This is a topic that I am struggling with in my final essay that I'm writing. After some research and thought, it seems that in all of the novels we've read, and many of the novels I've read, that strong women characters are ALWAYS outcast from society.
Katsa -- Outcast because of her grace
Princess from Deerskin -- Outcast because her parents ignore her AND later because she choses to be
Nell -- Outcast because she's a girl and because of her income level
Helva -- Largely outcast from main points in society because she's a brain ship
The alien from bloodchild I can't remember the name of - Outcast because of her race and because is of another society
So, as you can see, the strong women in the stories that we have read in class are normally outcast from society. If you look at other novels, strong women characters are also outcast. If you know of any novels where there is a strong women character who isn't outcast in some way, please leave a comment so I can look it up :) And it has to be sci-fi and fantasy!
It worries me a bit though how sci-fi and fantasy women are still outcast as women in our society are gaining better rights and status. These genres tend to be reflective of our world. So, if they're not changing in the novels, what does that say about our society today? Something worrying to think about :/
I see what you're saying and i can agree with it to an extent. Yes all the women in our novels have ultimately been outcasts and yes perhaps these genres are reflective of our society in todays world but i will also offer this, in every good novel i have ever read the protaganist has been an outcast. Male or female, think of it this way, the outcast has so much more to offer, do you want to read about a character who is openly loved by everyone and has nothing in life to overcome, or do you want to read about the character who bucked the odds and chased glory and maybe failed, maybe succeeded but that journey surely has more to offer than a character who gets everuythign easy and is the model citizen and openly listened to and accepted. For great stories to occur there must alwasy be several thinsg especially among heroes. The Hero must always attempt to overcome incredible odds. Soem of my favorite books liek the great Gatsby, Gatsby was always an outsider searching for his place btu he just couldn't force his way in he remained an outcast who was in the room. All the pretty horse Grady was amn out of time, by all accounts born about 100 years too late to fit in and so forth. Pip in great expectations and a new one i quite enjoyed Katsa in graceling, a graced fighter who the male tremble in fear of. Every great story must have an outcast, quite frankly a story without an outcast just isnt a story.
ReplyDeleteHmm....but what about Gandalf in Lord of the Rings? Harry Potter? I'm sure there are other characters I could name, but I can't think of them atm :P
ReplyDeleteThe novel as a genre tends to deal in outcasts because outcasts make for interesting stories -- if your life is perfectly happy and you're wonderfully content, then you'd make for a really boring novel. Main characters tend to be orphaned in some way for that reason. Still, though, we might think about how characters' outcast-ness differs on the basis of their identities (racial, class, ability, gender, sexual, ethnic, age).
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