AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany Hamilton in the film "Soul Surfer."

By JALETTA ALBRIGHT DESMOND

One wears bikinis and rides surfboards. The other wears corsets and walks on Victorian moors. But both are strong young female characters showing courage and resilience beyond their years. I’m not a movie critic, but please indulge my high praise and recommendation for recent releases, “Soul Surfer” and “Jane Eyre.” I took my 12-year-old and 16-year-old daughters to both the other day because, in this day and age of Snooki and televised Teen Moms, I am thrilled to expose them to worthy fictional or real life role models. I’m hoping they’ll serve as an antidote to the vapid characters on MTV and the inaptly named cable channel, ABC Family.

“Soul Surfer” is the story of Bethany Hamilton, who was only 13 when she was attacked by a 14-foot shark while surfing off Kauai’s North Shore on Oct. 31, 2003. Her arm was severed at the shoulder and she lost 60 percent of her blood, but her incredible composure and courage was evident in even the first moments and then weeks following the attack. She returned to the waves as soon as her stitches were removed a month later. Little more than a year after the attack, she took first place in a national surfing competition and two years after that went pro.

“My plans to be a professional surfer got hit pretty hard on that Halloween morning,”  Bethany writes on bethanyhamilton.com. “It was my own personal tsunami. In the days, weeks, and months that followed I had a lot of cleaning up to do. Often, it was scary or trying. And I won’t lie to you: in some ways it still is.”

FAMILY AND FAITH

The movie shows some of the difficulties she faced but it also shows how her family and faith were at the core of her recovery. Instead of the inattentive or nearly invisible parents featured in most teen episodic series or reality TV shows, Bethany’s parents, and brothers, comfort, protect and challenge her. Whether they are escaping a mob of reporters, adapting her surfboard, or impatiently but good-naturedly teasing her as she makes them breakfast by herself, they are offering unconditional love without a dose of pity but with a good measure of encouragement. Central to their family life is their faith. They may catch a few great waves before church, but they climb into the pew together, even if dripping wet.

Bethany struggles with the question of why God let this happen to her. She lives to surf, a “Little Mermaid” since she was big enough to walk. What is the purpose of taking away the thing she is most passionate about, she asks during the movie.

Her faith, in the midst of this difficult time, sustains her. And she sustains her faith. “I believe in God. Nobody made me believe; I don’t think you can or should try to force someone to believe something,” she writes on her site.

“And even though my parents taught me stuff about God and read Bible stories to me from as early as I can remember… it was my choice to become a believer in Him. The way I see it, putting our faith in God is something that each person has to come to on his or her own. It’s your own personal relationship with Him; a bond that’s as unique as a fingerprint.”

Her inner strength, compassion for others’ pain in the midst of hers, and her competitive spirit — whether beating an opponent or learning to slice fruit with one hand — encourages us to find the best path God has laid out for us, no matter what goes wrong.

In the end, she says she actually wouldn’t undo what happened that day on the ocean because losing an arm gave her the opportunity to embrace more of the world’s hurting than she would if she still had two.

JANE EYRE: STRENGTH AND COMPASSION

The fictional Jane Eyre, the title character of Charlotte Bronte’s ground-breaking Gothic romance, is also a role model of strength and compassion. Orphaned and neglected, she rises above her immense loneliness and forges a life for herself as a governess. When she is finally offered love, she refuses to stray from the moral compass that guides her, the faith that steers her. She won’t compromise her values, even for love.

As a New York Times critic describes the character, “She is brave, humble, spirited and honest, the kind of person readers fall in love with and believe themselves to be in their innermost hearts, where literary sympathy lies.”

My 16-year-old said, “She seems dull and shy but on the inside she is smart … and sarcastic.” And strong. “Never was anything at once so frail and so indomitable … a mere reed … defying me, with more than courage, with a stern triumph,” said Rochester when she turned away his illicit proposal.

“Yes; I feel now that I was right when I adhered to principle and law, and scorned and crushed the insane promptings of a frenzied moment,” Jane says afterward. “God directed me to a correct choice. I thank His providence for the guidance!”

Two young women of courage, conviction, compassion, spirit, sincerity, and strength—they are the kind of role models, reader, that we should introduce to young girls figuring out who they are and who they will become.

Jaletta Albright Desmond is a freelance columnist who lives in Davidson. She can be contacted at jdesmond@bdtonline.com