The Heroine with a Thousand Faces

In Persuasion by Jane Austen, her main character, Ann, observes that all books are written by men so the voices of women cannot be heard. That's not quite so true any more but it occurs to me, as I start reading Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces and the first Harry Potter book together, that there's no good definition of a heroine.

(Just a note that I often read two books at a time, particularly when I know that one of them, like Campbell's book, needs to be slowly chewed. I switch back and forth between the two books, depending on my mood when I get into bed to read.)

I mean, what would you put in a book called The Heroine with a Thousand Faces? Is Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennett a heroine? How about the goddess Athena or the women fighters called Amazons? Even though Cleopatra is an historical figure, do the legends that surround her make her a heroine?

Then there are the females in fairy tales such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood. Are they heroines? If so, what did they do to achieve that status? Are witches heroines or male interpretations of independent women as many feminists have suggested?

Are motherly qualities the defining characteristics of heroines? Actually, when you think about it, there aren't many folk tales, myths or legends about mothers. The usual fare are wise women who give advice, witches who wreak havoc or young women who stir up desire.

What is a heroine?