably one of my favourite movies. It's not perfect, but I get swept away by it every time I watch it. The relationship between King Mongkut and his monkey-obsessed daughter, Princess Fa-Ying, is so sweet and if you watch the film you'll probably cry.

Fa Zhou and Fa Mulan from Mulan (1998)

‘The greatest gift and honour is having you for a daughter.’

Fa Zhou says some things at the beginning of this movie that certainly hurt his daughter's feelings, but it's clear the two of them are close: Mulan literally risks death, by execution or warfare, by posing as a man and taking his place in the army so he doesn't have to go to what's likely to be his certain death now that he is old and fairly frail.

What did you talk about this week?