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

[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!