Guest Post: The importance of strong female characters in fantasy
People talk a lot about ‘strong female characters’ in fantasy. It’s very much the flavour of the moment. It’s Daenerys Targaryen, roasting her enemies from the back of a dragon. It’s Arwen facing down the Ringwraiths with a sword in her hand. But what does ‘strong female character’ really mean? Ask ten people and you’ll get ten different answers.
It’s kind of a strange conversation to begin with. Specifying that a woman is a ‘strong female character’ can imply that most women aren’t strong. You wouldn’t usually mention that a tree is green – most trees are green – but you might point out if the tree is covered in orange fur. Look! It’s something weird! We never talk about ‘strong male characters’, because male characters are just assumed to be strong. So why don’t women get the same treatment?
To me, here’s what a ‘strong female character’ is not. A strong female character isn’t just a male character with a girl’s name. Saying that women can only be strong when they’re portrayed like men and have all the traditional ‘manly-man hero’ traits – stoic, surly, emotionless, big muscles, kicking butt left and right – suggests that only ‘manly-man hero’ traits are strong or worth celebrating. She’s not like other girls – she’s a strong woman! And while I’ll applaud any female character who can roundhouse kick a legion of orcs, I’m also interested in women who show strength in other ways. Give me Xena: Warrior Princess, but give me Molly Weasley and Elizabeth Bennet too.
The Ninth Sorceress has a mix of male and female characters, but our main protagonist is Gwyn. She’s seventeen and has spent her childhood in a travelling wagon, selling herbs under the watchful eye of her guardian, Ascepis. She’s not a trained warrior or an international assassin or a skilled huntress, and she can’t lift a horse with one arm or summon an army of dragon-people. She’s just a normal seventeen-year-old: shy, very sheltered, more comfortable with books than people. When we meet her, she has her own inner strength, but it’s never been tested. She doesn’t even know where to look for it. Her journey over the course of the novel is very much about finding that strength. With all the challenges heading her way, she’ll need it!
A strong female character isn’t a woman with no flaws, either. Hollywood executives are always getting that wrong. They think any female character with a major role has to be super-hot and the best mechanic in the fleet and an expert at hand-to-hand combat and a multiple PHD-holder. Did I mention super-hot? That part is important. This Perfect Woman isn’t allowed to be wrong, or make a bad decision, or show weakness. That would be sexist! The focus groups won’t like it!
In writing The Ninth Sorceress, I was very conscious of not making my hero infallible. Gwyn has plenty of good qualities – a strong work ethic, determination, a sense of duty. But she’s also soft. She doesn’t know how to stand up for herself. She has a lot of fear. In other words, she’s far from the ju-jitsu champion, catwalk-model-slash-particle-physicist that Hollywood likes to present.
But ‘strong female characters’ can also refer to strongly written female characters. A woman could be written as cruel, selfish, weak or downright evil. But if she’s a well-rounded character with a convincing interior life, if she has her own arc that isn’t just about supporting a man, if she has agency, I’d still label her a strong female character. Everyone’s second-favourite Mad Queen from Game of Thrones, Cersei Lannister, had almost no redeeming qualities aside from her love for her children. Even so, the way she was written was interesting. She pushed against the confines of her society. She made decisions. She did things on her own terms. Likeable? Definitely not. Strong? I say yes.
When I think about writing strong female characters, I think about writing characters who are realistic. In literature and TV, men are shown as strong. And they’re also allowed to be morally grey, selfish, melancholy, anxious. That’s what I want for our female characters. We’ll have equality on the page and on the screen when women are allowed to be just as flawed and complex as men. When they’re allowed to just be people. And with all the amazing female characters appearing in fantasy these days, I think we’re well on our way.
THE NINTH SORCERESS, Bonnie Wynne’s debut fantasy novel, is slated for release February 13.
Title: The Ninth Sorceress
Author: Bonnie Wynne
Publisher: Talem Press (https://talempress.com), Writer’s Edit (https://writersedit.com)
Release Date: February 13th, 2020
Blurb: In the blackest dungeon of the Clockwork City, a prisoner lies bound in silver shackles. Who is she? And why are the wizards so afraid of her?
Seventeen-year-old Gwyn has no family and no past. Apprenticed to a half-mad herbalist, she travels the snow-blasted High Country, hawking potions in a peddler’s wagon. Her guardian hides her from the world like a dark secret, and she knows better than to push for answers.
But when she discovers she is hunted by the goddess Beheret, Gwyn is drawn into a deep and ancient tale: of chained gods and lost magic, of truths long-buried and the rising of a war she never could have imagined.
Wizards and their magic-sniffing hounds pursue her – as does a stranger in a smiling mask, who calls her by an unfamiliar name…
But what really terrify her are the dangerous gifts she’s spent her life suppressing. Now, Gwyn must step out of the shadows and take charge of her destiny – even if the price is her own soul.
The Ninth Sorceress is the breathtaking first installment of The Price of Magic, a sweeping fantasy saga full of rich storytelling and tangible magic.
The Ninth Sorceress is suitable for readers of classic fantasy aged 14+, with a particular focus on female readers.
About the Author
Bonnie Wynne studied Writing and Cultural Studies at UTS, and completed her law degree at the University of Sydney. After a brief stint in legal publishing, she now works for the Australian government, deciphering ancient law tomes.
She lives in Sydney with her cocker spaniel, Percival Hector (Canine Inspector). When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found playing video games, booking her next holiday, or elbow-deep in flour.
THE NINTH SORCERESS is her debut novel and the first book in her series, THE PRICE OF MAGIC.
Bonnie’s Website: http://bonniewynne.com/
Bonnie’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/itsbonniewynne
Bonnie’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/itsbonniewynne
Bonnie’s Facebook: https://facebook.com/itsbonniewynne
