Folks across the world are celebrating Women’s History Month this March. It’s a month of recognizing the women in our lives from mothers, daughters, and wives to teachers, artists, and activists in history.
This week, we’re going to focus our lens on how we as writers can create strong female characters others look up to and model their lives after. It’s important that we avoid placing these characters into boxes. But for the purpose of this blog, we will use the stereotypes to our advantage. Let’s analyze the most common stereotypes for women in literature and ancient myths: The Maiden, The Mother, and The Crone. These archetypes symbolize the arch of a woman’s life and can help guide writers on how to honor, develop, and break female character types. 
Stereotype #1: The Maiden
The Maiden is seen as a symbol of youth and curiosity. Often, this archetype can be portrayed as a naïve or immature character. Think Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout is a fiery young girl, taking the world headfirst while finding herself in the midst of a complex and difficult societal clash in 1930s rural Alabama.
Harper Lee could’ve kept Scout unaware of the injustices and societal chatter happening all around her. Instead, Lee chose to crack Scout’s innocence. This is a choice I find to be really interesting as a writer. We can have someone who is a child, naturally immature, seen as less by the grown-ups. Yet, she’s extremely observant and understanding of what her town is working through in the trial, without sacrificing her child-like behavior or belief that the world is good.
We can use Scout’s character as a starting point for a lot of the young characters we write. We can still keep their childlike wonder while also sharing their perspective on the injustices of the world. True innocence of a character is hard to come by, even in real life, so let’s make our characters like the kids and young people we know: observant, honest, and eager to learn.
Stereotype #2: The Mother
Most of us have heard the saying, “I don’t have a maternal bone in my body.” Though a common expression laughed off by many, it does shed light onto the literary stereotype of The Mother. It’s often a predisposition that all women have a “maternal bone.” Early literature assumes all women are, by nature, nurturing, patient, and good with children. Meanwhile, I know many young women who have no desire to have children or take care of a household. So, where does this leave writers who want to break the stereotype of The Mother?
To start, we can still have nurturing characters who are simultaneously fiercely independent women. Think Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. Though this series is classified as Young Adult, I find it becomes more pertinent the older I get. Katniss is forced to fight in the annual Hunger Games when she is sixteen years old, already being the main breadwinner for her mother and sister after her father is killed in a mining accident. She has taken on the role of The Mother caring for her household while simultaneously becoming a powerhouse/trailblazer as she is forced to fight for her life in the games and battle against Capital’s unjust reign. Katniss is a prime example of how writers can create an independent character who also understands their own responsibilities when it comes to family and home.
On the other hand, we have characters like Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. To this day, I have yet to read of a female character so ruthless, yet so powerful as her. In no way does she implicate her nurturing side throughout the play. However, it is widely agreed she is the catalyst for the events of the performance. Lady Macbeth teaches writers that we can subvert the stereotype of The Mother, and this subversion could, in my opinion, be used more in modern literature.
But writers don’t have to throw the traditional mother character out the window. Mothers are already a point of strength and resilience because of their nurturing and patient acts, not despite them. So, don’t be afraid to have your mother character be a mother. It’s the hardest job in the world, after all.
Stereotype #3: The Crone
It’s not often we see older, female main characters in modern literature, but it’s not unheard of. In fact, these types of older protagonists and antagonists are beginning to take center stage more often.
Let’s bring the timeline back a little bit. Take Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, for instance. Originally published in 1925, Clarissa Dalloway is considered to be “old” in her high society. Though she’s said to be only in her 50s, this is seen as well past her Maiden years. Woolf uses Mrs. Dalloway’s age to comment on the post-war society she lives in, as well as on the fleeting nature of time and memory. These are topics The Maiden nor The Mother could depict in the way the wise, experienced Crone could.
Now, let’s take a look at a more modern book, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This book follows Old Hollywood star Evelyn Hugo as she gives her last interview at age 79 and reveals scandal, emotion, and heartbreak from her time in the spotlight. However, she looks on these times with age and experience, able to reflect with a different lens than if the story was told at the height of her fame.
Mrs. Dalloway and Evelyn Hugo are two drastically different characters on the surface. Yet, we can learn from them and manipulate our own characters to mimic them. They are women of wisdom, profound thinking, and experience. And every story needs a voice of reason. Why not have it be The Crone?
Many craft books tell us to avoid stereotypes. Instead, I encourage you to lean into them and understand them as a writer. This way, you can morph and break them as needed. The most valuable lesson I’ve learned as a writer is that you must understand the rules first in order to break them. Now that you understand the stereotypes surrounding female characters, challenge yourself to create dynamic, authentic, and compelling characters.
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