How do you define strong? Does Emma qualify? Why?
Lizzie: I define strong as someone who can not just kick literal ass, but as someone who doesn’t give up, as someone who’s not afraid to be wrong and to learn and to evolve, or heck, even as someone who IS afraid, but who still pushes through, who doesn’t let fear define her, and that’s Emma Swan, to a “T.” Emma’s journey has never been about not being scared and it’s never been about being perfect, instead it’s been about not giving up – on herself, on family, on love. That’s what makes Emma Swan strong.
Sameera: I define strong as the ability to learn and grow from your mistakes. Anybody can learn martial arts or handle a gun but it takes a true strength to look into yourself, realize what isn’t working and become a better person as a result. Although Emma capable and badass in the pilot (she handcuffed a guy in heels!), she wasn’t truly strong until she got pulled into the world of Storybrooke by Henry. In there, Emma’s true resilience shone. She admitted she was wrong not to believe in Henry and in not letting her parents (and later Hook) in when she needed them. Emma is strong because she doesn’t let her mistakes define her, not anymore.
Stephanie: Strength, to me, is about overcoming obstacles. Be it physical, mental or emotional, lots of things stop us from doing what we should or could do. Emma is the personification of strength. Just think about what life threw at her before her 28th birthday. She was abandoned as a baby, grew up in the dark side of the foster system, lived on the streets at various ages, abandoned by her first love & sent to prison, gave up a child for adoption… I can’t imagine surviving even ONE of those things.
Then she took the leap of faith to allow Henry into her life & stayed in Storybrooke where her son’s adoptive mother, a woman who ran the entire town, was actively trying to get rid of her. She broke a curse, slayed a dragon, went up against ogres, witches, demon children (Pan), dark ones, the God of Death himself…and she never once backed down. She kept pushing and persevering.
And that doesn’t even cover the emotional strength. Jen said herself in an interview that it takes strength to allow yourself to be vulnerable. Meeting Hook and recognizing a kindred spirit is one thing. Having the strength to 1) admit to yourself that you have feelings and 2) allow the walls to come down and actually let someone into your heart? That’s a strength that some people will never know.
Ginny: I define strength through how someone can take pain and anguish, and continue to exist. Emma more than qualifies, her determination and dedication to remaining happy and living her life despite the uncertainty of her future is overwhelming strong. Her smile more than proves this, the happiness she allows herself to feel far outweighing the fear she must feel for her prophesied death. Emma, throughout the course of the show, has proven that darkness and villains and heartbreak aren’t the end of the story, they are just the beginning of one with a happy ending.
Pip: Strength is how you handle yourself in all manner of situations. That doesn’t mean you have to be the most powerful or the most successful. Sometimes it doesn’t even mean you have to win or succeed at all. It is perseverance as well as vulnerability and I absolutely think Emma is one of the best embodiments of that on television right now. We see how she’s tough, but also vulnerable. She’s not afraid to let her emotions guide her when she needs to (something that she’s learned over the course of her journey) and she’s not afraid to say ‘I’m scared’. She doesn’t have to be ‘badass’ all the time, and I think that is the strongest a character or person can be.
Lindsay: I think strength is a broad term, we all have our strengths don’t we? As Pip said above, it is how you handle yourself in different situations. With regards to Emma, her strength lies in her determination and compassion. She could have left town to New York, she nearly did but she chose to do the right thing. What makes Emma’s strength more believable however is her vulnerability. Her growth as a character throughout the show has given us a greater insight into this and when she is struggling she is more open about it. Imagine the last time you were truly open with someone, about how afraid you were. It’s not easy. It’s terrifying. By sharing her burden, she can then gain strength through the love and support she has found in Storybrooke. Love is strength and love will always win.
Charles: Yes, she definitely is. Emma through these six seasons has gone through so much and come out the other side a stronger character. She shows strength by being vulnerable. To let herself be loved. She is one of the strongest characters on tv today.
Katie: I think the strongest people are those who know who they are and who aren’t afraid to show that true self to the world. And by that definition, Emma is one of the strongest women I have ever seen depicted on a television show. She has faced the best and worst parts of herself, and she has become so much more open when it comes to letting people see who she really is. It takes an incredibly strong person to be vulnerable and to have an open heart when they’ve had every reason to close themselves off, and that is exactly what Emma has done over the course of this show. Emma has embraced the idea that love is strength, and that is something I believe with all my heart. Emma has fought many battles, but I think she was at her strongest when she showed Killian the box of trinkets she kept from her childhood because I think it takes incredible strength to be that open with someone about your story.
Maria: My definition of strength comes from a multitude of different things. First off, strength is the ability to know your weaknesses, to be aware that you can’t always put on a tough face. Strength is vulnerability. More importantly, strength is love and family. Emma Swan’s face would be next to my definition of “strength” in the dictionary. She is the epitome of the word as she developed into a woman who grew strong. She was always strong, don’t get me wrong, but Past Emma’s strength was not defined by anything I mentioned. Emma Swan is tough and being tough has strength-like qualities, but in order to be truly strong, you have to be vulnerable. You have to know you aren’t perfect. You have to know that you are strong with others by your side. You have to know that your past mistakes do not define you. Most importantly you have to know that it’s okay to show weakness. Present Emma Swan has shown everything I just mentioned and this is what made her even stronger.
Heather: The ability to be vulnerable and to be confident in your vulnerability. In a word? YES! She’s allowing love into her life. Emma in my opinion is the embodiment of strength and determination. She hasn’t allowed ‘fate’ to control her destiny. She’s taking a situation that is out of her control and pushing back. She’s not allowing her fate to dictate her life. She’s allowing herself to be open and vulnerable. She’s opened her heart to love. True love, familial, and friendship. That is strength.
Meredith: Strength is the ability to withstand or exert great force, stress, or pressure. This isn’t just being able to hold your own in a physical fight; strength is comes from within, when you know who you are and accept yourself. Vulnerability completely plays into this. To open yourself up completely to another person when they have the power to potentially abuse that takes great courage.
Emma Swan is strong. Not just because she can deliver a right hook or because she has magic. She is strong because she keeps fighting back when it would be much easier to give up. She is strong because she has a family to encourage her and stand by her through the trials and triumphs. She is strong because she let a pirate pursue her, prove his worthiness, and trust with the most vulnerable pieces of herself. She is strong because love is strength.
Funmbi: For me, strength is a matter of tenacity. We all make mistakes, we all fall short of our goals. But the next day, if you’re willing to wake up and try again, that is true inner-strength. Emma Swan 1,000% embodies this sort of mental and physical stamina. Time and time again, challenges have emerged to threaten her, her family, and Storybrooke. Some days are better than others, but Emma never gives up. Do you remember in “Awake” when Snow and Charming were trying to decide whether to forsake Storybrooke and go get Emma? Snow said: “We have to believe that she’s strong enough to grow up without us.” All six seasons demonstrate how Emma *totally* was/is.
La Shawna: I define strong as showing growth whether it is emotionally, physically, or mentally. Being able to be vulnerable and show that vulnerability. For me that is the toughest thing someone can do as it opens your heart to being hurt, but at the same time allows you to know the strength of love. I think Emma is one of the strongest people out there. She is not only badass in the “traditional” sense of punching people out but she allowed herself to trust and love others. One of the core themes of the show is “Love is Strength” and the show has done an outstanding job through Emma showing this. Emma is a strong person because she doesn’t give up when it gets tough, instead she gets going, she pushes forward and with the support of her family and loved ones at her side, that strength is even bigger now.
Rose: Being strong, of course you think first about somebody being literally strong – being able to lift heavy things, but being strong in this sense is that Emma, over the seasons has become strong in her faith & belief and hope that things will work out in encouraging people, her family, Henry, Hook & herself. Being strong in believing that the bad times won’t last if you believe in your heart that it will all work out. For it took seasons to get to be as strong as Emma is in the fact of not letting people knock you down, not letting words hurt, you believing in the good of people, being strong to open yourself up to possibly getting hurt, opening your heart to forgiving people when sometimes it’s easier to walk away and not work at it. She’s become strong in that she shows her emotions now so easily. She believes even when it is so hard to do so. So many of us give up easy cause it’s going to be a hard path we may have to take. So, for Emma at one time maybe it was easier to walk away and say forget it it’s not worth it, but now Emma will take that hard path because she believes in hopes that at the end of it everything will work out.