heroine

This term is the gender-specific counterpart to hero. While hero is increasingly used as a gender-neutral term for any person of courage, heroine specifically denotes a woman. In modern usage, some writers prefer hero for all genders to avoid gender-coding, but heroine remains the standard for female protagonists in literary analysis.

In a narrative context, the word refers to the central female figure who drives the plot. This usage is distinct from the first sense, as a literary heroine does not necessarily need to possess noble qualities or courage; she simply needs to be the primary focus of the story.