Womanhood as a prison in Natasha Pulley novels
I know that a great deal has already been said about Natasha Pulleyâs portrayal of female characters, because even her most ardent fans (and I count myself among them) are often highly critical of how women are written in her stories - or, more aptly, written out of them.
But I think there is more to be said about how not only female characters are presented, but how the very concept of femininity is portrayed, via both the charactersâ dialogue and inner thoughts. This analysis will reference all of Pulleyâs books with the exception of The Bedlam Stacks. Iâm excluding it on the grounds of it having little to no major female characters, but if any Bedlam superfans have any insight to add, please do reblog and contribute.
One of the main criticisms of Pulleyâs women is their overarching similarity, so letâs briefly consider those commonalities. They are mostly educated, career-driven scientists (Grace is a budding physicist, Agatha a surgeon, Anna a much more experienced physicist). They are usually unnattractive by conventional standards; Grace is described as looking âlike a boyâ, Pepperharrow refers to herself as being ugly, Agatha is âtall and flat-chestedâ, and Annaâs introduction mentions that she has a âblonde buzz cutâ and is somewhat overweight.
They are also generally emotionally cold and poor caretakers, especially in contrast to the male characters. Joeâs wife, Alice, is noted to resent their daughter and engage with her far less than he does. Similarly, Shenkov is significantly more child-orientated than Anna. Agatha forces Missouri to watch a man having his throat cut, because she believes him too gentle for war. Said female characters may also show distaste for softer, more vulnerable women. Takiko Pepperharrow speaks of her mother like this (The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, p. 72):Â
Saying yes and simpering all the time was silly - her mother did that and even noticeably anxious ducklings walked over her mother
