5 inspirational women to pay attention to in period dramas for International Women's Day 2024

Lagertha – Vikings

Another great series to check out in Vikings. This is one of those shows that reminds us that not all societies viewed women as lesser than. If you could fight, you could be in the Sheild Wall in the Nordic countries. Lagertha shows that with all the mentions of her being a Sheild Maiden. And when we get to see her fight, we understand why she is that revered Sheild Maiden.

Lagertha doesn’t have it easy in the series. She has to face her husband having an affair and choosing another woman. She deals with the loss of her child to an illness. Then she deals with the loss of said husband and her own son fighting his half-brothers.

When she does manage to take over Kattegat, she faces plenty of opposition. She tries to help her people find a new home in England, but she’s constantly faced with tension, opposite, and questions. However, she doesn’t let it all get her down. She continues to do what she believes is right for her people.

Anne Lister – Gentleman Jack

Not all women followed the status quo in history. Anne Lister was one of them, as Gentleman Jack shows us. The series is based on the diaries of Anne, who was a landowner in Yorkshire in the 1830s. She fell in love with Ann Walker, and the series gives us a look at that love story.

We get a chance to see a woman who is well ahead of her time. She dresses and acts like a man. Yet, she is still a woman and looked down on as such. To make it worse, her relationship with Ann is against the law, and the two have to be extremely careful.

Over the course of two seasons, we got to see Lister face everything life and society threw at her. There may have been times she thought about giving up, but she didn’t. She proved that brains are far better than brawn, and just because you’re a woman, doesn’t mean you have to do as a man says. You just better be ready to stand up for what you want.