Burning the Chainmail Bikini

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

I'm writing my dissertation about the representations of Women in the Fantasy Genre. I'm trying to show that there is more to the fantasy woman than chainmail bikinis. The four women I'm writing about are Nimue from Bernard Corwell's Warlord Chronicles, Granny Weatherwax from Terry Pratchett's Discworld and Kitiara and Mina from the Dragonlance series. What I was hoping for was if anyone knows and decent articles, sites or whatever that deals with such a topic, in a mature way not "D00d, K1t'5 b00bi35 r0xxorz!"

[Dominique]

This isn't so much a website as another woman who it might be interesting to look at: have you read The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon? Paksenarrion is one of the best warrior women I've ever read. She's not a crazed feminist icon like most of Mercedes Lackey's warrior women, she's not a man with breasts, and she doesn't use her sexuality as a weapon along with her sword the way that Kitiara does; she's just a paladin who has a very female perspective, which makes sense since Elizabeth Moon herself was a Marine. It could make for interesting supplementary reading.

[Stygian Inquirer]

L. J. Smith is an author in the fantasy genre who uses female heroines in all of her novels because she feels that heroines in the fantasy genre are not very prominent. Her books, at least the ones I have read, are mainly for young adults albeit some are more mature than others.

I would recommend that you read some of her stuff.

[Le Noir Faineant]

Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination might help you. *Sorry, forgot the author's name.*

Also, have you thought about contacting the Tolkien Society for more info?

Michael Moorcock also wrote some interesting scientific articles; yoiu maíght want to contact him/his agent as well.

Good luck!

[Lost and Damned]

The four women I'm writing about are Nimue from Bernard Corwell's Warlord Chronicles, Granny Weatherwax from Terry Pratchett's Discworld

ah Nimue, what a woman, Bernard is a great writer, love that book, and Granny, well

sadly i can't recommend anything, but it be nice to see your finished work sometime.

[AdamGarou]

I think we'd all love to read what you finally come up with, Drinnik.

If you've the stomach for it (cause he's not to everyone's tastes), you might incorporate Catti-Brie from the Drizzt Do'Urden books by R.A. Salvatore.

SPOILERS FOR THE DRIZZT BOOKS......
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If you think about it, a big part of the character evolution of Wulfgar the barbarian is him learning to treat Cattie-Brie as a warrior and her own person, rather than some damsel who should tend the hearth and only speak when spoken to. Of course, Wulfgar had to die and go the Abyss to be tortured for years by Errtu the Balor to learn his lesson, and didn't fully internalize it until after he was brought back to the Realms and met Delly Curtie.

But anyway, a lot of Salvatore's dialogue in the series--particularly in the "Legacy of the Drow" series (The Legacy, Starless Night, Siege of Darkness, Passage to Dawn, and The Silent Blade) deals with Drizzt's recognition of Cattie-Brie's fiercely independent spirit and his amazement that Wulfgar would try to make her into something she's not.

[Yattara]

Granny in a chainmail-bikini

Excuse while I go soak my head in a bucket of bleach...

There's also Princess Julia from the Blue Moon-series, and Isobel Fisher from the Haven-series, both by Simon R Green. Strong, good with a sword, but not just male with breasts. I like his protrayal of women in general.

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

Well, as it's due on Tuesday, I'm sticking to Granny and Kitiara, maybe Nimue if I've got time. I have a limit of 10,000 words, and I've used up 4000 on Kitiara, 1000 on the intro and 1000 on the conclusion.

Thanks for all the help. When it's done, I'll either post parts of it here, or e-mail it to people if they want it. Heck, I'd submit it to the Frat if I thought it was useful enought (though I don't think it is).

[Joël of the FoS]

Well, if you find it can improve gameplay, why not ?

Joël

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

An Excerpt:

Kitiara and The Companions

The core characters of the Dragonlance Chronicles are Tanis Half-Elven, Sturm Brightblade, Raistlin and Caramon Majere, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, Flint Fireforge, Goldmoon and Riverwind. Along the course of the novels Tika Waylan and Laurana join the party. Kitiara never interacts with Goldmoon or Riverwind, nor Tika. Laurana, on the otherhand, has a special relationship with Kitiara which will be discussed later, as will her relationship with her some time lover Tanis and her special relationship with the undead knight, Lord Soth.

Kit’s relationships with Tas and Flint are ones she sees as unimportant. As a kender , Tas is below Kit’s notice. Kit is a warrior and to her Tas is an annoyance at best, a distraction at worst. Her relationship with Flint is different. She knows Tanis respects Flint, so she shows no outward hostility towards him.

Kitiara and Sturm’s relationship is different. Kitiara respects Sturm, but she despises the Solamnic virtues he espouses. Kitiara also uses Sturm as a means of upsetting Tanis. At the end of the novel The Soulforge, Kitiara wants Tanis to travel with her to the north, where she hears armies are massing and somewhere where he can be with her and earn some money. When Tanis refuses Kitiara and Sturm travel together, and she seduces him. The product of their union is a child named Steel. Kitiara does not see Steel as an asset. Indeed in Brothers in Arms Kit sees Steel as a liability:

Excitement appealed to Kitiara, who had been laid up for the past few months, forced to lie abed and do nothing except hear rumours of great events taking shape, and fret and fume and curse her ill luck that she should not be part of them. She had since rid herself of the minor inconvenience that had momentarily incapacitated her. Free from entanglements she was free to persue her ambitions.

Seducing Sturm served Kitiara no practical purpose. In doing it, she was simply trying to spite Tanis.

Kitiara’s relationship with her brothers is more matronly than sisterly. Their mother was constantly ill, and Kit knew that one day she would not be there to take care of her brothers. As a teenager, Kitiara was concerned about her brothers, but as she grew older she saw her brothers as she saw most emotional attachments: a useful tool or an destraction. Her view of Rasitlin was tainted by the fact he was a sickly child. She knew he would not have the physical strength of his twin, so she convinced a travelling wizard named Antimodes to enrole Raistlin in the local mage school. Camaron she trains in the art of war. She trains Caramon to fight both cleanly and dirty. She tries to make the boy like her, but his honest nature stops this. She treats her brothers like this because it means in later years they will be useful to her. It is part of Kit’s blindness, however, that causes her to misjudge Caramon and Raistlin. Caramon proves himself a worthy fighter, but it is Raistlin who proves Kit’s blindness. Kit is uninterested in magic, she sees it as inferior to a blade., but she knows that Raistlin must have something he can use to defend himself with in the outside world. Her attitude towards mages is summed up in War of the Twins

Like most warriors, Kitiara tended to regard magic-users as weaklings who spent time reading books that could be put to better use wielding cold steel. Oh, they could produce some flashy results, no doubt, but when put to the test, she would much rather rely on her sword and her skill than weird words and bat dung.
It is ironic, then, that Raistlin Majere grows up to become one of the most powerful wizards in all of Krynn’s history and, incidentally, one of the most loved characters in the entire Dragonlance Saga. Kitiara only thinks of her brother as a tool for her own domination. She knew of his plan to enter the Abyss and confront Takhisis and she planned to be there if or when he returned. When Kitiara meets Raistlin at the beginning of Time of the Twins despite his awesome power, Kit still sees him as a child:

She saw the man. She saw – in her mind’s eye – that whining, puking baby.

Even his grandiose plan to become a god does not impress her. She merely sees it as a way for her to expand her own power.

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

I have a title for my disseration now, it's nearly finished:

Burning the Chainmail Bikini: Challengeing the Traditional roles of Women in Fantasy.

[ScS of the Fraternity]

But if they burn the chainmail bikini, they'll have to run around nude!

Excellent work!

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

But if they burn the chainmail bikini, they'll have to run around nude!

Excellent work!

Thanks. I hope my lecturer feels the same.

It's finished now, so if the Frat wants a copy to read to see if they want to put it up, I can send one.

[Jasper]

So...after this gets published in a reputable journal of academia and you get your sheep skin do we need to start calling you Dr. Shoehorn?

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

So...after this gets published in a reputable journal of academia and you get your sheep skin do we need to start calling you Dr. Shoehorn?

Published, sumblished. I'll just be happy to hand it in.