Tragic Heroines Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hamlet

Ophelia loved Hamlet, but her father and brother did not approve of him. Ophelia's father wished her to be a dutiful daughter, however her love of Hamlet would, to her, make her seem impure. After Hamlet killed her father, and without her mother to guide her, Ophelia had no way to resolve this inner conflict and grief... other than, of course, to end it all by drowning herself.

Answer: Concrete Angel

The lines of lyric "She hides the bruises with the linen and lace, oh
The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask
It's hard to see the pain behind the mask" directly reference a young girl being abused.

The concrete angel most likely refers to a statue made of the young girl following her death due to the abuse: "A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face
A name is written on a polished rock
A broken heart that the world forgot."

This made her a tragic heroine of sorts, as she did nothing wrong yet suffered for it. The song tackled an area rarely sung about, which made its emotional impact all the stronger.

Answer: Aeris

"Final Fantasy VII" was first released for the PSX in 1997. Aeris was an upbeat character who always looked to the future, despite knowing she was different from other normal people. This is because Aeris was an Ancient, the last of her kind, and prayed to a special magic force that bonded humans with the planet - something only she could do.

Although she died, her death was not in vain, as her prayer was heard and saved the planet in the end.

Answer: Rose DeWitt Bukater

In iconic film "Titanic", much of the story focused on the unlikely but sincere romance between Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet). However, once the Titanic hit an iceberg, the ship began to sink. Both of them found each other in the water, and Jack helped Rose onto some debris. Sadly, he could not keep warm enough in the chill waters of death, suffering hypothermia and falling to the depths of the ocean as though it were an abyss. Whilst Rose survived to an old age, the bittersweet memory of Jack stayed with her forever.

"Titanic" was remade in 3D to commemorate its 100th anniversary in 2012.

Answer: Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse had substance abuse problems throughout her adult life, which could be seen as some of her appearances at live performances were not... well composed. Despite her troubled relationship with drugs and alcohol, she delivered an eclectic style of music, often with a jazzy and contemporary feel.

Her album "Back to Black", released in 2006, achieved worldwide success, hitting number one on several album charts and achieving Platinum certification. She was also known for her chic beehive hairdo.

Answer: Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina was a married woman, but eventually committed suicide after believing that her spouse, Vronsky, was cheating on her. She was a beautiful woman, able to seduce many a man, but not Vronsky, or at least, not in the way she would have wanted.

As the story went on, he wished to divorce her, such that they could both enjoy life again, but her view was not of the same caliber. Eventually, she threw herself under a train and... yet another tragic heroine was killed.

Answer: Alundra

Much of 'Alundra' revolved around Inoa Village, an initially peaceful settlement which became a haven for death as time went on. A demon called Melzas could only be sustained through the prayer of the townspeople, as he could only gain their power if they would pray to him. However, people stopped believing, so he sent afflictions from afar to get people to believe again.

One day, a young girl called Sybill saw how Alundra, the protagonist and title character, would gain the weapon that would kill Melzas. Melzas had Sybill killed as he feared what else she might see. Ironically, the future did not pan out in the way Sybill saw it - but Melzas was still eventually vanquished by the weapon she saw, even if Alundra obtained it in a different way to her vision.

Answer: Aaliyah

Aaliyah's plane was too heavy, and after filming the music video for her single "Rock the Boat" in Jamaica, she and her crew departed back to Florida. However, it crashed soon after it took off, owing to its excess weight, and everyone aboard that unfortunate vessel died. Over the years, Aaliyah had success with songs such as "More Than A Woman" and "Back and Forth".

She was also lucky enough to star in the movie "Romeo Must Die" with Jet Li, of which she also contributed to the movie's soundtrack.

Answer: Felicity

Felicity, or 'happiness' as she was named after, was a child blessed with intelligence and beauty, something money could not buy. A jealous fairy, Odelia, gave Felicity the gift of death. She would prick her finger on a spindle after her 16th birthday and die. The King and Queen implore Primrose, a friendly fairy, to help. Primrose changed the curse so that Felicity would slumber for a hundred years and a day, and on the final day, her true love would awaken her with a kiss. Indeed, this occurred, and Felicity and her new love lived 'happily ever after'...

This was not the Disney version of the film. Although the plots were incredibly similar, the names differed, for example Aurora was the princess and Maleficent the antagonist.

Answer: Marilyn Monroe

There was much discussion over whether Marilyn Monroe killed herself, or whether she was killed. It was unclear as to how the drugs even entered her system, and circumstances surrounding her death such as its timeline have been mystified and never properly resolved.

Despite this, Marilyn Monroe was very famous and much loved as she sung, acted and modelled for the entertainment of the nation.