Let Them Grow: In Support of the Female Hero Quest*
*Or, why I'm a Sansa stan
I enjoy books with bad*ss female protagonists who come out guns blazing, swords swinging, fists at the ready. I also like books with children outsmarting their elders, solving puzzles and winning quests and treading where others dare not. Some of these novels are my all-time favorites.
But.
I read a lot of these books. And while they're inspirational, they can at times feel like a staged and unattainable Instagram post, where we know the influencer took one hundred shots to get that room/body/cake looking just right, then photoshopped out all the undesirable parts and added a pretty filter.
In other words, it's not always the most realistic.
But here's where it gets even more interesting.
There are examples of the "hero's journey" in middle grade and YA/NA books, where a flawed or even unlikable character grows into the role he's meant to have (or reluctantly embraces it, etc.) And while he doesn't start out ideal, he changes along the way. He learns lessons from friends, family, even rivals. He's allowed to mature.
Yet I don't see a lot of books where female protagonists begin un-fully formed. Where they gain experience and mature along the way. They seem to start with killer combat skills and minds already sharp enough to cut through the heaps of BS surrounding them.
Of course, I love a historical novel where my gal is flouting conventions of the time, speaking up for herself and others in a way that goes against societal norms, embracing traditional "male" roles with a smirk and the flip of a quip...
But.
I'm also interested in books where the characters do not start out that way. Where a young female, ironically, doesn't please people of our time because she's been brought up to/buys into being a people pleaser in her time. It's interesting to to watch her struggle with the internal conflict of rejecting that belief.
Because who amongst us hasn't been there?
I genuinely love reading special, above-it-all/ahead-of-their-time characters. But I also dig the internal growth of the female hero's journey. Enough that I read (and write) books with flawed (at times, unlikable) female characters. Because, screw perfection. That's everything I hope to reject. Life is messy, people are messy, and I hope we can allow female protagonists to be messy as well.
I enjoy books with bad*ss female protagonists who come out guns blazing, swords swinging, fists at the ready. I also like books with children outsmarting their elders, solving puzzles and winning quests and treading where others dare not. Some of these novels are my all-time favorites.
But.
I read a lot of these books. And while they're inspirational, they can at times feel like a staged and unattainable Instagram post, where we know the influencer took one hundred shots to get that room/body/cake looking just right, then photoshopped out all the undesirable parts and added a pretty filter.
In other words, it's not always the most realistic.
But here's where it gets even more interesting.
There are examples of the "hero's journey" in middle grade and YA/NA books, where a flawed or even unlikable character grows into the role he's meant to have (or reluctantly embraces it, etc.) And while he doesn't start out ideal, he changes along the way. He learns lessons from friends, family, even rivals. He's allowed to mature.
Yet I don't see a lot of books where female protagonists begin un-fully formed. Where they gain experience and mature along the way. They seem to start with killer combat skills and minds already sharp enough to cut through the heaps of BS surrounding them.
Of course, I love a historical novel where my gal is flouting conventions of the time, speaking up for herself and others in a way that goes against societal norms, embracing traditional "male" roles with a smirk and the flip of a quip...
But.
I'm also interested in books where the characters do not start out that way. Where a young female, ironically, doesn't please people of our time because she's been brought up to/buys into being a people pleaser in her time. It's interesting to to watch her struggle with the internal conflict of rejecting that belief.
Because who amongst us hasn't been there?
I genuinely love reading special, above-it-all/ahead-of-their-time characters. But I also dig the internal growth of the female hero's journey. Enough that I read (and write) books with flawed (at times, unlikable) female characters. Because, screw perfection. That's everything I hope to reject. Life is messy, people are messy, and I hope we can allow female protagonists to be messy as well.
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