Getting excited for the
National Book Festival coming up next weekend! One of the things I am most excited about is the possibility of meeting Tamora Pierce, one of my favorite authors. I have to admit it took me a while to get into this authors works, my baby sis had actually read her
Circle of Magic books and tried to get me interested, but it wasn't really my thing right then. Later I picked up the
Song of the Lioness quartet and then promptly kicked myself for not getting into them sooner. There are a zillion reasons to love the works of Tamora Pierce, her world building, characterization and plot are all wonderful, but what I want to talk about in this post is how she writes her heroines.
I know you have heard me gripe before that most heroines come in two forms, either SUPER AWESOME KICK-ASS ALL POWERFUL SUPER SKILLED WHO CAN SHOOT A GUN BETTER THEN ANYBODY RUN FASTER THEN ANYBODY FIGHT BETTER THEN ANYBODY ALL WHILE MAINTAINING A 'TUDE!!!! Yes I had to put that in all caps because that is what it always feels like when you read these characters. The other heroine is the sweet, lovely, perfect, obviously special girl that everybody falls all over themselves for, you know the type that looks at you with big blue eyes and just can't thank you enough for letting her cut class for the zillionth time with out getting into trouble. These two types actually do have there place in some stories, but let me tell you they get old very quickly. This leads me to why I love Tamora Pierce so much, her heroines are as varied as a box of chocolates (the good kind from Godiva, not the stale ones you get from the drug store) and while they all have special skills it is balanced out by plenty of flaws and insecurities.
Let us go heroine by heroine and I will show you what I mean. (Warning, there may be minor spoilers ahead that are unavoidable so read with caution...but I don't think it will be to bad)
Lets start with the Tortal series:
Song of the Lioness
Alanna-Our heroine for this first quartet makes the bold move of disguising herself as a boy to become a knight. She is great because while she is probably one of the more outgoing and feisty of our girls, she also comes with some of the most identity issues. Aside from wanting to become a knight, our girl also wants to be...well a girl. One of the best scenes shows Alanna in the guise of Alan waiting upon the Prince as he dances with girls all decked out in there finest. Alanna struggles with jealousy that they can freely act like women, while at the same time refusing to give up her dream of becoming a knight. This struggle continues all the way through the series, even after she is revealed as female and no longer has to hide it. She has numerous romantic liasons, controlling her own sexuality and clearly stating her intentions of never being tied down. She is loud, tempermental, stubborn, determined, spirited, confused, and oh yeah she does have magic that also gives her amazing amounts of trouble. See along with trying to balance her need to be free and violent with her desire to be seen as a female, she also has to balance her magic (and her reluctance to use it) with her need to prove herself aside from the Gift as it is called in Tortall. Again numerous things to love about this first series, but I think what I would want people to get out of it the most is the fact that you don't have to choose to be one thing or another. If you want to be a tutu wearing knight go for it, if you want to wear fatigues while you whip up a souffle I say more power to you. This book really showed me that it was ok to indulge my girly for a while and then go hop on my ambulance or fire truck without feeling conflicted.
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The Immortals
Daine-Our heroine in this series reminds me a bit of the old fashioned
Caddie Woodlawn type main character. She is spunky, fun, loyal and motherly. After reading about our warrior princess in the previous series, Daine more innocent views are refreshing. Intially thought to be insane because of her little understood brand of magic (she can talk to, heal and even eventually transform into animals) she learns to not be afraid of her magic. Daine is a bit of the super special trope of heroine, she finds out eventually that she is the daughter of a minor god, but it is handled really well and is just one more piece to our girls story. This series also highlights the importance of depending on your friends, not always having to go it alone. A lot of times our heroines have this crazy urge to prove themselves by doing every thing on there own, making themselves closed off and cold in an attempt to prove how bad-ass they are, and it is only after some poor sop has broken down those walls...blah blah blah, our girl has absolutely none of that, she loves her friends with a ferocity of a mamma bear and will do anything for them. In return she believably has people willing to help her out, again not because she is a sweet, perfect girl, but because she has already proven her loyalty to them. Daine is also one of the most open minded heroines I have seen, able to put aside her initial feelings and prejudice to try and understand other people and creatures. This makes for some interesting questions and answers about prejudice against groups as a whole and how an individual may or may not further that. What I would want people to get out of this book is that being loyal and open minded will get you much further in the world then being a close minded blowhard. It is ok to change your mind about people, and the whole Lone Ranger thing is not as cool as you think.
Protector of the Small
Keledry-This is where I really started to notice how different all of these girls are. Kel has decided to try and become the first sanctioned Lady Knight in hundreds of years, after Alanna broke the gender barrier, the King declared any female who wanted to train as a knight would get the chance. Enter Kel our quiet, determined, justice seeking, hights fearing heroine. At first glance she is almost the exact opposite of Alanna, tall, reserved, calm, only sharing the trait of determination. As time goes on we see our Kel put these traits that most authors would never write into a knighted heroine to good use. We see that her nature actually lends itself to becoming one of the best knights ever, and not just for a girl, but for anybody. She deals with a lot of the same am I a woman or a knight issues that Alanna did, but her approach to dealing with it is much different then Alanna's was. Being a loud mouth myself I found it fascinating to read about this quiet dignified girl who pushed through the ranks of brash and loud naysayers, to not only achieve her dreams, but to save a country as well. What I would want people to get out of this story is to quit discounting the people who don't have to make a lot of noise. In our culture it seems the louder and brasher you are, the more people seem to think you are the top banana, but let me tell you as one of those loud people, a lot of the times it is really the quiet people standing behind us who are getting the real work done, and if given the chance will astound you.
Trickster
Ally-This series is about Ally, Alanna's teenage daughter and I love it for so many reasons (hm this seems to be a theme here). Right off the bat I love the interaction between mother and daughter, how they are similar in some areas and completely different in others, causing them to butt heads more often then not. It explores what I am sure is every parents biggest issue, balancing what you want for your kids, with what your kid wants, with what you want your kid to want. Ally takes after her dad is more impulsive and fun loving then her mother, she does not think of consequences on a regular basis and would rather spy with her dad, then fight as a knight. After Ally's capture by pirates and is eventually sold to a family far away with a completely different culture, she uses her skills of observation and trickery to help protect the family she serves. Ally is probably the most "fun" character to read, she has the most relaxed and natural rhythm of any character and seems to be the most comfortable in her own skin. Her greatest challenges come from having to on occasion suppress her natural tendency to speak her mind at any time and learn when to use her powers of observation vs her powers of persuasion. She also comes to appreciate her parents and the differences between them, instead of seeing the differences as flaws, she see's how each person needs to use there own way to solve problems. What I would want people to get out of this book is to learn to feel comfortable with yourself, regardless of what other people want you to be. If your a girl, it is just as ok to want to be at home and raise your children as it is to want to go out and become the first female presidant...or both. If you are a guy you can dream about becoming an NFL player, or the worlds best RN...or both. It doesn't matter what other people tell you what you should want as long as YOU are happy with your choices.
Provost's Dog
Beka-Beka is a different sort of heroine, she lives hundreds of years before the other series when it was still ok for females to be knights and warriors so her struggle is vastly different then the other heroines in this post (I love how women's rights actually went backwards over time as the nobility "refined" itself, very interesting concept). Beka is mostly on her own, earning a living as a Dog, which is essentially a police officer. While most of our other heroines spent their time at court or in noble houses, Beka patrols, lives, and plays in the more slummy part of the city. Our girls biggest issue is her shyness, she can barely speak in front of people she does not know which hinders her ability to give testimony in court...a big part of her job. She is able to overcome it with some difficulty and is able to do her job. Beka is shy, quiet, generous, and resourceful. She never forgets where she comes from and is constantly helping out people less fortunate then she is. She also has the ability to talk with ghosts that ride with pigions, giving her an eccentric crazy bird lady vibe which suits her perfectly. What I would want people to get out of this is that you don't have to be a big bad knight, or a super duper magic wielder to be a hero. It is the people who get out of bed and go to work to provide for their families, or protect the common folk, or answer the individual call for help that really makes the world go round.
Wow this is getting super long, so I will save the girls from her other books for another time, but needless to say they all have there own personalities and kick ass as well. Hopefully this long rambling ode to the females in Tamora Pierce's books gives you an idea of why I love her so much!
What female hero is your favorite? What traits do you think often get overlooked when writing heros/heroines? Is the ability to read anywhere at any time a super hero trait?
