OH RIGHT

[chocolatepot]

It's really funny to me that I love Sansa so much and am so interested in her story when this seems to be a minority opinion even among people who are not hostile to the female characters, especially because when you look at the YA historical fantasy I've read, I tend to get very annoyed at the young noblewomen even when they aren't the Arya type. I don't know if I'd say that Sansa's a subversion of what I dislike, exactly, but it's interesting to see where she differs from them - mainly in that she's in actual danger and doesn't solve things by being ~feisty~. You know? Instead of her parents threatening to marry her to someone old and unpleasant, she's actually engaged to a total asshole and has to find out the depths of his assholery herself, and then later. Instead of being kind of petulant and rebelling against her parents/guardians, she's completely on her own. Instead of her actions having token consequences, she accidentally helps to get her father killed (although let's be serious, people who complain that it was all her fault - that probably would have happened anyway). Instead of all of the antagonists being strangely sexless or only menacing in a sort of vague way, there's a lot of real threat.

This is sort of like my Empowered issue, only the opposite - apparently I prefer a character who gets less narrative time but has real Bad Things going on to a protagonist who's always there but whose danger I don't believe in. Or something. I'm kind of tired.

Comments

[phoenixwriter.livejournal.com]

Sansa is probably that interesting becauce she doesn't fit the usual "being feisty, rebelious" clichee. She comes around through experince..how do they describe this, growing pains if they talk about growing up? She is doing that just in a very different kind of world to ours.

That said...it wasn't her fault that Net died, if anyone was then Net himself. I mean who in his right mind steps into the lion's den and takes his children with, knowing full well he is surrounded by enemies?

[green-martha.livejournal.com]

Agreed, 100%.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

Yes, definitely.

I honestly can't believe there are people who blame her, but ... yeah. People are ridiculous.

[bizarreoptimism.livejournal.com]

OMG YOU SHOULD READ BRANDON SANDERSON. Specifically "Warbreaker," because that one consists of TWO female main characters (and one male main character) who are not "feisty" but are instead strong, three-dimensional main female characters with real problems that are actually unique to them being females and with real consequences to the mistakes they sometimes make -- and, therefore, real character growth in the end. It is AWESOME and I love Sanderson so much. (Also his fantasy books are highly original. There's no questing! There's no magical artifact to uncover! The action actually takes place in a CITY instead of while everybody's trekking through the countryside and forests! I don't even think there's a pub scene!! It is so TERRIBLY awesome.)

[julianrain.livejournal.com]

Seconded.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

I'll put him on my list!

[steampen.livejournal.com]

I think Sansa's character is one of the best in the series. She's just so *believable*, you know? At her age, I wasn't fiesty for shit, followed everything my parents and teachers said, loved pretty dresses and dreamed of a Prince Charming in clueless oblivion, and I'm sure many other girls were the same. Under these conditions, it's even more remarkable that Sansa manages to find her inner strength and pull through. I've said this before, but I hate the way that girls who aren't ZOMG spunky and rebellious get mercilessly bashed in fandom, as if there's only one way to write an interesting female character. If that's not sexism, I don't know what is.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

"Not feisty for shit" is a perfect descriptor for myself as well. I definitely think it's pretty sexist to hate on her the way I always see people do it.

[zoepaleologa.livejournal.com]

I like Sansa, too. I've just started reading the series, and finished A Clash of Kings late last night.

I actually like the way in that book you got different takes on what it means to be female in that world, particularly the direct contrast between Cersei pointing out that a woman's best weapon lay between her legs (blah blah blah) and the scene between Sansa and Sandor when she sang the hymn and thus demonstrated that a woman has a powerful weapon of compassion (I loved that scene). Really enjoying all the female contrasts, but Sansa intrigues me most because of her age, the fact that she seems to be being used to subvert the traditional woman in chivalry milieu representation.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

YES. I am really excited to see what happens with her storyline, because I don't see anywhere it can go but subversive. And I find that kind of subversion extremely interesting.