Her heroines, including the iconic Torchy in Heartbeats, are strong and independent women who are socially and politically aware, who strive for their goals against all odds, defy social norms, and pick themselves up by the bootstraps and move on to the next adventure. In an interview towards the end of her life Ormes said, "I have never liked dreamy little women who can't hold their own." Ormes's creations not only defied expectations for black women, but gave her readership strong models for what the next powerful generation of young black women could become.