Father-Daughter Relationships

This post first appeared on my former blog Nov. 19, 2010.

Today’s blog is in celebration of my release this week of Lying Eyes, a romantic suspense with an important subplot between the heroine Iris and her father Cosmo.  Click the Carina Press button to learn more about the book! 
Carina Press: Your next great read!


Father-Daughter relationships
 tend to be unique and special.  I’m not sure if they’re more important to the daughter or the father, but for centuries, stories have featured the highs and lows of this relationship.

In traditional stories, every little girl’s first hero is her daddy.  In today’s more openly structured families, the father-daughter dynamic may not be as strong for every young woman.

The Greek myth of Electra, who wanted to revenge her father’s death, is perhaps the first story we see of the devotion a daughter feels for her father.  Later, Shakespeare gave us father-daughter relationships between Capulet and his daughter Juliet (Romeo & Juliet), Shylock and his daughter Jessica (The Merchant of Venice), and Leonato and his daughter Hero (Much Ado About Nothing).

If you’re looking for the lighter side of these stories, try Father Of The Bride—either the original with Spencer Tracey and a luminous Liz Taylor, or the remake with Steve Martin.  The pre-pubescent Electra complex is played to the hilt in Paper Moon with Ryan & Tatum O’Neal.

Jane Austen shows us the devoted daughter side of her heroine Emma, who fears leaving her father alone when she weds Mr. Knightley.  And Disney’s animated feature Beauty and the Beast shows the commitment that Belle and her father share for protecting and rescuing each other. Check out a lovelyDisney Dad tribute here.  Each is willing to lay down their lives for the other.  And Mulan risking dishonor to protect her father?  Brilliant.

In my ho-hum Midwest existence, Dad worked and traveled a lot. Yet I recall a few key moments where he achieved true hero status with me.  I had a horse, and on the weekends the family would come to the local horse shows to watch me compete.  I rode my horse in a Trail Class—this is a class that mimics riding your horse along a trail with a number of obstacles.  In this case, there was a tractor tire laid out on the ground.  The goal was to get my horse to walk over it, setting at least 2 of his hooves within the center as he crossed.

Sam, my horse, freaked, so I didn’t get a ribbon. But two days later my dad showed up the barn—a miracle in and of itself!  Strapped to the roof of his station wagon was a tractor tire. He’d bought it so I could teach Sam for future competitions.

Do you have a favorite father-daughter team from a book or movie?  If you’re a daughter, what’s your favorite memory of your own father’s heroism?  If you’re a father, why is your daughter such a heroine in your life?