Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 alpha 4/15/85; site mordred.purdue.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!purdue!chk From: chk@purdue.UUCP (Chuck Koelbel) Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Re: feminist sf/fantasy Message-ID: <357@mordred.purdue.UUCP> Date: Mon, 4-Nov-85 22:03:58 EST Article-I.D.: mordred.357 Posted: Mon Nov 4 22:03:58 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 7-Nov-85 03:47:10 EST References: <1009@decwrl.UUCP> Organization: Department of Computer Science, Purdue University Lines: 31 > (Yes, call me ignorant! But enlighten me with your opinions!) > > In addition, many protagnists authors wrote about mostly male (C. L. Moore, > Leigh Brackett, Andre Norton (at least her early stuff))--many of these stories > today might be written with a female protagnist, but at the time they were > written the authors thought, at least it seems obvious that Moore and Norton > thought so, that no one would take seriously a book by a woman--a female > protagnist would be preposterous. And the same is true for male authors: I > think today you have more of an opportunity to make a choice about the gender > of your characters--they don't have to translate into > > strong, carries a sword ==> male > I have to agree with you in general - VERY few females in sword & sorcery tales have anything resembling character. But C. L. Moore did write a series of stories about a woman warrior (and a good one at that). The stories have been collected in _Jirel_of_Joirey_ (spelling approximate). I haven't read all of them, but the ones I have read are excellent. And Jirel (the heroine) is, in my opinion, a good character. For those of you who want more information, the setting for most (maybe all) of the stories is Castle Joirey, a keep owned by Jirel. The castle is unusual in that it has an entrance to Hell in the dungeon. Through various circum- stances, Jirel is forced to enter Hell time and again. One unusual feature of Moore's version of Hell is that it is not all conventional devils and demons - it is more a psychological horror than a physical one. It is an idea that was way ahead of its time in fantasy short stories. Chuck Koelbel