Saturday, November 7, 2009

Woman Warrior

I was blown away by Peter Bright's book in the light of all the feminist notions I've been hearing in school. In his fantasy novel he basically subverts the usual patriarchy.


The prince was taken captive by the dragon. The king was deeply troubled by the loss of his only son and heir to the throne. He sends a message throughout the land that whoever can kill the dragon and save the prince will be greatly rewarded.


A woman comes forth, amidst the many men, and appears before the king. Some of the greatest quotes since LOTR appear in this chapter. The king asks:


"How can a man ever win a fight against a dragon?"


"I'm a woman. And I don't fight conventionally."


And indeed Rhonda doesn't. She uses a longbow and well, to cut the long story short, kills the dragon and rescues the prince.


The king wants to reward her with the hand of his son in marriage.

She declines, not liking the distressed and helpless prince as a spouse.



But this story is completely fiction.

4 comments:

  1. that doesn't totally subvert the gender stereotypes does it.. why can't distressed and helpless princes be good spouses then. haha

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  2. Good spouse. Hmmm. What does a woman look for in a man anyway? We tend to get the notion of someone who can rescue her. What does a woman really want?

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  3. no, precisely my point. it's still gender roles what. the men rescue the damsel in distress, so if they can't they're not good spouses.

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  4. Good point. But in real life, how should it look when gender is no longer stereotype?

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