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dolorosa_12Day Seventeen: Favorite warrior female character
Sulien ap Gwien (Tir Tanagiri Saga, Jo Walton)
I've written before about my love for this series, and how I feel it's the best interpretation of the Arthurian legend I'm ever likely to encounter, but I haven't written all that much about its protagonist and narrator, the war-leader Sulien ap Gwien (yes, in this universe, that is a woman's name, even though Sulien is a Welsh man's name, and ap is used for male patronymics in Welsh. Just go with it). Sulien is brave, loyal, practical and enduring, comfortable leading a charge of horses or carousing in a campsite, terrible at making small talk and at standing up to her mother.
The brilliance of this series lies in how its Arthur-figure and his struggle to rule is depicted. Although he is a nobleman, his birth is no better than that of several other claimants. He is a good leader and respected by his followers, but their respect is due to the fact that they understand what he's fighting for: a united kingdom in which a leader of his power and charisma is unnecessary. He doesn't represent some knightly or nationalistic ideal, but rather fights to create laws under which all are equal, a safe land for farmers and craftspeople and markets, a multi-ethnic community that understands why raiders from the Ireland-analogue and Anglo-Saxon-analogue regions might need to go across the sea in search of wealth and plunder. This recognition of the concerns of those who are not noble and who don't carry swords extends into the ongoing military campaign, and Walton continually stresses that establishing secure lines of communication, building up a network of food caches, maintaining roads, accurate maps and so on are as tactically crucial as leadership on the battlefield. The work of those who conduct peace negotiations, forge alliances through marriages and dinner-table diplomacy, or who simply provide a neutral space for unlikely allies or former enemies to sit down over bread and wine is also highly valued.
I've spent a lot of time talking about Urdo, the Arthur-figure, because it's necessary to understand what he's all about if you want to understand why Sulien is loyal to him. She believes in his cause. She has grown up knowing nothing but civil war, raiding parties and the collapse of society, and in Urdo she sees hope of something more. She finds freedom and purpose as a military leader under him, but she understands that she's not fighting as part of a warlord's hired muscle, but at the vanguard of social change in order to usher in a more safe and equal society. Sulien understands that before you have peace, you must have justice.
I'm not normally one for warrior characters, particularly those who are part of an organised, hierarchical military. They normally seem too conformist and loyal to hierarchies or flawed leaders beyond all reason to appeal much to me. But in the Tir Tanagiri Saga, the loyalty of Sulien makes sense, because Urdo is someone worth following, and his vision is one worth fighting for. I've always found it a great shame that not many people seem to have read this series, as it is glorious.
Day Eighteen: Favorite non-warrior female character
Day Nineteen: Favorite non-human female character
Day Twenty: Favorite female antagonist
Day Twenty-One: Favorite female character screwed over by canon
Day Twenty-Two: Favorite female character you love but everyone else hates
Day Twenty-Three: Favorite female platonic relationship
Day Twenty-Four: Favorite female romantic relationship
Day Twenty-Five: Favorite mother/daughter and/or sister relationship
Day Twenty-Six: Favorite classical female character (from pre-20th century literature or mythology or the like)
Day Twenty-Seven: A female character you have extensive personal canon for
Day Twenty-Eight: Favorite female writer (television, books, movies, etc.)
Day Twenty-Nine: A female-centric fic rec
Day Thirty: Whatever you’d like!
Sulien ap Gwien (Tir Tanagiri Saga, Jo Walton)
I've written before about my love for this series, and how I feel it's the best interpretation of the Arthurian legend I'm ever likely to encounter, but I haven't written all that much about its protagonist and narrator, the war-leader Sulien ap Gwien (yes, in this universe, that is a woman's name, even though Sulien is a Welsh man's name, and ap is used for male patronymics in Welsh. Just go with it). Sulien is brave, loyal, practical and enduring, comfortable leading a charge of horses or carousing in a campsite, terrible at making small talk and at standing up to her mother.
The brilliance of this series lies in how its Arthur-figure and his struggle to rule is depicted. Although he is a nobleman, his birth is no better than that of several other claimants. He is a good leader and respected by his followers, but their respect is due to the fact that they understand what he's fighting for: a united kingdom in which a leader of his power and charisma is unnecessary. He doesn't represent some knightly or nationalistic ideal, but rather fights to create laws under which all are equal, a safe land for farmers and craftspeople and markets, a multi-ethnic community that understands why raiders from the Ireland-analogue and Anglo-Saxon-analogue regions might need to go across the sea in search of wealth and plunder. This recognition of the concerns of those who are not noble and who don't carry swords extends into the ongoing military campaign, and Walton continually stresses that establishing secure lines of communication, building up a network of food caches, maintaining roads, accurate maps and so on are as tactically crucial as leadership on the battlefield. The work of those who conduct peace negotiations, forge alliances through marriages and dinner-table diplomacy, or who simply provide a neutral space for unlikely allies or former enemies to sit down over bread and wine is also highly valued.
I've spent a lot of time talking about Urdo, the Arthur-figure, because it's necessary to understand what he's all about if you want to understand why Sulien is loyal to him. She believes in his cause. She has grown up knowing nothing but civil war, raiding parties and the collapse of society, and in Urdo she sees hope of something more. She finds freedom and purpose as a military leader under him, but she understands that she's not fighting as part of a warlord's hired muscle, but at the vanguard of social change in order to usher in a more safe and equal society. Sulien understands that before you have peace, you must have justice.
I'm not normally one for warrior characters, particularly those who are part of an organised, hierarchical military. They normally seem too conformist and loyal to hierarchies or flawed leaders beyond all reason to appeal much to me. But in the Tir Tanagiri Saga, the loyalty of Sulien makes sense, because Urdo is someone worth following, and his vision is one worth fighting for. I've always found it a great shame that not many people seem to have read this series, as it is glorious.
Day Eighteen: Favorite non-warrior female character
Day Nineteen: Favorite non-human female character
Day Twenty: Favorite female antagonist
Day Twenty-One: Favorite female character screwed over by canon
Day Twenty-Two: Favorite female character you love but everyone else hates
Day Twenty-Three: Favorite female platonic relationship
Day Twenty-Four: Favorite female romantic relationship
Day Twenty-Five: Favorite mother/daughter and/or sister relationship
Day Twenty-Six: Favorite classical female character (from pre-20th century literature or mythology or the like)
Day Twenty-Seven: A female character you have extensive personal canon for
Day Twenty-Eight: Favorite female writer (television, books, movies, etc.)
Day Twenty-Nine: A female-centric fic rec
Day Thirty: Whatever you’d like!
