The Girls in the Story

mmm17 · Post by **mmm17** » 15 Sep 2019, 08:44

Kro92813 wrote: ↑14 Sep 2019, 19:56
mmm17 wrote: ↑14 Sep 2019, 09:02 I absolutely agree with you. Emily, for instance, could have been much better developed. Male authors sometimes have difficulties portraying women, which I think is only natural. But it is frustrating, indeed. I, for one, prefer books and movies that equally develop both male and female characters.
It may be true that Male authors have a harder time portraying women, but Dew Pellucid is a female author

Good point! Thanks for clarifying. Even worse, though, isn't it?

KendraRobinson · Post by **KendraRobinson** » 15 Sep 2019, 09:14

mmm17 wrote: ↑15 Sep 2019, 08:44
Kro92813 wrote: ↑14 Sep 2019, 19:56
mmm17 wrote: ↑14 Sep 2019, 09:02 I absolutely agree with you. Emily, for instance, could have been much better developed. Male authors sometimes have difficulties portraying women, which I think is only natural. But it is frustrating, indeed. I, for one, prefer books and movies that equally develop both male and female characters.
It may be true that Male authors have a harder time portraying women, but Dew Pellucid is a female author
Good point! Thanks for clarifying. Even worse, though, isn't it?

Yes, I think its stereotypical for Male characters to be the strong adventurous leaders. In all honesty, Emmy could have been the main character looking for her twin brother Will who was left in Echoland, but then princesses and queens would have to have a more prominant status than princes and kings for that storyline to "work".

Kabui-nj · Post by **Kabui-nj** » 16 Sep 2019, 14:52

I agree with you. Female characters in the book are somehow invisible and are not well developed.

Karina Nowak · Post by **Karina Nowak** » 17 Sep 2019, 18:32

You know, I was reading the reviews and I thought to myself, 'he goes looking for his sister but nobody really seems to mention much about her even in the reviews'. Sad that she is the driver behind a lot of the initial plot but doesn't get to do much.

Hannalore · Post by **Hannalore** » 18 Sep 2019, 07:09

I do totally agree . Female characters in this book occupy the back seat and are not brought forward by the author.

djr6090 · Post by **djr6090** » 18 Sep 2019, 08:04

Now that Harry Potter has grown up, the field is wide open for a replacement fantasy. Maybe her next novel will feature the girls. The librarian, Dew Pellucid, could have had more involvement too. She seemed like a nurturing presence, but this story is supposed to be YA. In books for the youngsters, adults are almost never as smart or involved as the kids.

Snowflake · Post by **Snowflake** » 18 Sep 2019, 17:49

It was interesting to read all of the posts on this topic. Some very good points were made. I definitely prefer books with strong female characters and I hope the ones in this book get more attention in the future.

KendraRobinson · Post by **KendraRobinson** » 18 Sep 2019, 20:36

Karina Nowak wrote: ↑17 Sep 2019, 18:32 You know, I was reading the reviews and I thought to myself, 'he goes looking for his sister but nobody really seems to mention much about her even in the reviews'. Sad that she is the driver behind a lot of the initial plot but doesn't get to do much.

Yes the story initially sets up like he is going to echoland for the sole purpose of finding his sister, but that changes fairly quickly and Emmy is put on the back burner

Ferdinand_Otieno · Post by **Ferdinand_Otieno** » 18 Sep 2019, 23:50

cristinaro wrote: ↑01 Sep 2019, 01:50 Although I enjoyed reading the novel, I couldn't help noticing the female characters were given only marginal roles. Will's sister, Emily, and Valerie, Victor Valerian's niece, are the only girls in the story. They save the day more than once, yet I don't think they are given enough attention, especially Emily. Would you like them to acquire a central position in the future novels in the series?

That was the most strange thing during the story. For a female author to make only reactive female characters and focus mainly on the development of male characters, few at that.

NIRUPAMA JHA · Post by **NIRUPAMA JHA** » 19 Sep 2019, 03:38

Yes, there was minimal amount of attention given to the girls. I hope the girl characters will get the central in the sequence of this book.

LinaMueller · Post by **LinaMueller** » 19 Sep 2019, 05:40

I don't think that women should be protagonists in every novel. You are right that the female characters were given only marginal roles, but I don't see any problem at all.

Susmita Biswas · Post by **Susmita Biswas** » 19 Sep 2019, 06:45

I agree with you. The girls did a lot, but didn't get the attention they deserve.

KendraRobinson · Post by **KendraRobinson** » 19 Sep 2019, 07:12

LinaMueller wrote: ↑19 Sep 2019, 05:40 I don't think that women should be protagonists in every novel. You are right that the female characters were given only marginal roles, but I don't see any problem at all.

And in this particular book, as much as i would have liked to hear more from and about Emmy, we really couldnt because the Sounds and Echoes at the orphanage couldnt know that Emmy and Will were twins.

I honestly hadnt notices the lack of female presence until this thread haha

Ferdinand_Otieno · Post by **Ferdinand_Otieno** » 19 Sep 2019, 07:43

Hannalore wrote: ↑18 Sep 2019, 07:09 I do totally agree . Female characters in this book occupy the back seat and are not brought forward by the author.

It is quite ironic that a female author would write static female charactets who are mainly reactive, but I think the story was following the protagonist - a teenage boy and only the characters associated to the furthering of his adventure were active.