The book involves only a few female characters: Is it justified?

[Miller56]

When I was reading the book, I noticed that there are no major female characters involved in the storyline. The protagonist, the protagonist's friends, Voulhire's leader, Riva Rohavi's leader, Hillport's leader, and the magical antagonist are all males. Many people say that given the book's medieval setting, it is only common that the book also follows medieval norms: decreased roles for women and bigger roles for men.

What is your opinion on this? Does the above explanation completely justify the book's lack of female main characters?

I think that the roles women played in medieval settings are generally not as pronounced and this could explain the lack of major female characters in the storyline. However, I think that women provided a lot of strength and should not be ignored in any setting, including medieval. The women kept the home working while the men were away and should be recognized for their role. There are a lot of strong women in all eras.

[Justine Ocsebio]

Probably the most disappointing aspect in this series is the lack of female characters. I have only read the first three books, and I’ve only seen a handful of female entities therein but none of them are strong, established characters. In the rare occasions that a female makes an appearance, it is in the form of a victimized citizen or some nobleman’s wife and other minor roles. Okay, the addition of Beth in the third book is quite promising, but it doesn’t feel adequate. When I encountered this series, the premise reminded me of Game of Thrones with the intricate plot, power plays, medieval settings with incorporation of magic and all that. In my opinion, Game of Thrones is the perfect example that a story being set in a medieval world is not a justification to deny female characters of important and well-established roles.

[Iva Stoyanova]

I was wondering about the same thing too! The series have quite an unusual and slow way of presenting the characters. It feels like watching a TV series where the characters and the plot are gradually unfolding. The female characters will be crucial for the next books of the series. This book is only an introduction, so it's normal we don't have much female presence.

[zainherb]

When I was reading the book, I noticed that there are no major female characters involved in the storyline. The protagonist, the protagonist's friends, Voulhire's leader, Riva Rohavi's leader, Hillport's leader, and the magical antagonist are all males. Many people say that given the book's medieval setting, it is only common that the book also follows medieval norms: decreased roles for women and bigger roles for men.

What is your opinion on this? Does the above explanation completely justify the book's lack of female main characters?

I know. The lack of strong female characters in the early books was not a little disturbing.

However, later in in the series, there are female that will arise and play pivotal roles in saving Voulhire.
So, all's well that ends well.

[Sarah Schmidt]

The few female characters we meet include the mayor's wife and daughter, Beth, and the housekeeper. So far, apart from the first two, these characters seem to hold some weight. I'm not sure that, simply due to the medieval settings of a story, the lack of central female figures is justified, but the way how this book is set up leaves room for the introduction of new characters. Most female characters in fantasy are downgraded to arm candy most of the time, so I'm hoping this doesn't happen in this series.

[GianKosi77]

It is too early to judge I guess. This is just the first book in the series and we still have a long way to go. However, the author might have done this purposefully; to imply that we don't need the entire generation of women but just a few (determined) to bring a change.

[Nduthu43]

Well, the first female character I met was Lord Orlin's guard who was terminated by Meldorath in the prologue. Other characters are Rita, the lady at the Inn at Magnum Caelum. There is also Both, Lord Eldus wife and daughter. I think that it points to gender roles at the time as set by the author. Tysz having been born and raised in Long Island must harbor some element of patriarchy owing to historic background of Puritans and Dutch back in the 16century. History and societal norms shape writers.

[ashleymarie310]

This is a really interesting question because we have to take into account multiple factors - the time period it takes place in, the setting within that time period. The woman warrior in me wants to insist that there is nothing that justifies the lack of strong women in this first book; however, I am reassured by several people saying that they became a more significant part of the series moving forward, so maybe they didn't make sense for the vision the author had for this particular book.

[Pinning_RJ]

I noticed that too! The lack of female characters made me less prone to connect to the story. Apart from Beth and the housekeeper, all other mentionable and prominent charachters were male. I don't think it's justified!

[Folcro]

Tysz having been born and raised in Long Island must harbor some element of patriarchy owing to historic background of Puritans and Dutch back in the 16century. History and societal norms shape writers.

Glad you paid attention! To be honest though, I haven't met a lot of Dutch or Puritans on Long Island. In fact, LI has a very high number of Catholics and Jews as compared to the rest of the United States. Racially, LI is a melting pot. In fact, in the school district of my hometown, caucasians are actually under 50% of the population with a spike in hispanic and asian families moving here in the past few decades.

As for my part, my family came to the island during the immigration boom of the 1880's, chiefly from Poland, Ireland, and Italy. Maybe the roots of those cultures show in my writing, for better or worse. Something to definitely think about!

[Nduthu43]

Well, there you go. I note that Poland, Ireland and Italy are patriarchal to date. These cultures inform not only content but also imagination. It isn't surprising then that the role of women in your writings is limited and of, should I say inferior to the one played by men? Thank you for this insight. I intend to read the fourth book. Noted.

[Lost Souls world]

I don’t think the book have any bad impact by not adding any important female protagonist the story goes well. May be in the next books of this series some female characters will be added. But I think according to the story the characters are justified.

[Iris Marsh]

I don't think a medieval setting is an excuse for not writing strong female leads; it's a fantasy story, after all. You can write whatever you want without it being historically accurate. However, there were some indications that the role division is a little different in Voulhire, as I did notice there was a female guard (perhaps even more), there was a female judge, and education was available for women as well. That's not exactly medieval style.

Still, none of these characters were protagonists (apart from Beth, in one chapter), but did any of them needed to be? Probably, it would've been possible to make Lord Eldus or the Riva Rohavi's host female. I don't think that would've altered the plot all that much. But, honestly, if Tysz came up with these characters as being male, and he wanted to write them as male, then that's his right as an author. While it's important to be conscious about the impact of stories and add diversity, I think writing with diversity in mind just for the sake of diversity won't do the writing much good.

It's a complicated issue though (especially as one can make the argument not just for female characters, but also for including LGBTQ and POC characters).

[Fozia RYK]

Beth's character is fascinating, as I would see it Also, let us not disregard the Lord Eldus' servant. She is captivating. She holds all the keys and knows all the mysteries. Likewise, she would ignore numerous abhorrent things just to endure. She is very essential.

[Maddie Atkinson]

I don't find this particularly concerning if I am honest. Being set in a medieval period, it seems normal that their are more men, no matter how annoying it may be. There are a lot of books that are predominantly female based with barely any developed male characters. I really think it depends on the context of the book and the setting of the story. For this book it may seem normal, but in another it might not be as acceptable. So yeah, it doesn't really bother me!!!