From Writers Helping Writers:
DESCRIPTION: This self-sufficient and tenacious woman seeks out adventure and new discoveries, often breaking with the conventions of her time to do so.
FICTIONAL EXAMPLES: Arya Stark (Game of Thrones), Eowyn (the Lord of the Rings trilogy), Mulan (Mulan), Dolores Abernathy (Westworld), Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)
COMMON STRENGTHS: Adaptable, Adventurous, Alert, Bold, Confident, Courageous, Curious, Decisive, Efficient, Enthusiastic, Focused, Independent, Industrious, Passionate, Perceptive, Persistent, Resourceful, Spontaneous, Spunky
COMMON WEAKNESSES: Cocky, Impatient, Impulsive, Irresponsible, Obsessive, Pushy, Rebellious, Reckless, Self-Destructive, Self-Indulgent, Stubborn, Uncooperative, Volatile
ASSOCIATED ACTIONS, BEHAVIORS, AND TENDENCIES
Being street smart
Restlessness; needing to be on the move
Lacking patience
Thinking for herself
Rejecting the conventions that don’t suit her
Persistently pursuing her goals; seeing things through
Disregarding people in authority—specifically those who would try to force her into a specific role or keep her from certain activities
Spontaneity
Avoiding long-term commitments (in case a better offer comes along)
Believing that romantic entanglements will slow her down
SITUATIONS THAT WILL CHALLENGE THEM
A romantic partner wanting to settle down
Sustaining an injury that affects her mobility
Getting pregnant
Rules changing that restrict women’s freedoms
Being saddled with additional responsibilities at home or work, making travel and adventure less possible
TWIST THIS TROPE WITH A CHARACTER WHO…
Has a stable home life, with children
Is elderly
Has an atypical trait: indecisive, nature-focused, sentimental, verbose, whiny, vain, etc.
Link to the rest at Writers Helping Writers
For more information about various character tropes, check out the Thesaurus Description Database which you can find via the Writers Helping Writers Home Page.
I don’t see how how Arya fits here. She’s desperate to get home, but keeps being thwarted in the attempt. In other circumstances she probably would be an adventurer, though. Lara Croft definitely fits. I think Eowyn is seeking martial glory, not necessarily adventure or discovery. Mulan is mostly trying to save her father. The other example I’ve never read / seen.
Perhaps Telzey Amberdon is too obscure? Or maybe they’re defining adventurer differently; I think of adventurers as eagerly going off into the unknown / seeking knowledge. Evie Carnahan in “The Mummy” makes a lot more sense here. So would Gabrielle in “Xena.” Nancy Drew most definitely. Atalanta may be the ur-example, as she’s one of the Argonauts, but she only goes with them in one version.
One trope about a Lady of Adventures is that if she lives in the 1800s she will always be wearing her horse-riding outfit instead of petticoats. Guaranteed 🙂
Your definition works: adventurers, male or female, go looking for trouble with gusto. They’re internslly driven, not rrscting to externsl forces.
Telzey Amberdon, for sure: as the chief of the psi cops says, they don’t need to conscript her because she’ll soon enough join them willingly. Her pal, Trigger Argee, too: Nobody ever forced her to go shooting trouble. At most they had to ask. And as long as we’re talking James Schmitz, there’s the three witch sisters of Karres.
Better known are Marion Ravenwood and Lois Lane. For really obscure ones, there’s Sandra Knight, Zinda Blake, and this BLACK CANARY doppelganger:
https://www.amazon.com/Black-Stiletto-Complete-Saga-Books-ebook/dp/B011JB6UP2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1RYYJVCZB55IX&keywords=black+stiletto+kindle&qid=1699853131&sprefix=black+stiletto+kindle%2Caps%2C166&sr=8-1
These days there’s no shortage of female adventurers. If anything, there’s an overabundance, though few done right. Most are either Mary Sue’s or effectively “dudes in drag”.