Were literary Bond Girls equal to Bond?

[nanolark]

... intellectually, sexually, physically? There is a nice article by Lisa Funnelli From English Partner to American Action Hero: The Heroic Identity and Transnational Appeal of the Bond Girl. that covers the topic. However, the author focuses mainly on the cinema image of the Bond Girls presenting little information about the heroines from the novels.
While reading novels (except from TSHLM) I used to see Bond Girls/Women as 'secondary' characters and only a pleasurable filler.
Yet, latest movies tend to present them as Bond's partners?
What was/is your perception of Bond Girls from Fleming's series?

[Blowfeld]

My perception is the women in most cases were extraordinary, perhaps extraordinary as James himself. However there were not as the movie series like to portray in recent years the feminist ideal of being 007's equal in all aspects. His opposite number.

To me girls in Ian's novels are liberated, strong, determined, often psychologically damaged. There is a chapter called 'Form Russia With Love' in 'The Girl Who Played with Fire', in many ways Lisbeth Salander is a perfect example of a Bond girl in modern literature.

The girl James meets in his adventures he often risks his mission to save. He is a traditional knight rushing in to save the fair damsel disregarding the risk to his own well being. Just about every one of them he fell in love with. James was in love with Solitaire as he never had been in love before. This was immediately after Casino Royale where Vesper according to the new narrative was "the one". Tracy might be the only one "equal" to James, I'm not sure I would have to read it (OHMSS) again with fresh eyes to find out.

While Ian was most certainly a sexiest by any definition his literary women were in some way more liberated and independent of the standard norm of the time. Back when June Cleaver, Harriet Nelson and Lucille Ball were the accepted ideal for women to strive for 007's women already experienced the sexual revolution, often choosing to work in dangerous profession over "home-making".