Feminist SF Wiki - User contributions [en]

List of works featuring middle-aged or old women

2009-10-04T12:45:08Z

92.224.246.29: /* Names */

{{EFCindex}}

==Names==
* '''Anne''' in [[The Sparrow]] by [[Mary Doria Russell]]
* '''Antiquity''' in ''[[Zeta Base]]'' by [[Judith Alguire]] (Naiad Press, 1991). A central character about whom the book revolves is not just any old lady, she is the revered old lady of this far future earth-based federation. In fact her name is Antiquity, to make the point. She is viewed as a bit of a doddering and perhaps senile old fool by many of the characters of the book, who are proved to be wrong when she is proved to be right.
* '''[[Gift (character)|Gift]]''' in "On the High Marsh" by [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]
* '''[[Molly Grue]]''' in [[The Last Unicorn]] by [[Peter S. Beagle]]
* '''[[Madame Guderian]]''' in ''[[The Many-Colored Land]]'' by [[Julian May]] (1981) (Madame Guderian, an older woman, is one of the central characters in the latter half of the book; she retires to The Many-Colored Land to help to right some of the wrongs.)
* '''[[Gwilan]]''' in "[[Gwilan's Harp]]" by Ursula Le Guin
* '''Harriet''' in "Malheur Country" by Ursula Le Guin
* '''[[Ista]]''' in [[Paladin of Souls]] by [[Lois McMaster Bujold]]
* '''[[Jenny Waynest]]''' in Dragonsbane by [[Barbara Hambly]]
* '''[[Mrs. Klapper]]''' in [[A Fine and Private Place]] by [[Peter S. Beagle]]
* '''[[Laia Asieo Odo]]''' in "[[The Day Before the Revolution]]" by [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]; a historical figure in ''[[The Dispossessed]]''
* '''[[Ofelia]]''', the protagonist of [[Remnant Population]] by [[Elizabeth Moon]]
* '''[[Gytha (Nanny) Ogg]]''' in many [[Discworld]] books by [[Terry Pratchett]]
* '''Sophie''' - a young woman who is enchanted to be old in ''[[Howl's Moving Castle]]'' by [[Diana Wynne Jones]]
* '''[[Hazel Mead Stone]]''' in [[The Rolling Stones]] by [[Robert A. Heinlein]]
* '''"Sur"''' by Ursula Le Guin
* '''Tamara''' in"[[The Pathways of Desire]]" by Ursula Le Guin
* '''[[Tenar]]''' in [[Tehanu]] and [[The Other Wind]] by Ursula Le Guin (grandmother)
* '''[[Esmerelda (Granny) Weatherwax]]''' in many [[Discworld]] books by [[Terry Pratchett]]
* '''Irma "Geddon" Wornow''' in Top Ten #1 - #12 by [[Alan Moore]], et al.
* '''[[Yoss]]''' in "Betrayals" by Ursula Le Guin

==Works==

* [[Patricia Anthony]] . "White Boy" in [[Eating Memories]]
* [[Peter S. Beagle]] . "The Last Song of Sirit Byar" (character of Mircha Del) in [[Giant Bones]]
* [[Leonora Carrington]]. [[The Hearing Trumpet]]
* [[Myrna Elana]]. "[[Hourglass City]]"
* [[Suzette Haden Elgin]]. [[Ozark Series]].
* [[Carol Emshwiller]]. "[[The Start of the End of the World]]" in The Norton Book of Science Fiction
* [[Molly Gloss]], ''[[The Dazzle of Day]]''
* [[Robert A. Heinlein]] . [[Citizen of the Galaxy]] (tough grandmother)
* -[[The Number of the Beast]]
* [[Nalo Hopkinson]]. [[Brown Girl in the Ring]] (grandmother)
* [[Sharon Lee]] & [[Steve Miller]] [[Local Custom]]
* --. [[Carpe Diem]]
* [[Anna Livia]]. [[Bulldozer Rising]] (1988, Onlywomen Press)
* Macavoy. [[Tea with the Black Dragon]]
* [[Marya Mannes]]. [[They]]
* [[Vonda McIntyre]]. [[Starfarers series]]
* [[Madeleine E. Robins]]. [[The Stone War]]
* [[Mary Doria Russell]]. [[Children of God]] (elder female character is alien, but feels very much like an "older woman" character)
* [[Theodore Sturgeon]]. "Granny Won't Knit"

==Other suggestions==
* [[Anne McCaffrey]], ''[[Dragonsong]]''
* [[Sheri Tepper]], ''[[Gibbons' Decline and Fall]]'' (middle-aged female protagonists)
* [[Jo Walton]], ''[[The King's Name]]'' (middle-aged female protagonist)

==Sources==
* Added Beagle, Moore, & some of the Le Guin cites from cavlec LiveJournal entry "http://www.livejournal.com/users/cavlec/38947.html Ugly and old women inSF/F]" from 2005/4/1. A few other entries culled from the readers' commentary (Robins, Lee/Miller, Elgin). Many other suggestions are in the readers' comments, but many of them seem to be for "homely" or "ugly" young women, not "crones." Also, many of the suggestions for "old women" really seem to be about middle-aged women. And certainly middle-aged women might qualify for this list, but many people seem to define mid-30s as "middle-aged" — so without further explanation I haven't included the work. It's worth reading throught his reader list, though.

[[Category:Characters by identity| ]]
[[Category:Age and ageism]]
[[Category:Lists of female characters|Middle-aged or old women]]
[[Category:EFC| ]]

{{needswork|Needed=Character names first}}

List of works featuring middle-aged or old women

2009-10-04T12:44:30Z

92.224.246.29: /* Names */

{{EFCindex}}

==Names==
* '''Anne''' in [[The Sparrow]] by [[Mary Doria Russell]]
* '''Antiquity''' in ''[[Zeta Base]]'' by [[Judith Alguire]] (Naiad Press, 1991). A central character about whom the book revolves is not just any old lady, she is the revered old lady of this far future earth-based federation. In fact her name is Antiquity, to make the point. She is viewed as a bit of a doddering and perhaps senile old fool by many of the characters of the book, who are proved to be wrong when she is proved to be right.
* '''[[Gift (character)|Gift]]''' in "On the High Marsh" by [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]
* '''[[Molly Grue]]''' in [[The Last Unicorn]] by [[Peter S. Beagle]]
* '''[[Madame Guderian]]''' in ''[[The Many-Colored Land]]'' by [[Julian May]] (1981) (Madame Guderian, an older woman, is one of the central characters in the latter half of the book; she retires to The Many-Colored Land to help to right some of the wrongs.)
* '''[[Gwilan]]''' in "[[Gwilan's Harp]]" by Ursula Le Guin
* '''Harriet''' in "Malheur Country" by Ursula Le Guin
* '''[[Ista]]''' in [[Paladin of Souls]] by [[Lois McMaster Bujold]]
* '''[[Jenny Waynest]] in Dragonsbane by [[Barbara Hambly]]
* '''[[Mrs. Klapper]]''' in [[A Fine and Private Place]] by [[Peter S. Beagle]]
* '''[[Laia Asieo Odo]]''' in "[[The Day Before the Revolution]]" by [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]; a historical figure in ''[[The Dispossessed]]''
* '''[[Ofelia]]''', the protagonist of [[Remnant Population]] by [[Elizabeth Moon]]
* '''[[Gytha (Nanny) Ogg]]''' in many [[Discworld]] books by [[Terry Pratchett]]
* '''Sophie''' - a young woman who is enchanted to be old in ''[[Howl's Moving Castle]]'' by [[Diana Wynne Jones]]
* '''[[Hazel Mead Stone]]''' in [[The Rolling Stones]] by [[Robert A. Heinlein]]
* '''"Sur"''' by Ursula Le Guin
* '''Tamara''' in"[[The Pathways of Desire]]" by Ursula Le Guin
* '''[[Tenar]]''' in [[Tehanu]] and [[The Other Wind]] by Ursula Le Guin (grandmother)
* '''[[Esmerelda (Granny) Weatherwax]]''' in many [[Discworld]] books by [[Terry Pratchett]]
* '''Irma "Geddon" Wornow''' in Top Ten #1 - #12 by [[Alan Moore]], et al.
* '''[[Yoss]]''' in "Betrayals" by Ursula Le Guin

==Works==

* [[Patricia Anthony]] . "White Boy" in [[Eating Memories]]
* [[Peter S. Beagle]] . "The Last Song of Sirit Byar" (character of Mircha Del) in [[Giant Bones]]
* [[Leonora Carrington]]. [[The Hearing Trumpet]]
* [[Myrna Elana]]. "[[Hourglass City]]"
* [[Suzette Haden Elgin]]. [[Ozark Series]].
* [[Carol Emshwiller]]. "[[The Start of the End of the World]]" in The Norton Book of Science Fiction
* [[Molly Gloss]], ''[[The Dazzle of Day]]''
* [[Robert A. Heinlein]] . [[Citizen of the Galaxy]] (tough grandmother)
* -[[The Number of the Beast]]
* [[Nalo Hopkinson]]. [[Brown Girl in the Ring]] (grandmother)
* [[Sharon Lee]] & [[Steve Miller]] [[Local Custom]]
* --. [[Carpe Diem]]
* [[Anna Livia]]. [[Bulldozer Rising]] (1988, Onlywomen Press)
* Macavoy. [[Tea with the Black Dragon]]
* [[Marya Mannes]]. [[They]]
* [[Vonda McIntyre]]. [[Starfarers series]]
* [[Madeleine E. Robins]]. [[The Stone War]]
* [[Mary Doria Russell]]. [[Children of God]] (elder female character is alien, but feels very much like an "older woman" character)
* [[Theodore Sturgeon]]. "Granny Won't Knit"

==Other suggestions==
* [[Anne McCaffrey]], ''[[Dragonsong]]''
* [[Sheri Tepper]], ''[[Gibbons' Decline and Fall]]'' (middle-aged female protagonists)
* [[Jo Walton]], ''[[The King's Name]]'' (middle-aged female protagonist)

==Sources==
* Added Beagle, Moore, & some of the Le Guin cites from cavlec LiveJournal entry "http://www.livejournal.com/users/cavlec/38947.html Ugly and old women inSF/F]" from 2005/4/1. A few other entries culled from the readers' commentary (Robins, Lee/Miller, Elgin). Many other suggestions are in the readers' comments, but many of them seem to be for "homely" or "ugly" young women, not "crones." Also, many of the suggestions for "old women" really seem to be about middle-aged women. And certainly middle-aged women might qualify for this list, but many people seem to define mid-30s as "middle-aged" — so without further explanation I haven't included the work. It's worth reading throught his reader list, though.

[[Category:Characters by identity| ]]
[[Category:Age and ageism]]
[[Category:Lists of female characters|Middle-aged or old women]]
[[Category:EFC| ]]

{{needswork|Needed=Character names first}}