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Kylie Hanna
Young Adult Literature
Dr. Shelley Sanders
29 April 2013
Science Fiction and Fantasy: The Female Hero
As a child, I was always drawn to strong female characters. This began
with interesting figures in history such as Helen Keller, Annie Oakley, and Joan of
Arc, but carried over into my literature as well. I would read books about girls
who were farmers, mystery solvers, prodigies, or crime fighters and want to be
just like the characters I read about. I was not the only child, though, that has
done this. According to a study performed in 2008, “as children note attributes
characteristic of individuals of the same and opposite gender and learn to value
some attributes more than others, they are indeed learning about the roles they
themselves may (or should) play (Holub 567).
As time passed, I discovered my favorite genre: Science Fiction and
Fantasy. In these novels, the characters tended toward the heroic and the pages
were filled with the adventures of strong females. Authors felt that these
characters were necessary for society, as stated by Pamela Sargent:
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“Within the context of most human societies to date, women of
strength and achievement are exceptions to the rule. This is
reflected in novels about the past or present. Science fiction and
fantasy, on the other hand, allow one to imagine and write about
worlds where strong independent women are the rule” (62).
William Sims Bainbridge comments on this by stating, “Science fiction has
become a forum for women authors’ uninhibited public analysis of
contemporary sex roles and consideration of options for the future” (1081).
How, then, are female heroes used effectively in Young Adult Science Fiction and
Fantasy? To answer this question, one must turn to the texts themselves for
examples of both effective and ineffective female heroes. In selecting novels to
exemplify these characteristics, I chose to include four primary texts: one
effective example and one ineffective example from each of the two subgenres,
Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Robin McKinley, a fantasy author, and Anne McCaffrey, a science fiction
author, both have an extensive list of works whose heroes are almost entirely
comprised of strong female characters. Robin McKinley’s The Hero and the Crown
provides a very positive example of the female hero in its main character, Aerin.
In the novel, Aerin has no place in her kingdom. She is hated by her people
because of a mother who, it is said, was a witchwoman who seduced the king
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into marrying her so that her line would end up ruling. But her mother dies
giving birth to Aerin, a girl, ineligible to inherit the throne. Having grown up with
this knowledge, Aerin is fully aware of her less than desirable position in the
court and her only friends are her father and her cousin, Tor. However, when she
discovers a formula for an ointment that protects against dragon fire, she seizes
the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of her people and also to seek
adventure for herself. This exhibits the point that Robin Ann Reid is making
when she states, “Many female heroes turn to questing or fighting in an attempt
to escape patriarchal violence” (180). Although her father did not treat her
violently, his family did. Aerin’s older cousin was nearly successful in killing her.
Despite the fact that she is not respected by the majority of her royal
family and feared by her people, Aerin dedicates herself to her kingdom.
Throughout the novel, Aerin exhibits a great deal of courage, facing several small
dragons, a giant dragon, and an evil sorcerer single-handedly as well as riding
into battle. She is fully prepared to sacrifice her own life in order to protect her
people and nearly does several times throughout the novel. This selflessness is
an important archetype in the female hero.
Anne McCaffrey is a well-known Science Fiction author, having been
inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006 (“Anne McCaffrey”). Her
Crystal Singer trilogy is another source of the strong, heroic female protagonist
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in its main character, Killashandra Ree. Having trained for over a decade in
music only to have her dreams of being a performer crushed, Killashandra
abandons life as a student and escapes into the city. Soon, she hears about
crystal singers and the mysterious Heptite Guild on the planet Ballybran. Work
as a crystal singer promises a secure career and extreme wealth but also comes
with several risks. Killashandra decides that the adventure is worth the risk
however, and embarks on her new life.
Killashandra not only expects the best for herself, she demands it. She
abandons music completely rather than becoming a background player. She
walks out on her home planet and the possibility of any safe and comfortable
career in favor of an option that she deems to be more worthy. The fact that
Killashandra chooses the more difficult path over the easier one provides an
example of her sense of adventure, another characteristic of the hero in Science
Fiction and Fantasy novels. When her lover on another planet, Lars, expresses a
wish to join her in the dangerous career of crystal singing, Killashandra says
everything she can to deter him for his own safety, despite the fact that she
doesn’t want to be separated from him. This is another example of the
selflessness displayed by female heroes.
Despite the fact that there are a multitude of novels within the Science
Fiction and Fantasy genre that effectively portray female heroes, there are also
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several that do not. Although the novels are very popular, one series that fails in
its portrayal of a female hero is Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga. Isabella Swan is
an ordinary girl who, upon moving to a new state and new school, finds herself
thrust into extraordinary circumstances involving vampires and werewolves.
Bella, intrigued by the mysterious Cullen family, discovers their secret and
eventually ends up dating and, ultimately, marrying a young vampire named
Edward.
The series has moments of worth in which Bella’s actions are heroic, such
as in the first novel, Twilight, when Bella agrees to meet the evil vampire, James,
in order to save her mother’s life. Unfortunately, she walks straight into a trap—
one that she could never escape on her own—and needs to be rescued by
Edward. This situation is repeated with several variations throughout the series.
Bella continually gets herself into serious trouble and life-threatening situations
and is repeatedly saved by Edward or her friend Jacob, a werewolf. Natalie
Wilson comments on this by saying, “Bella is portrayed as a ‘typical’ female—
clumsy, self-conscious, and lacking in confidence—until, that is, her vampire
knight reveals her ‘true’ self” (62). Bella’s identity is dependent on the people
around her. Specifically, Edward.
Her inability to provide for herself or function as an independent woman
is epitomized by the paralyzing loss that Bella feels upon being left by Edward in
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the second novel, New Moon. “I hoped that I was fainting, but, to my
disappointment, I didn’t lose consciousness. The waves of pain that had only
lapped at me before now reared high up and washed over my head, pulling me
under. I did not resurface” (Meyer 150). According to the novel, Bella remains in
this stupor for four months, unwilling to continue her life without Edward. These
are not characteristics that are indicative of an effective female hero.
Another failed example of the female hero occurs in the vastly popular
Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The heroine, Katniss Everdeen, is set
up in the beginning of the first novel as the type of role model and hero that
young readers are proud to emulate. She takes care of her sister, offering herself
as a tribute instead when Prim’s name is drawn to participate in the Hunger
Games, a brutal gladiator game involving twenty-four teenage tributes provided
by each of the twelve districts of the nation, Panem. She also is very skilled at
survival in the ring, is excessively kind to her young competition, Rue, and
refuses to kill her friend, Peeta, in order to when the games.
Despite all of this though, Katniss fails as an effective hero because of her
complete inability to think for herself. She instead allows herself to be
manipulated by the people around her for the entirety of the series. In the first
novel, The Hunger Games, her mentor, Haymitch, manipulates her into doing
exactly what he wants her to and conspires with Peeta behind her back. The
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second installment of the trilogy, Catching Fire, again shows Katniss fighting in
the games, completely clueless of the pact made by her competition and their
mission to keep her safe. Her success and survival is dependant on the efforts of
others rather than her own skill and resourcefulness. By the time of the third
novel, Mockingjay, Katniss has completely deteriorated to the point of being no
more than a figurehead and puppet for the resistance, easily manipulated into
doing whatever her “handlers” think best. This inability to seize control of her
own life makes Katniss a flawed example of the female hero.
With the multitude of novels available to young adults, it is important to
analyze the elements of both effective and ineffective themes. For young women
interested in the genre of Science Fiction and Fantasy, it is essential that they as
readers be able to sift through the good and bad in order to discover positive
female role models.
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Works Cited
“Anne McCaffrey.” The (United Kingdom) Times. 26 November 2011: 81. Web.
Bainbridge, William Sims. “Women in Science Fiction.” Sex Roles 8.10 (1982):
1081-1093. Web.
Holub, Shayla, Marie Tisak, David Mullins. “Gender Differences in Children’s
Hero Attributions: Personal Hero Choices and Evaluations of Typical Male
and Female Heroes.” Sex Roles 58.7/8 (2008): 567-578. Web.
Meyer, Stephenie. New Moon. New York: Little, Brown, & Company, 2006. Print.
Reid, Robin Anne. Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Westport: Greenwood,
2009. Print.
Sargent, Pamela, et al. “Dear Frontiers: Letters from Women Fantasy and Science
Fiction Writers.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies. 2.3 (1977): 6278. Web.
Wilson, Natalie. Seduced by Twilight: The Allure and Contradictory Messages of
the Popular Saga. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2011. Print.