You wouldn’t want to hang out with these cold-hearted broads. These are not “the kind you take home to mother.” These are the greatest female villains conceived by storytellers from around the world. They have been told again and again, passed down countless generations, written, performed, drawn and filmed.
In the last century, many have come to know many of these great female terrors by their on-screen depictions. However, here are the top female villains from five popular categories outside of cinema.
Classic Mythology
Medusa
The image of Medusa is perhaps the reason she represents Classical Mythology. Not hair, but LIVE SNAKES growing from her head. And if you look at her, you turn to stone. She is also considered Goddess of Snakes. The image and deity of Medusa can be found in many different ancient cultures and interesting interpretations of her image have been found.
Fairy Tale
The Witch, of “Hansel and Gretel”
In Fairy Tales, we find the highest concentration of female villains. Usually witches, these evildoers hide in dark woods and can shape shift in many different forms. But to build a house of candy, capture children, keep them alive, fatten them up and cook them alive? Well then, this witch has gotten pretty creative to feed her hunger.
Theater
Lady Macbeth
In Shakespear’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth plays the conniving rule of Macbeth’s wife and convinces him to commit suicide. She is not only murderous, but also lustful of power. Some critiques say Lady Macbeth represents a woman who’s given up her feminine purity for simple-minded greed and power of masculinity.
Literature
Miss Havisham
In the novel by Charles Dickens, Miss Havisham is a rich revenge-seeking old hag that seeks to destroy man’s heart above all. From this classic novel, Miss Havisham’s character is portrayed in the modern adaptation of “Great Expectations” in 1998. Here, her name is Mrs. Dinsmoor.
Religion
Eve/Pandora
The Mythology of Eve in the Garden of Eden making Adam eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is closely tied to the story of Pandora from Classical Greek religion and mythology. From Eve, the entire world’s evil and good are released upon mankind when she eats the fruit. Like Eve, Pandora was ordered not to do something, but her curiosity got the better of her and she opened the box that released all the suffering on the world.
…CONTINUE to the great female villains from the movies…
There is no way that all the female villains of all-time from each category have been evaluated for this list. And there are many more that rival each. So please add, debate and share your knowledge of the great antagonists of womankind. Here is AMI’s top-100 heroes and villains…
Ranking the Top-10 Female Villains of All-Time 1/2
Ranking the Top-10 Female Villains of All-Time 2/2