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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