Free Amazon: Difference between revisions

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#REDIRECT [[Free Amazons]]
The '''Free Amazons''' (sometimes called the "Free Amazons of Darkover") were an all-woman society that [[Oath of the Free Amazon|pledged]] to live without men.  The group was founded in response to the repressive patrarichy on the planet [[Darkover (planet)|Darkover]], a lost (and found) Earth colony that formed the primary setting for [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]]'s series of [[Darkover (series)|Darkover]] stories. 
 
==Literary history==
MZB included a Free Amazon as a secondary character in the first Darkover book she wrote, ''[[Planet Savers]]'' (1962).  Although she wanted to write a novel about them, she wasn't able to get her publisher to try a novel with a female protagonist until 1976 -- that work was ''[[The Shattered Chain]]''.<ref>Jonquil Wolfson, "[http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/marion_zimmer_bradley_feminism_991022.html MZB: A Feminist by Any Other Name?]", 1999 Oct. 22 (Special to Space.com).</ref>
 
==Aspects of the Free Amazons==
* [[Oath of the Free Amazon|The Oath of the Free Amazon]]
* Name - The organization also included a way for women to renounce patrilineal naming.
 
==Fan response==
The Free Amazons inspired a significant fan response, particularly among women.  Some women adopted FA-style feminist names -- some even doing a legal name change.  Women also started a number of fan-based organizations, "councils" of the [[Friends of Darkover]] fanclub.  A thriving [[fan-fiction]] community developed around the stories, ultimately leading to publication of series-anthologies (''e.g.'', ''[[Free Amazons of Darkover (anthology|Free Amazons of Darkover]]'').  Bradley eventually changed her policy regarding fan fiction in Darkover and other worlds after facing a copyright issue.
 
==Notes==
 
<references/>
 
[[Category:Fictional organizations]]
[[Category:Darkover]]

Latest revision as of 14:35, 8 May 2007

The Free Amazons (sometimes called the "Free Amazons of Darkover") were an all-woman society that pledged to live without men. The group was founded in response to the repressive patrarichy on the planet Darkover, a lost (and found) Earth colony that formed the primary setting for Marion Zimmer Bradley's series of Darkover stories.

Literary history

MZB included a Free Amazon as a secondary character in the first Darkover book she wrote, Planet Savers (1962). Although she wanted to write a novel about them, she wasn't able to get her publisher to try a novel with a female protagonist until 1976 -- that work was The Shattered Chain.[1]

Aspects of the Free Amazons

Fan response

The Free Amazons inspired a significant fan response, particularly among women. Some women adopted FA-style feminist names -- some even doing a legal name change. Women also started a number of fan-based organizations, "councils" of the Friends of Darkover fanclub. A thriving fan-fiction community developed around the stories, ultimately leading to publication of series-anthologies (e.g., Free Amazons of Darkover). Bradley eventually changed her policy regarding fan fiction in Darkover and other worlds after facing a copyright issue.

Notes

  1. Jonquil Wolfson, "MZB: A Feminist by Any Other Name?", 1999 Oct. 22 (Special to Space.com).