Aguiar, focusing on the traits and characteristics of the strong-willed female protagonist, analyzes over one hundred examples in a wide range of literature. Among the characters discussed are Zenia in Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride, Ruth Patchett in Fay Weldon's The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, Sula in Toni Morrison's Sula, and Ginny in Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres.