I ate up the manic pixie dream girl character since I first discovered it in some books during my pre-teen years. The most notorious girlies are from well-known John Green books; I always think of Alaska Young from Looking for Alaska and Margo Roth Spiegelman from Paper Towns. Those were my two favorite books in middle and high school (hopefully that gives you an idea of the type of gal I was a few years back) and I aspired to be just like these iconic characters.
Before revealing my lengthy ode to manic pixie dream girls, I’ll explain my original definition of the term and some of its contradictions that only came to light in my more recent years. I idolized these characters because they were always wanted by the male protagonist, had something non-traditional or unconventional about their appearance, were mysterious to outsiders, and were always quirky and just “not like other girls.”
Naturally, as I furthered my education, a literature professor explained how that term was not as innocent as I viewed it. Aside from all of the cool factors I attributed to this character, their main purpose is always to further the main male protagonist’s development, creating a patriarchal situation. However, eighth-grade me did not think of Alaska Young or Margo Spiegelman as points of controversy, but rather as cool, older, mysterious sisters whose every move I wanted to copy.
margo spiegelman
I read Paper Towns first and lost my mind when I discovered the film rendition of this novel. Even after all of these years, I still remember what I admired about these characters. Just like Margo wandered Orlando, I would ride my bike around town late at night. I was young and without a vehicle, so this was my definition of freedom — and boy, did I feel wild peddling my bike to the park down the street.
This is also when I started going to our local public library on my own. I would walk to the park and take the shortcut through the woods, feeling so mysterious and different for going through the forest to get a book and not telling anyone. I guess it’s easy to feel like I unlocked a new level of freedom when I discovered I could walk and bike to local places on my own.
alaska young
To this day, I would still say I admire Alaska Young more. She was cooler and riskier than Margo. She was my ultimate obsession. She liked to read books, so I liked to read books. She had a sexy older boyfriend, so I would fantasize about when that day would come for me. She was described as intellectual and thought-provoking, so that’s what I aspired to be. I’m not sure if it was embarrassing or simply necessary for my overall development, but I would genuinely have conversations with my crushes and my friends about these “deep topics” that Alaska and Margo would mention in their long dialogues.
In all honesty, I don’t regret this infatuation one bit and high-key may have just restarted it for myself. Every young girl has a role model. More often, it’s an older sibling or a parental figure, but I think mine was unique and seriously impacted my personality. Manic pixie dream girls are so cool, smart, pretty, and desired, yet equally as complicated and difficult. They’re everything I have ever wanted to be!
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