In the early days of epic fantasy women are often characterized as damsels in distress and nothing more than window dressing for heroes to rescue. This did not last long as a number of writers created memorable female characters who were qualified Swordswomen conquerors world, capable, and adventurers in their own right - but still attractive. This article presents some of the best heroines that have appeared in the epic fantasy in recent decades.
The presence of heroic women has been felt throughout the history of fantasy literature and this can easily be displayed in the tales of the Knights of Arabia where Sheherezade uses her sensuality and intelligence to survive. This characterization Women as spirit, cunning and sensual was almost the norm, and it was the stereotype for the first thousand years of fantasy literature.
But women took a new and more powerful role in the epic fantasy in 1934 with the creation of the character Red Sonya Rogatino in the history of Robert E. Howard short the Shadow of the Vulture. In the story Red Sonya was a hero cape and sword, which was capable both pistol and sword. (Howard is also the creator of the famous Conan character).
The character Red Sonya was source of inspiration for 1974 and now famous, Red Sonja, which serves two important archetypes in the fantasy epic tradition. The first archetype is the fierce warrior yet savagely beautiful, which is often times nothing more than a sort of a metal bikini. It is an overused, stereotypical still enormously popular. The archetype of a second, it is an answer that is often used in developing the typical hero of epic fantasy. It is the archetype of the young boy who witnesses the murder of his family and destruction of his village, then grew up to become a powerful warrior who takes revenge on the looters. This is a very familiar archetype, and it was several times with male characters and Red Sonya was the first woman to assume the role successfully.
In the 1980s the kind of woman protagonist and the heroine was taken to new heights with the publication of the first book in the Swords and Sorceress series edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley. This anthology was created to offer alternatives to traditional stereotypical roles of women in fantasy and became a force that remains to date. The series of anthologies currently has 22 volumes and the amount most recently was Just published this year (2007).
Bradley itself, apart from swords and Sorceress anthologies did much to promote the image of woman as the heroine in her own novels and one of the best examples of what can be found in the Mists of Avalon Books. The first book was published in 1979, is a re-telling legends of King Arthur from the perspective of women involved in the legend of the Round Table. These books are often credited by many women now successfully as a source of inspiration for them is to pursue a career in writing fantasy.
Some other authors who have experienced a huge success in a manner similar to Lin Carter Bradley, Mercedes Lackey and Anne McCaffrey. Each has created all the worlds including fantastic track with a strong heroic women characters.
Each archetype that was previously dominated by men has been explored with the protagonists female and one of the most powerful of these archetypes is the entry in the history of the age. It is a very familiar story and usually follow a young boy as he grows to manhood painfully and following a destiny that is loosely spread out before him. This archetype has now been fully explored from the perspective of a woman and one of the best examples of this is found in Ursula K. LeGuin 's The Tombs of Atuan which is a coming of age of the main character says Tenar. The tombs of Atuan is the second novel in the books of Earthsea Cycle LeGuin. In the first book A Wizard of Earthsea, we feel the coming of age of a young man named Ged. This young woman Coming of Age and following his destiny to make the right world can also be found in The Golden Compass currently popular books the first is now a major motion picture.
The heroin has taken its rightful place in the world of epic fantasy and there are now many wonderful works out there that explore the challenges of our world and other worlds from the perspective of a woman who is more than just a damsel in distress, but a person willing and able to take a sword to face his destiny.
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