David Eddings' major female characters

[Princess Flounce]

One of the things my family has noted is that David Eddings' major female characters are not especially likeable. They're usually spoiled, demanding, manipulative, and play a constant game of one-upmanship with the male characters.

I've seen it described as a "strong female character" elsewhere, but I don't really see it as strong ... it certainly isn't behaviour I would either look to as an example, or want to emulate.

My family concluded David Eddings probably doesn't like women much.

I confess I've only read the Belgariad, Mallorean, Prequels, Tamuli and Elenium and the "talking cat crap" (thanks Lacedaemonian). Has anyone else found a likeable Eddings female yet? (Let's restrict this to major characters, as I accept Queens Porenn and Layla were likeable but they were only in minor roles.)

 

[Winters_Sorrow]

I would argue that Polgara plays a pivotal role and is very grounded and strong.
Rarely does she do the "spoiled, one-upmanship" thing. I think you're mainly complaining about C'Nedra & Ehlana (Tamuli series) in this bracket, who are both very annoying characters as you describe above.
The other major female characters I can think of are:

Adara (Garion's cousin) - very stable personality but it doesn't help that we only see her twice and one of those times she's desperately trying to get someone to notice/love her.
Porenn (Queen of Drasnia) - again, very strong character. Dotes on her husband but doesn't need to manipulate him. She has the respect of her peers and subjects.
Cydris (sp) - seer in the Mallorean series. She's quite a weak character at the end, but for most of the series she is portrayed as very much 'in control'.
Zandramas - villainess in the Mallorean series. Again at the end, she gets very weak and predictable, but for the majority, is a credible threat against the party.

p.s. Sphrenia (sp) plays the "Polgara" role in the Tamuli so again, I don't regard her as spoiled etc - this is evidence of Eddings lack of originality in his works but that's a whole other topic...

 

[Adasunshine]

It has been implied that Mr Eddings didn't write the female characters and it was in fact Mrs Eddings that had the most to do with them, which is why they're strong, wilfull, headstrong, stubborn, demanding, manipulative etc. women.

I think it's a feminist thing and sometimes it did get a bit tiresome but they were obviously trying to make a point and I did prefer it to the usual "Damsel in Distress" storylines that you see in other stories!

Out of all the females, a couple of my favourites were, Poledra and I also liked Velvet/Liselle from the Belgariad/Mallorean series. Polgara was ok but she was too bossy!!!

From the Tamuli/Elenium, I liked Queen Ehlana (mainly because of her name which isn't a lot to go on I know but there you go), Danae got on my nerves, Sephrenia was ok, I also liked the girl Kalten ended up marrying but can't for the life of me remember her name right now.

Maybe the relationship between the women and men in the stories is a reflection of married life in the Eddings household???

xx

 

[Teir]

One of the things my family has noted is that David Eddings' major female characters are not especially likeable. They're usually spoiled, demanding, manipulative, and play a constant game of one-upmanship with the male characters.

god yes! 'not especially likeable'? - try damned annoying and pissing me off big time lol

 

[talen]

ehlena she sounds like a fun person like the person youd settle down with at a young age lol im not joking

 

[talen]

It has been implied that Mr Eddings didn't write the female characters and it was in fact Mrs Eddings that had the most to do with them, which is why they're strong, wilfull, headstrong, stubborn, demanding, manipulative etc. women.

I think it's a feminist thing and sometimes it did get a bit tiresome but they were obviously trying to make a point and I did prefer it to the usual "Damsel in Distress" storylines that you see in other stories!

Out of all the females, a couple of my favourites were, Poledra and I also liked Velvet/Liselle from the Belgariad/Mallorean series. Polgara was ok but she was too bossy!!!

From the Tamuli/Elenium, I liked Queen Ehlana (mainly because of her name which isn't a lot to go on I know but there you go), Danae got on my nerves, Sephrenia was ok, I also liked the girl Kalten ended up marrying but can't for the life of me remember her name right now.

Maybe the relationship between the women and men in the stories is a reflection of married life in the Eddings household???

xx

lol good point

 

[Princess Flounce]

Eddings managed to write such sympathetic and likeable male characters (see the Favourite Eddings Character? thread for example - the vast majority of everyone's favourite characters are the male ones). It's so odd that his female characters were so flawed. I'd agree with Winters Sorrow that Polgara wasn't spoiled, but Polgara is regularly very patronising towards the male characters in a "females are better than males" sort of way. It grated on me a lot.

Adasunshine had some interesting thoughts. I too had wondered about Leigh Eddings' influence on the women characters, either directly or through David Eddings' household experiences.

 

[talen]

hey flounce everybody plz go vote on my theives of the elnium poll

 

[Elyssandrel]

I think Leigh helped a lot with the female characters.
I especially found I could relate to Polgara.
I liked his women characters but I would say some of it was shown from a chauvanistic point of view.

 

[Kynsilaukka]

In my opinion Eddigs has succeeded in making of reliable and realistic female characters, it's only that they repeat the same character types through a book after a book.

Why is everyone complaining about Ce'Nedra? She was a a-word-for-a-female-dog but she was so damn funny! I've noticed that a lot of times when a male character is not a prince charming, people like him. Then, when a female character steps out of the role of rapunzel-lolita, she's manipulative, female-doggish and so on.

 

[Parsimony]

In my opinion Eddigs has succeeded in making of reliable and realistic female characters, it's only that they repeat the same character types through a book after a book.

I agree.

I thought Polgara was good.

 

[devilsgrin]

Yes Polgara is good, great even. However Sephrenia cheapened Polgara a great deal. She's like the third or fourth layer carbon copy, so similar in many ways, but on closer inspection isn't worth looking at as its plainly a cheap imitation. Sephrenia could indeed be petty and whiny - which shocked me considering i went in eyes open expecting a Polgara clone...and even moreso than Polgara, complaining about the men around her not knowing everything which she does...perhaps thats a sign of her immaturity, she is only about 300 or so... Polgara has a few millennia on her... At least Polgara only sighed 'men' when they'd done something completely stupid or for a completely stupid reason.

 

[Princess Ivy]

i've never had a problem with his women, and yes, his wife had a lot of influence, and is now acknowledged in the newer books (now that is an oxymoron if ever i wrote one). c-nedra was a brat, as is her counterpart in other books, but that is because of who she is, the daughter of an empress. in fact, i often felt that eddings put his females on pedestals of 'womanlyness' and stopped them being human. his men were far more human.

 

[devilsgrin]

there is an element of woman worship in Eddings' books. Seen most clearly in Polgara and Sephrenia, but indeed even in Ce'Nedra and Ehlana. The men makes mistakes, the women criticise them, but don't do anything helpful either, yet the men all stand around listening to them, adoring/loving them all the time. Mirtai would come close to being the only woman in either series who actually does things...though Polgara the Sorceress reveals that Polgara was an action woman too.

 

[Talysia]

I'd say that most of Eddings' major female characters have their role to play (even if I dislike some of them), but since a lot of them are similar, it's difficult to find any that stand out. Polgara is the obvious choice, closely followed by Mirtai, who seemed to be Eddings' first prominent female character capable of defending herself without the use of magic. Velvet is another, but she shows a more vulnerable side, and while Vella seems to be a strong character, it doesn't show as much as she doesn't feature during any of the fighting.
Still, what about Xanetia? Having to go out into the world, knowing that everyone would fear her and her 'curse', moreover actually using it must require a fair amount of strength, even if it is only strength of mind or purpose.

 

[YuYus dumber Brother]

Of course i would paraise Mirtai as well. Just now she decides she doesn't like me.....
The woman come accross as being a level above the men. Always winning the barganing and chirping, never makes the am e kind of mistakes as the men. Before "Polgara the Sorceress" where she tells her story and sorrow i really detested her attitide. Now i love the woman to bits and see her in a different light in the other books as well.

 

[devilsgrin]

i totally agree. Though i always liked polgara, and she was always my favourite female character, it was Polgara the Sorceress that made me love her. She is a true Goddess! I would happily worship at the altar of Polgara if i were able to.

Mirtai really is an awesome character from all sides. Beautiful. Deadly. Intelligent. Caring. Protective. She's the ultimate sister. or if your kring, the ultimate wife.

 

[Faceless Woman]

Mirtai is excellent, though the woman who took her role in the elder gods - I forget her name - was a bit over-bearing.
I have heard the Eddings portrayal of women as 'a certain kind of strength' and I agree. Their strength comes from their ability to manipulate maen, which is never shown more clearly than the bit in Polgara with the... I forget... N-something... were the women are slaves, but can do pretty much whatever they want.
Personally, though, I'd rather have my pride than that kind of strength. I'm a person, who happens to be female.

 

[devilsgrin]

whilst Polgara was posing as a Nadrak to spy on Yarblek and Drosta... Very True. As poledra says to polgara, though nadrak women wear a collar, they are the most free of all women (besides wolves of course). The women ARE not slaves. Technically property, but NOT slaves. Did you read those passages correctly? Polgara quickly realised that she was more free in Gar og Nadrak than anywhere in the west.

 

[Faceless Woman]

That's what I was saying, that they were technically slaves, but still free in a certain way. And they only had that freedom if they obeyed the rules of the game. If one was squeemish at the sight of blood for example, what do you think would happen to her? Badness, with no-one to stop it. And no-one would stop it.