Please note: There are spoilers

Strong, feminist, badass female characters seem to be a younger woman's game. Older women tend to be portrayed in two ways in the media, either the smothery-kisses-and-baking-in-the-kitchen grandma type or the cold-hearted-lonely-widow-who-may-be-a-witch type. As a young woman, I can tell you that I have no desire to become either of those types when I become an old lady.

So my young feminist-self leapt with joy when I discovered Professor Minerva McGonagall in J.K Rowling's Harry Potter. Professor McGonagall, who's old enough to have been teaching for "39 years this December" can be the strict disciplinarian and the caring authority and the fierce, loyal fighter.

First and foremost, Professor McGonagall is a leader in a male-dominated workplace. YAAS! She is the Deputy Headmistress, and Dean of Gryffindor House. In many fictional worlds, (as well as our own!) men tend to call the shots so I appreciate this nod to female leadership. McGonagall teaches Transfiguration, a dangerous and complex form of magic. She isn’t relegated to something traditionally more feminine like Professor Trelawney's Divination or Professor Sprout’s Herbology. As noted in Ingibjörg Sigurgeirsdóttir’s dissertation on the feminism of Harry Potter, McGonagall always delivers a fair punishment when Harry and his friends break school rules––she doesn’t abuse her authority like many of the male authority figures in the series. Also, McGonagall doesn't fulfill the tired old career woman stereotype who regrets not having a family. She's able to be fulfilled by teaching and saving the Wizarding world from Lord Voldemort which sounds like a productive life to me!

As far as actual fighting goes, Professor McGonagall is one of a minority of female members of the Order of the Phoenix. Molly Weasley, Fleur Delacour, Alice Longbottom and Lily Evans (Harry’s mother) participated alongside their husbands with the goal of protecting their families. Tonks, a Ministry Auror and another badass female, seems to be there on a professional basis and due to her love of adventure. In contrast, McGonagall is there to defend her colleagues and for the good of the Wizarding world, both of which would be traditionally considered masculine roles. She is particularly knight-like in this regard with her intense loyalty to Dumbledore and willingness to risk her life to do well. In “Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix,” Professor tries to prevent Hagrid from being fired, getting hit with multiple stunning spells that send her to the hospital nearly dead. When Hogwarts is attacked by the oppressive regime of Dolores Umbridge (sadistic bureaucrat yet very femme, another nuanced female character) and during the Battle of Hogwarts in the final novel, McGonagall fights to protect her students and the institution often endangering her career or her life to do so.

Despite her fierceness, Professor McGonagall has a nurturing side as well. She helped Harry get on the Quidditch team as a first-year. When Harry emerges from the Triwizard Cup Maze with Cedric's body, McGonagall is on the verge of tears and begs Dumbledore to let Harry go to the hospital wing and rest instead of testifying to his traumatic story. When Dolores Umbridge tears down Harry's career aspirations of becoming an Auror, which involves specialized study, McGonagall puts her reputation on the line and declares her support for Harry. When Professor Trelawney nearly gets fired, McGonagall comforts and reassures her that Hogwarts will be her home with or without a teaching position. When Neville Longbottom struggles to live up to his Gram's expectations academically, McGonagall constantly encourages him throughout his years at Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall is as nurturing as she is fierce, making her a wonderfully complex feminist character.

In the actual novels, Professor McGonagall's childhood or background isn't mentioned (her love of tartan and surname suggest Scottish ancestry, but that's about it...) so as a fan, I was initially disappointed with the Pottermore.com background on Professor McGonagall. She became a Professor at Hogwarts to escape marrying a Muggle man whom she loved but would have had to hide her magical powers from. A young Minerva teaching to escape lovesickness and heartache of all things for a background. As I thought about it more though, I realized that this was possibly the most feminist course of action. She realized that compromising her identity for love would be a tragic mistake for an intelligent woman like herself so she fled.

I applaud Rowling for including a nuanced Professor McGonagall in her books, she could have left her a stereotypical side character. But she didn’t!