There are Heroines, and then there are protagonists

Allow me to get English-majory on you for a moment. Throughout my reading history, from pre-adolescence until now, I've taken issue with many women in literature. Cases in point:

1. Hester Prynne - Part of my issue with Hester is her and Dimmesdale's unofficial "marriage." Not only do I think it's rather a bland idea to begin with, but it's been waaaayyy too often replicated since. Pearl was a strange, strange child as well. Plus I don't remember Hawthorne giving clear reason for us to dislike her husband, which would of course have permitted me as the reader to approve of her adulterous relationship. But Hester is by far not the biggest be in my women-of-literature bonnet.
2. Janie Starks - Okay. So, let me begin by admitting that I've only read "Their Eyes Were Watching God" once, and it was when I was in high school. I do possess a lovely copy of the book that was gifted to me, and I do intend to read it again now that I'm a grown-up. Perhaps I should give Janie more slack than I currently do. But as it stands in my memory, Janie was a wishy-washy woman who never really found her identity apart from being with a man. I don't think of myself as a feminist in the militant, we-don't-shave sense of the term, but come on, Janie. Grow a spine. Please.
3. Edna Pontellier - I'll try to be brief regarding my issues with Ms. Pontellier: In addition to being shiftless and flighty, I found her to be utterly unbearable to read about. She's the kind of person whose company I simply could not keep in real life because I'd never have anything nice to say. Ever. Can't you hear her? Always whining, always having a distant look in her eyes, never articulating or seeming to seek to articulate what it would take to make her feel alive? Gag me.

Though a quick perusal of Dictionary.com would lead me to believe "protagonist" and "hero/heroine," are interchangeable, I think my own dictionary would find these terms separately. While all of the above female characters are without a question protagonists, I find them to be in no way worthy of being called "heroines." Wanna know what a heroine is? Read on:

1. Nel/Sula - Dynamic characters with a host of varied life circumstances to deal with and rise above. The title of heroine could be bestowed upon either of these women and I would agree. While Nel is at first unsure of the conventional environment she's raised in, she seems to grow into herself and accepts a peaceful if ordinary life in Bottom, until Sula elbows her way back into town and puts convention beneath her feet, where she believes it belongs. While Sula may seem needlessly controversial and Nel wordlessly conventional, the characters are developed enough to convince me that they are real characters, not archetypes or caricatures.
2. Katniss Everdeen - Where do I start with Katniss? Her character is brilliantly developed - we the reader stay with her from the time she volunteers to take her sister's place in the Hunger Games all the way through the time she comes to realize that she is being used as a figurehead by the very rebels she knows must prevail in order for her world to become better. I want to say more but feel it would ruin the novels. But if you read the entire Hunger Games trilogy and can honestly say at the end that Katniss is not a heroic character, I'll buy you a cup of coffee so we can talk about it into the wee hours of the morning...

I reckon that's enough analysis for one evening, but the comments are open for your contributions to the conversation...