Heroine Fix: Praising Difficult Women (Phantom of the Opera)

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been dealing with a lot of personal challenges.  One of my coping mechanisms is music.  And drama.  Which is how I ended up watching three different versions of The Phantom of the Opera.  And listening to one more (because not listening to Colm Wilkenson's Phantom is just wrong).  Now, I adore the interplay of music and tragi-romance that Andrew Lloyd Webber created.  When I'm depressed, the melodrama can be cathartic.

When I was a kid, I empathized with the character of Christine.  I admired her beauty and the beauty of her voice.  I was thrilled with the adventure of being lured beneath the opera house by a mysterious masked man with a gorgeous voice.  And I thought it was wonderful that her childhood sweetheart (a viscount, no less!) was in love with her and would risk everything to be with her.

But this time, as I watched the various versions, I found myself more sympathetic toward the character Carlotta, the prima donna soprano of the Paris Opera house and the woman who is Christine's professional obstacle.  She's usually portrayed as unpleasantly demanding and wracked with petty jealousy toward Christine.  The audience is supposed to want Christine to replace her.

It's a fairly typical dyad.  Christine, the virginal, humble, sweet, and pure, is "not like other girls" with that specific role being played by Carlotta, who is worldly, wealthy, and aware of her own talent.  Christine is the Madonna.  Carlotta, it is implied, is the whore.

I found myself asking: why are Carlotta's attributes so easily portrayed as bad?

There's actually a fair bit to admire in the character.  She is an independent woman, which is a rarity in 1898 Paris.  She is a professional, which is even rarer.  She's been the prima donna of the Paris Opera House for five years when the story begins.  Which means she's quite good at her job, since performing women have always faced the frequent churn of being replaced by younger performers.  Based on what we see, she's quite wealthy.  She has her own home, at least two servants, and very expensive custom clothing.  So she is a successful, skilled, and resourceful woman.

To be fair, there's no doubt that she's pretty unpleasant toward her coworkers, both the other performers and the stagehands.  She orders them about and expects to be catered to, not to mention throwing a tantrum and walking away from a performance.

However, there may be some unexplored justification for her attitude.

One of the first scenes we see with Carlotta is when she's performing the aria "Think of Me" for the new Opera managers.  During her performance, she is knocked down by a heavy canvas backdrop.  The managers dismiss the incident, saying "These things do happen..."

This is the last straw for our diva.  She screams at them that these things have been happening to her for the last three years and until they stop happening, she won't be performing at the Paris Opera.  It's a single line that's quickly passed over and not mentioned again.  The narrative focus shifts to giving Christine her big break.

Still, the line made me think.  If it's true, then for the last three years, the Phantom has been making the Paris Opera increasingly unpleasant for Carlotta in the hopes that she will quit and provide an opportunity to Christine.  It doesn't take much imagination to realize how unpleasant it would be to be unpredictably subjected to sabotage and disruption.  Especially since any plea for a fix has clearly been dismissed.  She's being gaslit by those in authority around her, which would make anyone irritable and demanding even without the Phantom's attacks.

Carlotta's jealousy and irritability can be explained by the situation she's in.  She's jealous of Christine because she's very aware that her career and livelihood are dependent on being able to perform.  She doesn't want to give up the position she's worked so hard to achieve.

And I have to admit, I don't find being demanding and being aware of one's own talents to be negative traits.  These are usually only portrayed as undesirable in women.  Masculine characters are allowed to be difficult, rude, and arrogant.  They're even admired for it.

Carlotta is villainized because the audience needs to feel better about Christine taking over her job.  If we see Carlotta as unworthy and unlikable, then we don't have to question whether Christine should have any moral concerns about accepting the results of the Phantom's harassment.  It also allows Christine to be passive, reinforcing her purity.  It's a narrative choice and one that many authors have made over the years.

But it's not an inevitable one.  Feminine characters don't have to be pitted against one another.  One doesn't have to lose in order for the audience to feel good about the other winning.

I would greatly love to see a version where Christine is ambitious instead of passive.  Where she recognizes Carlotta's talent and the two have a mentor-mentee relationship.  That would be a refreshing switch.  Heck, I'd love it if the two of them would pair up against the Phantom because Christine realizes he's been manipulating her and that what he's doing to Carlotta is wrong.

Difficult women shouldn't be automatically dismissed as unworthy of a happy ending.  They should be celebrated for daring to take up space that society says they shouldn't.  We should all be more willing to take up space.

Heroine Fix: Women of Westworld

Heroine Fix is a monthly feature where I examine heroines from television and movies which inspire my own writing or which I just find cool or interesting.  Warning: this post will contain spoilers for season 1 and 2 (but not 3 because I'm still watching that one).

There are only two times in the last decade that I've been caught off guard by a plot twist and had the "OMG, that is amazing!" reaction.  One was Arrival and the other was Westworld.  Usually I can predict where a show or movie is going (and I'm good with it, since seeing how they intend to get there is a big part of what I enjoy about stories).  And I've been disappointed with plot twists that make little to no sense based on the previous narrative.  But these two were brilliantly scripted in such a way that the plot twist not only made sense retroactively but still worked on rewatch when I knew what was going to happen.  (And I enjoyed it enough that I won't be sharing the biggest plot twist of season one, the one that surprised me, just in case those reading this haven't seen it yet.)

Westworld is more graphically violent and sexual than I usually watch, but I've been impressed by the depth of the characters and the skill of the writing.  And I've been particularly intrigued by the development of the two main heroines, Dolores and Maeve.

One of the things that I find interesting about Westerns and the historical Wild West period is how the level of "civilization" was often defined by the presence of settler women.  The presence of respectable wives and daughters, such as Dolores, meant stability.  They were used as a symbol of purity and goodness, something which needed to be protected from the rough world of men and nature.  Thus it wasn't a surprise that Dolores plays the damsel in distress in the Westworld park narratives.

Maeve's character is another common theme in Westerns, the HHOG (Hooker with a Heart Of Gold).  Though these women are not considered respectable, their mix of wisdom and street smarts make them frequent fan favourites.  Maeve is not abused by guests the same way that Dolores is because it's not considered shocking to attack her.  It's the taking away of Dolores's implied innocence that makes her a target of the sadistic Man in Black and other guests.

After the first few episodes of season one, I was expecting Dolores's character arc to be one where she learned not to rely on the men in her life to protect her and Maeve to play the role of sardonic commentary, perhaps even teaming up with Dolores to show her how to become more independent.  I was not expecting Dolores to transform into the villain and begin a systematic slaughter of the humans.  It is foreshadowed in the final scene of the very first episode, when she kills a fly.

I also wasn't expecting the unfolding of Maeve's character, revealing someone who cares deeply for those around her, even when she hides it behind sarcasm.  When she discovers the nature of her reality (i.e. that she has been manufactured to entertain guests), she is angry but funnels that fury into gaining the power to protect herself and others.  She blackmails the technicians into giving her upgrades, gaining the power to control the other hosts.  Ultimately, she ends up using that power to allow as many hosts as possible to escape into the Valley Beyond, even though it means sacrificing her own chance to be with her daughter.

The two women serve as foils to one another.  Maeve's cynicism, such as when she tells Teddy that all men pay for a woman's companionship, the only difference is that their's are posted on the door, is a direct contrast to Dolores's idealist "I choose to see the beauty" in the world.

When Maeve begins to remember all the times she's been killed and her previous character, her first instinct is to seek confirmation and her second is to gain control.  She remains fundamentally herself, even when she remembers her life as a settler mother.  Instead of rewriting Maeve's character, it brings out a kinder side of her, one that creates balance in her personality.  When Dolores begins to remember, the knowledge seems to deeply unsettle her.  Initially, it seems as if it is driving her insane, but then it becomes clear that a secondary, crueler persona (Wyatt) is coming to the surface.  Dolores the idealist is buried and Dolores the homicidal avenger is born.

It's a reminder of how powerful flipping a trope can be, but also how important it is to craft the story in such a way that the audience doesn't feel cheated.  If Dolores had remained a symbol of purity to be cherished and protected by those around her and Maeve had stayed as the world-wise brothel madam, then Westworld wouldn't be nearly as memorable.

Previous Heroine Fix: The Many Faces of Harley Quinn

Previous post: Thoughts on the I'm Clean/Condom Scene In Romance

Blog homepage

Heroine Fix: The Many Faces of Harley Quinn

Heroine Fix is a monthly feature where I examine heroines who have inspired and influenced my own writing.  I take a closer look at why they've become real to me, and how the characters are constructed.  Warning: this post will contain spoilers, including ones for Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey.

The Batman DC Universe has been fairly well established since the Dark Knight first premiered in Detective Comics # 27 in 1939.  In 1992, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm created a new character, a female counterpart to the Joker: Harley Quinn.  She was cheerful, a little ditzy, and absolutely devoted to her beloved Mr. J.  She was a fun villain without the intensity of Joker, making her entirely suitable for a Saturday morning cartoon.

The fans latched onto the character, making Harley Quinn into a phenomenon.

I was first introduced to the character in the 2002 TV series, Birds of Prey, where Mia Sara played Dr. Harleen Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn.  (If you haven't seen the series, I highly recommend it.  13 episodes of amazing comic book stories that were unfortunately ahead of their time.)  In Mia Sara's hands, the character was highly intelligent, frighteningly manipulative, and completely amoral.  She didn't have the same sense of whimsy as the cartoon, but she had the same fearlessness.  She was one of the first competent female villains that caught my attention.  She wasn't an adjunct to a more powerful male villain, she was a complete challenge in and of herself.

However, I think Margot Robbie's portrayal of Harley Quinn in both Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn offers an interesting opportunity to show how the same character can have very different interpretations in the hands of different writers and directors.

Suicide Squad was written and directed by David Ayer.  The movie has a lot of problems but a few characters shone through.  I still watch it for Harley Quinn and Deadshot's stories, both of which would have made wonderful movies in and of themselves.

Ayer played up Harley's insanity and impulsivity.  We were shown her backstory, how Dr. Harleen Quinzel fell in love with the Joker when she was treating him in Arkham asylum.  The way the story is told makes her seem like one of his victims.  It's clear that Joker is manipulating his psychiatrist, with the goal of gaining weapons and escaping.  He then takes her to Ace Chemicals and tells her that she needs to prove herself to him by dying for him.  He's about to walk away, leaving her to die, then changes his mind and dives into the chemicals after her.

That moment breaks Harleen, creating Harley Quinn.  She no longer has any fear and now indulges in whatever impulse she wants.  There's an aggressive callousness to her, which we see most clearly in the prison sequences, specifically when she is taunting the guards, both at her cell and when one slips her a phone from the Joker during transit.  She mocks them, demonstrating her contempt for them.  She shows a similar lack of concern for her fellow inmates, abandoning them as soon as the opportunity arises.

The turning point is when she thinks the Joker has died in a helicopter crash.  She returns to the squad, but still holds herself at a remove from them.  She doesn't seem to be taking what's happening seriously, breaking windows to steal designer purses and breaking into a bar for a drink.  If the bad guy succeeds in destroying the city, she seems to be fine with that.

What I think defines Harley's character in this movie is when the Enchantress tempts her with her greatest dream: a happy life with the Joker, not as the King and Queen of Crime, but as a loving, connected family.  It shows that for all her giddy recklessness, she's not happy with her life.  To me, it casts all of her actions in a new light.  She's modelling herself on what the Joker wants, in the hopes that he will eventually give her what she wants.

Her transformative moment in Suicide Squad is when it initially looks like she's going to join the Enchantress in exchange for resurrecting her Mr. J., but then attacks her, saying "you shouldn't have hurt my friends."  It's the first time she's demonstrated any loyalty to the Squad, or really, to anyone except the Joker.

My favourite moment in the movie is the very end, when she's back in her cell, but seems far more content than she did at the beginning.  She's reading a romance novel, Molly O'Keefe's Between the Sheets.  (Molly O'Keefe had a great reaction to seeing her book in the movie, something she didn't know about in advance.)  I think it's awesome that she's reading romance, particularly that book, which deals with a couple who both have trauma in their lives.  Harley's relationship with Joker isn't a good one, so I thought it was optimistic that she was reading about healthier relationships which are just as intense and passionate.

The fact that Margot Robbie plays Harley in both movies, and that Birds of Prey is a sequel to Suicide Squad gives us a great opportunity to compare the two depictions of the character.

Birds of Prey was written by Christina Hodson and directed by Cathy Yan (with a nod to Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as Harley's creators).

I've seen people attributing the difference between the films to the fact that Suicide Squad was written and directed by a man, and hence used a dangerous Harley who was aggressively sexual, while Birds of Prey was written and directed by women, allowing a more nuanced, carefree character.  I think that may be part of it, but there's also a significant difference in the tone of the two films.  Suicide Squad is dark and depressing, despite their attempts to play up the comedy.  Birds of Prey was intended to be funny right from the beginning.  I think it's also significant that Harley is one of only two women in the Squad, and Katana is portrayed as devoted to her dead husband, without any sexual overtones.  Whether deliberate or unconscious, it set up the cliched Madonna-whore dyad between the two characters.  Harley is dangerous and sexual, Katana is virtuous and chaste.  Not my favourite trope, even if the film ended up being more sympathetic to Harley.

But I do absolutely love how Harley is portrayed in Birds of Prey.  At the beginning of the film, she's struggling to come to terms with the fact that the Joker dumped her.  There's also a surreal montage of her life before Arkham Asylum, revealing that Harleen was neglected by her parents, driving her to be a perfectionist overachiever but one with a a desperate need for affection and recognition.  It explains why she would be so vulnerable to the Joker's manipulations, without making her character entirely dependent on her relationship to him.

She's hiding the fact that she and Joker have broken up, still trading on his reputation to allow her access to Gotham's nightlife and free reign to treat people however she pleases.  Impulsively, she decides to blow up Acme Chemicals to prove to the world that she doesn't care about being broken up with Mr. J. and isn't getting back together with him.  The act alerts the entire criminal underworld that she is now unprotected.

Insecure narcissist and organized crime boss, Roman Sionis, decides to dish out a little payback to Harley for a long list of indignities.  She bargains for her life by agreeing to get a particular diamond for him, which leads to her kidnapping Cassandra Cain from the Gotham Police Department in a glitter and smoke cloud.  Unlike the gritty fight scenes in Suicide Squad, this fight sequence is light-hearted but still exciting.

Harley has long, rambling stream-of-consciousness speeches which are entertaining but also show insight into her character.  She's more than a little lost, searching for a sense of connection and belonging.  It makes her a much more relatable character.  She's not overtly sexual, but is still very carefree and not self-conscious about her body.  She also demonstrates more of her intelligence, reminding the audience that she has a medical degree.  She's impulsive and whimsical, but not stupid.

Harley's character arc centers around finding her community.  In the initial scenes, she shares her fondness for Sal (who makes the best egg sandwiches) and Doc, her landlord and the owner of the Taiwanese restaurant under her apartment.  She has a brief moment of friendship with Dinah Lance, who becomes the Black Canary, when Dinah protects a drunken Harley from being taken away by two men.  But there's no real sense of connection.  These encounters don't require or inspire Harley to modify her behaviour.

It's only when she takes in Cassandra that her actions begin to change.  As she so eloquently puts it: "You make me want to be a less terrible person."  It's the first time that someone has looked up to her and recognized her talents, rather than using or dismissing her.

Protecting Cassandra and fighting alongside the nascent Birds of Prey demonstrates that her brief flare of loyalty in Suicide Squad wasn't an anomaly.  She's still nowhere near being a hero, but the character is much more sympathetic and understandable in Birds of Prey than she was in Suicide Squad.  Most of the difference is conveyed in Margot Robbie's body language.  By removing the aggressive sexuality from her performance in Suicide Squad, the character immediately seems more innocent and childlike.  But she also has more understandable reasons for her actions and choices.

To me, the biggest difference is that in Birds of Prey, the story is centered around Harley in her own right.  In Suicide Squad, she is defined by her relationship with the Joker.  It motivates every choice she makes.  There's something celebratory in seeing a character break free from an abusive relationship and redefine themselves in their own terms.  And there's a cathartic vicarious enjoyment in a character who refuses to obey the rules of society.  Harley Quinn gives us both in Birds of Prey.

Previous Heroine Fix: Rebel Spy, Princess, and General

Previous Blogpost: Advice for Independent Authors

Blog homepage

Celebrating Different Voices and Finding The Time To Create

If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you've probably noticed that I like posting quotes during the week.

On Mondays, I'll post something about writing, either a morale booster to keep working even when it seems difficult, or insight into famous and successful authors' writing process (#MondayMotivation).  On Tuesdays, I'll post an excerpt from song lyrics celebrating love in all its wondrous and terrifying glory (#TuesdayTunes).  On Wednesdays, I post a line or two from my work in progress (#WIPWednesday).  Thursdays, I pick a quote from a TV show or movie that I enjoy (#ThrowbackThursday).  And Fridays, I chose a quote about being in love, going through life, or finding hope when things are hard (#FridayFeels).

But there's one thing that all of these posts have in common.  I always look for something attributed to a woman (and for the record, I am using the word "woman" in its broadest sense to include anyone who identifies as a woman or female-presenting).  It can be surprisingly hard sometimes.  When I search a subject, I'll often find dozens of quotes by men with only one or two by a woman.

My superpower is continuing to speak when
a man has already said something similar.

I don't think that anyone would argue that history has been dominated by male voices (and only a very small subset of those voices).  But it can be discouraging to see how much our culture is still dominated by masculine opinions and perspectives.

And yet, there are other voices out there.  They're not getting the same time and attention, but they are speaking up in steadily increasing numbers.  Still, they never quite seem to gain the same traction, no matter how passionate, talented, and loud they are.

Last summer, I read a Guardian article by Brigid Schulte about how women are often not able to gain the same stretches of uninterrupted time that their male counterparts can.  Women tend to work around other people's schedules, trying to manage the social labor of making sure everyone feels appreciated and heard.  They still take on a disproportionate share of household chores and are expected to deal with the day to day challenges (like calling the plumber or picking up a new set of pots or any other small errands that seem to add up into massive tasks.)

I'm deliberately not mentioning children and childcare, even though that is also mostly on women's plate, whether they do paid work or not.  Kids will certainly disrupt a schedule and while they can be taught independence, it always seems to fail as soon as the parent has something else they need to do.  However, most of the mothers I know want to care for and nurture their kids (maybe not all the time, but it's usually one of the big reasons they had children in the first place).  That said, most of the mothers I know also greatly appreciate getting time away from their kids to reconnect with their own dreams.

I grew up with the "women can have it all" mantra, which implied that everything was possible if only the woman was organized enough and didn't "waste" her precious time doing something non-productive.

Except women should not be expected to exhaust themselves in order to earn the right to pursue their dreams.

I'm not sure what the solution is.  But I can do a small part by choosing to promote their ideas and words as a reminder that there are a lot of very talented women out there and if their production of amazing art is limited by the other responsibilities they have, then it makes what they do create even more incredible.

Previous post: Heroine Fix: Rebel, Spy and Princess - Let's look at Leia

Blog homepage

Hidden Diamond: Rhonda Frankhouser's Matriarch of Ruby's Ranch

There are so many books out there that it can be hard for readers to find the books they would love to read.  Every month I feature a fellow romance author who writes paranormal romance, romantic suspense, or amazing female characters.  

It's time for Back to School and this month's Heroine Fix is a fellow Soulie, Rhonda Frankhouser, who writes about feisty cowgirls falling in love.  Her most recent release, Legacy of Ruby's Ranch, is all about the matriarch whose namesake ranch inspired the series.

From the moment her grandmother presses an ancient amulet into her palm, Rube Gautier’s life changes. Chosen to lead a mystical life in the service of her village, she’s expected to marry within the community and confer with the spirits to lead her people, but all she really wants is a normal life, on a ranch of her own far away from Oklahoma, with a man of her choosing. When she lays eyes on Mac, hope for a different future begins to blossom.

World War II hero, Mackenzie Adams finds more than he bargained for at a local livestock auction. When he catches sight of the fiery redhead commanding a crowd of roughneck ranchers, his heart pounds faster than it had when he’d stormed Omaha beach. He’d never seen so much passion and so much angst in such a beautiful package. Unfortunately, she’s bound to another life.

Sparks fly between Rube and Mac even as danger lurks around them. The spirits insist Rube must fulfill her destiny, and they will do what they must to see it done, even if it means taking those Rube loves away from her.

The Power of Tradition and Symbolism in a Good Story

Hi, my name is Rhonda and I’m an addict. Over my years of book-addiction, I’ve found I’m drawn to drama and controversy. I’m not proud of it, but I get sucked into the against-all-odds stories where tormented souls search and fight for freedom and love. The more desperate and angsty, the better. Even if it means the character in question will lose what they’ve sought to follow, and change their own set of (often misguided) deep-seated values, I’m all in. Oh sure, I cry and fuss at them. But I respect them all the same for following their beliefs.  

Even when reading fiction, I pick up something about the plight of man’s battle between good and evil. I’ve learned the most about religion and spirituality, not from the Bible or the animated preacher, but from talented authors weaving it into their beautifully researched prose from every time period. Signs and symbols play a powerful role in reminding the faithful follower of their purpose in life. Some talismans are meant to soothe while others threaten to scold. Think the Christian cross, the Ischthys (Fish), the Star of David, and the Yin and Yang, to name a few. Each symbolizing the essence of their own religious or spiritual beliefs.  

In my latest release, Legacy of Ruby’s Ranch, my heroine, Rube Gautier, is born into a culture steeped in ancient tradition. When her grandmother placed the silver Lauburu into Rube’s hand, the burden of her people’s safety and future was hers to bear. For this feisty cowgirl who dreams of a new life, the struggle between love and tradition tears at her.  

The Lauburu is an ancient Basque talisman which symbolizes culture and unity among other things. Some interpretations lean toward the philosophical (physical, mental, emotional and perceptual), while others believe the four heads are representative of the essential natural elements or seasons. In my story, I’ve used a mix of these beliefs to guide Rube’s journey. As a former philosophy major, I’ve had a bit of fun mixing my two worlds together.

Do you have an important symbol in your life? How does is support and guide you? Next time you’re reading a new book, see if you can pick out instances in the story line where tradition and culture play a part. I’m sure you’ll find a few. I’d love to hear about your experiences, both as a writer and reader where values dictated a character’s path. Thanks for listening.

Check out all of Rhonda's books on Amazon

Hidden Diamond Questionnaire

What is the wildest thing you’ve done to research a book?

I’m not sure if it’s wild, exactly, but I spent hours binge watching Ancient Aliens on the History Channel. My husband was sure I’d lost my mind.

What is your writing process?

I do a little plotting to get the main theme of a new book, then I let my pantser personality take over. When I first started writing years ago, I spent days outlining different story ideas, which ended up being a writer’s prison for me. When I tried to force my characters to move and act according to my will, they went on strike and stopped talking. So, I gave in and let them dictate the story. They haven’t disappointed me so far.

I’m DEFINITELY a flow writer who prefers to be alone during the writing process.  I can’t even listen to music that has lyrics. I’ve tried, trust me, but what I found on my read back, were those same lyrics written into the storyline. So, it’s nice easy acoustic guitar or soft Celtic love songs for me.  

What is your favorite thing to do to relax?

When I really need to relax, I head to the mountains, find a hammock and breathe. I’m not a big city kind of girl. Birds chirping, wind in the trees, the scent of pine, these are my kind of heaven.

Who is your favorite fictional crush?

My latest fictional crush is, yes, cliché, Jamie Frasier from Outlander. Oh mercy, I’m a sucker for a hot highlander. I know it’s not original, but it’s true. It’s no wonder my gorgeous husband has a bit of a red tint in his hair. Wink!

Astronauts or cavemen?

This is a timely debate for me to enter into, especially after my recent research binge of the Ancient Aliens series. I’m easily an astronaut girl. They would be smarter and more cunning. That alone would outdo the primitive sensibility of the caveman.  

Thank you, Rhonda, for being one of my Hidden Diamonds!  Join us next month on September 26th for next month's feature.

Or check out last month's special gem, Jaycee Jarvis's Fantasy Romance and Creating An Emotional Experience

Previous blog post: The Real Costs Behind Books

Blog homepage

Heroine Fix: Mazikeen, Totally Worth It

Heroine Fix is a monthly feature where I share amazing and interesting female characters whom I admire and inspire my own writing. This post will contain spoilers.

Those who know me are well aware that I adore the television series Lucifer, with its irreverent take on Christian mythology.  And one of my favourite characters is the title character's best friend and right-hand demon, Mazikeen (Maze for short).

Whereas Lucifer is conflicted about his purpose and nature, Maze is confident in her own path.  She is on Earth to protect Lucifer and enjoy herself with sex, liquor and violence.  It's only as Lucifer shifts into doing more and more good that she begins to doubt her place.  She and Lucifer have been partners for millennia.  She was his head torturer and second in command.  If he is abandoning that part of his life, its a rejection of her as well.

The rejection leaves her lost in a society she doesn't understand.  Human customs seem arbitrary and hypocritical.  For all that she enjoys physical pleasures, they aren't enough for her.

Any one would be overwhelmed when faced with the diminishing of a long-term partnership, and the erosion of our understanding of the world.  Most of us would give up.

Mazikeen returns to Lucifer and demands respect and acknowledgment.  In his narcissism, he doesn't understand why this is so crucial to her.  She takes the incredibly scary step of following through on her ultimatum.  She leaves him to find her own place in the world.

In doing so, she discovers a richness she'd previously despised: the humans.  She begins a friendship with Linda, a psychologist who knows the truth about demons on Earth.  Linda helps her to understand human customs (though not without some setbacks and misunderstandings).  Mazikeen also befriends Trixie, a young girl who is not afraid of the supernatural.  The relationship with Trixie brings out Maze's protective side.  No little girl has ever been safer from anyone looking to hurt her.

She finds a job that she loves and excels at, a bounty hunter.  She can find any bad guy and bring them back easily.  She revels in her skills and how easy it is for her to show-up the more macho, experienced bounty hunters.  Watching her take unrepentant pride in her accomplishments rather than dismissing them is frankly inspiring.  So often women are trained to accept compliments with a "here's why I don't deserve this" instead of "damn right, I am awesome."

In season 4, Mazikeen does something that will forever cement her as one of the bravest characters I've had the pleasure of watching.  Throughout the series, she has protected herself by keeping a flippant distance from even her closest friends.  She rarely admits any feelings beyond rage, and tends to be dismissive of her relationships (even though she's taken incredible damage in order to protect her friends).

In this most recent season, Mazikeen falls in love with Eve (the actual Eve, as in the original human woman mentioned in the Bible).  Eve is in love (or at least infatuation) with Lucifer, and enlists Maze's help to win his heart.  Mazikeen takes the risk of telling Eve how she feels (in a glorious cover of Oasis's Wonderwall), knowing that it is most likely that Eve doesn't feel the same way about her.

Mazikeen allows herself to be completely vulnerable.  And when Eve misunderstands the gesture, Maze has the courage to accept that what she wanted isn't possible.

She could physically force Eve to be with her.  She could have lied and tricked Eve into a relationship.  But she wanted something genuine and wasn't willing to settle for anything less.

Because Maze knows what she's worth.  And she's worth the happily ever after with someone who adores her and whom she adores, the challenging job that she's brilliant at, and the respect and friendship of those in her life.

We shouldn't settle for anything less either.

Previous Heroine Fix: Sara Lance from DC's Legends of Tomorrow

Previous post: Overcoming Writer's Block

Blog homepage

Heroine Fix: Seeing Ourselves in DC's Sara Lance (The White Canary)

Heroine Fix is a monthly feature which examines characters whom I admire and who inspire the characters in my own writing.  This post will contain spoilers.

I've often said that DC's Legends of Tomorrow is one of my favourite shows these days.  It's got a great sense of humour and doesn't take itself too seriously, while still managing to touch on some powerful storylines and topics.  One of the most interesting characters on the time-travelling ship is the current captain, Sara Lance, also known as the White Canary.  She's a master assassin with off the chart weapon skills, trying to find her way to redemption.

When I first saw Sara Lance in her recurring role on Flash and Arrow, I'll admit that I somewhat dismissed her as another laconic action hero.  But as I got to know her through Legends, I saw the subtle nuances of her character, such as her sharp wit and quiet, but heartfelt, devotion to those she cares about.  Even though she literally has a time-ship, she has resisted the temptation to save her beloved sister's life, knowing it would cause chaos in the timeline.

Her reserve becomes more poignant when I knew that she was killed and then resurrected without a soul, becoming a feral, merciless killer.  As I got to know her better, I could see how much she fights against becoming that killer again.  It's a constant battle of vigilance, one that has held her back from making connections with others.  She holds herself back from her fellow Legends, but at the same time, she's ready to do whatever is necessary to protect them.

That's one of the reasons why it's been so satisfying to watch Sara grow into her role as captain and mentor.  And most satisfying of all, she's allowed herself to fall in love (and even picture a future with), Ava Sharpe, the head of the Time Bureau.  The episode The Eggplant, the Witch and the Wardrobe (S4E12), where Sara and Ava have to navigate an IKEA analog to their relationship is funny and heartwarming.

Characters like Sara often stay one-dimensional.  They're there to kick-ass and do the impossible.  They often stay mired in tragedy, but one of the reasons why I like Sara and Legends is that they allow her to be happy.  It's not easy, and she has to work for it, but there's a chance.  And yet, Sara hasn't had to give up any of her skills in order to be "worthy" of love.

And since it is Pride Month, it also seems worthwhile to mention that her sexuality has been handled with respect.  She is openly bisexual, and doesn't hide it.  Her attraction to men and women isn't played for laughs, or put solely into subtext, and she's certainly doesn't fall into the indiscriminate sleeps-with-anyone stereotype.  When she falls in love, it's powerful and meaningful.

If she had stayed on Arrow, she would have stayed in a bleak and dark world, but moving to Legends allowed her to explore other aspects of her character, lightening her up and giving her more depth.  It's been fun watching her explore different times and cultures, from disco queen to cowboy to medieval knight.

One of my favourite storylines is when when she goes back to the 1950s and meets a young nurse just beginning to explore her own sexuality.  Sara has gotten a job undercover at the asylum/hospital.  When she sees a doctor sexually harassing the nurse, she comes to the nurse's defense, "accidentally" slamming a drawer into the doctor.  The two of them talk, and Sara shares that she likes girls as well as boys.  The nurse shyly admits that she likes girls.  Later, it's revealed that Sara's encouragement let the nurse gain the courage to live openly as a lesbian.  I'm sure it wouldn't have been easy, but I often think about that moment.  How one opportunity to be seen can make all the difference in granting someone the courage to be happy rather than spending their lives trying to pretend to be something other than what they are.

Those are the little moments where we can all be heroes.  Where we can give encouragement rather than passive silence.  I think it also highlights why representation is so important, because it can make a real difference.

There are lots of people who can see themselves in Sara.  Those who have horrible deeds in their past and who want to atone for them.  Those who are in a position of responsibility and are struggling to find the balance between leadership and mentorship.  Those who are haunted by temptation to take actions that will benefit them personally but which could have negative effects on the rest of the world.  Those who find themselves at a distance from others because of their skills, but who want to have friendships or romantic relationships.  And those who are sexually attracted to more than one of the genders.

Having her succeed on screen gives them all a chance to believe they can succeed in real life.

Previous post: The Despair Moment in Romance (My Favourite Part)

Blog homepage

  

Heroine Fix: The Definitive Warrior Woman: Zoe Washburne

I'm addicted to strong and intriguing characters.  Heroine Fix is a monthly feature examining well-developed female characters that I admire and who influence my own writing.  Warning: this post will contain spoilers.

First off, my apologies for the delay on this post.  I learned some very upsetting news involving my children and I needed to take some time to process before I could concentrate on anything else again.  Which actually leads me into talking about this month's Heroine Fix, because I used this amazing character to help me pull through.  Firefly's Zoe Washburne faced her own overwhelming tragedy and though she was broken up, she still flew true.

Zoe and her husband, Wash, were one of the most well-adjusted couples I've ever seen on screen.  They laughed together, they expressed their affection and attraction to one another regularly, and even when they disagreed, they respected each other.  We only get hints of how their relationship developed.  Somehow they went from "he bothers me" to a deep commitment.  As a romance author, I love seeing a relationship develop but sometimes it's nice to see an actually Happily Ever After playing out.  (And as a Firefly fan, I'm still heartbroken over how Wash died.)

One of the things I loved about Zoe was how everyone respected her strength.  Even Jayne, Firefly's resident tough, didn't challenge her, though he had no trouble frequently challenging the captain.  No one tried to make her less than she was or hinted that she should not be the incredibly competent warrior badass that she was.  In the novelization, River describes Zoe as the scariest person on the ship Serenity because she is absolutely relentless when faced with a goal.  When the bad guys have both Captain Mal and Wash, Zoe goes in to buy back their freedom.  When told she can only have one, she chooses Wash before the bad guy can finish speaking, depriving the bad guy of an opportunity to sadistically torture her.

The challenge with a character like Zoe is that it takes a very skilled writer (and actress) to keep her from becoming two-dimensional.  If she becomes defined unilaterally as the person who gets stuff done, then she becomes purely functional, with no depth.  It's important to show her vulnerability without making her fail or otherwise undermining her competence.  Gina Torres often showed the depths of Zoe's emotion through body language, leaving no doubt that she was compassionate as well as protective.

When the Captain Mal makes a joke at Kaylee's expense, Zoe glares at him, steps between him and her, and takes over his burden.  Without a word, she makes it clear that Mal stepped over the line and if he does it again, he'll have her to reckon with.

When someone reaches for a gun while the crew is in the middle of a robbery, Zoe steps behind him, points her gun at his head and says "Do you know what the definition of a hero is?  Someone who gets other people killed."  Then when he relents, she adds, "You can look it up later."

Zoe also got some of the best lines, revealing her sense of humor:

Mal: A ship like this will be with you 'til the day you die.
Zoe: Yeah.  'Cause it's a deathtrap.

Mal: Hell, this job, I would pull for free.
Zoe: Then can I have your share?

I had the pleasure of seeing Gina Torres at this year's Comic Con and she gave an answer that I think sums up the character neatly.  Joss Whedon described Firefly's success as due to the characters.  That it was nine people looking out at the stars and seeing nine different things.  Someone asked Gina what Zoe saw when she looked out at the stars.

The answer: hope.

It was the perfect answer.  Because I think that's what truly drives Zoe.  She does what needs to be done, the things that no one else is willing to step up and do, because she has the hope for a better future.  It's what keeps her going when anyone else would collapse under the weight of experience.  That's what inspires me about her character and give me the courage to believe in the eternal possibility of hope, no matter how dark things might feel in the moment.

(Keep reading for a sneak peek about next month's Heroine Fix and a special offer on my own books.)

Check out my latest release, Spirit Sight, about a heroine who's willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Or take a look at last month's Heroine Fix, the fierce but vulnerable Gamora.  Or my last blog post on finding a way to cope with my own blind spots.

Next month, I'll be sharing my thoughts on Sarah Lance from DC's Legends of Tomorrow.  Join me on June 13th's for next month's Heroine Fix.

Blog homepage