St. Barbara

Our various mythologies are filled with tales like this: " Once upon a time there was a young girl so beautiful that her possessive father hid and controlled her." Often, as in the case of Rapunzel and Barbara, that protection consists of imprisoning the young beauty in a tower. Our Barbara used her time out to foster a devotion to Christianity that would ultimately cost her life. Daddy, a rabid polytheist, returned from a business trip to find that Barbara had redecorated the Tower by hiring architects to add a third window as a tribute to the Holy Trinity. He rewarded her fervor by publicly beheading her. He instantly received his karmic comeuppance when a bolt of lightning struck and killed him. The Catholic Church removed Barbara from the roster of saints in 1969. Barbara (feast day December 4) is invoked for protection against lightning, fire and sudden death, but I feel her more timely function is to save young girls from overbearing fathers.
This statue from the Mission of Santa Barbara in California is from the collection of Barbara Fischer.

This image is available as 8x10 framed print, candle, t-shirt and greeting card.