| WOMEN OF THE FUTURE The Female Main Character in Science Fiction Betty King Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, 1984 |
Rating: 5.0 High |
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| ISBN-13 978-0-8108-1664-0 | ||||
| ISBN 0-8108-1664-4 | 273pp. | HC | $? | |
The author notes a gradual evolution of women in science fiction from frail, secondary characters needing protection to full participants with intelligence and strength, who often took commanding roles.
"It is part of my purpose here to set down at least some of this evolution, to capture in synopsis form the maturing of women in sf into whole humans, into three-dimensional characters. (Ironically, as an offshoot of this process, men characters usually become whole beings also.) The primary aim of this book, however, is that it be used both as a pedagogical tool—a reference book tailored for use by teachers—and as a guide to readers of sf in their efforts to locate characters about whom they want to read." – Page vi |
The book is not comprehensive; but then the author makes no claim that it is. Rather, it seems to be a sampling of novels and stories she is familiar with, plus some disclosed by research into the earliest-published titles. Nor is there extensive comparison and analysis of the trends in female character development. Ironically, the first chapter provides the deepest analysis...
Chapters 2 through 8 consist of a list of author entries structured as follows: The author is named, each work is identified, and its publication history is given. There follow: the name of the female main character; her physical characteristics as described in the work; her mental and emotional characteristics likewise; and a brief description of the plot. Each of these later chapters begins with a one- or two-page summary of developments during the decade. The main text is followed by a supplemental reading list; these entries often outnumber the ones discussed. Several appendices and indexes close out the book.
I have never lowered the score of one book on the basis of another. Until Now. On reading The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction,1 I discovered even more damning omissions. They are
The book is well researched, and I judge that it succeeds in its purpose: it does provide a long list of novels and anthologies which feature women as main characters, and succinctly describes the merits (or lack of merit) of each. There are some curious omissions. For example, M. P. Shiel's The Purple Cloud does not appear; it has a female character whose role in the story is important, and who is portrayed as intelligent and influential. (However, as I recall she is God's agent, so this may explain the story's omission.) No doubt there are other omissions I'm not aware of. In fairness, it would be a lifelong task to make the book truly comprehensive.
There are some puzzling errors. The expansion of authors' names is inconsistent; for example, instead of Robert A(nson) Heinlein, as with most names, he is given as "Robert A. Heinlein." Some real full names are omitted entirely. Examples are F. M. Busby and Jayge Carr (the first is male, the second female.) Alexei Panshin's last name is given as "Panskin." Also, the book's production values are inferior for its time. Curiously, Scarecrow Press set this book in a monospaced font, and underlined the titles of novels instead of putting them in italics. Nevertheless Women of the Future deserves full marks.
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