Female monsters in literature
This is a list of female monsters in literature:
Before 1900
Antiquity (until fifth century AD)
- Greek mythology
- Amphitrite, an oceanid or nereid and wife of Poseidon
- Callirrhoe, an oceanid and wife of Poseidon
- Doris, an oceanid and mother of the Nereids
- Echidna, half-woman and half-snake
- Electra, an oceanid and mother of the Harpies
- Eurynome, an oceanid and the third wife of Zeus
- The three Gorgon sisters (Medusa, Euryale, and Stheno), with hair made of venomous snakes, turn anyone who looks at them to stone
- The Harpies, birds with the heads of women
- Lamia, a child-eating, disfigured monster
- Metis, an oceanid and first wife of Zeus
- The Nereids, oceanids
- Scylla and Charybdis, sea monsters living on opposite sides of a narrow strait
- The Sirens, women combined with birds, whose songs lured sailors to wreck their ships
- The Sphinx, the head of a woman and the body of a lion, said to have guarded the entrance to the city of Thebes
- Styx, an oceanid and wife of Pallas
Middle Ages
- Beowulf (c. 700–1000): Grendel's mother, a monster-woman
- Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (c. 1220): The Valkyries, female creatures (often depicted as winged) of Norse mythology, who choose which fighters live and die in battle
- Roman de Mélusine by Jean d'Arras (1392–94): Mélusine, a water spirit of European folklore[1]
Early modern period
- Paradise Lost by John Milton (1667): Sin, an allegorical character with the tail of a fish[2]
Nineteenth century
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818): Female version of the creature created by Victor Frankenstein – he destroys it before it can be brought to life[3]
- The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (1837): The title character is a mermaid
- The Succubus by Honoré de Balzac (1837): A succubus disguised as a woman[4]
- Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu (1871–2): Carmilla, a vampire who preys upon young women[5]
- The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells (1896): Half-finished puma-woman created by Dr Moreau, who eventually fights and kills him[6]
- The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen (1894): Helen, the child of the character Mary and the Greek god Pan[6]
Twentieth century
1950s
- The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (1954): Shelob is a gigantic female spider
1960s
- Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey (1967–2012): Ramoth and --Ruth--(note: Ruth is actually a male dragon), dragons
- Vampirella comic book series, created by Forrest J Ackerman (1969–83): Vampirella, a vampire
1970s
- Lila the Werewolf by Peter S. Beagle (1974): Lila, a young female werewolf living in New York City[5]
1980s
- The Belgariad series by David Eddings (1982–4): Dryads, female human-like creatures, bound to oak trees
- Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter (1984): Fevvers, a circus performer claims to be part-swan[7]
- Vampire Princess Miyu by Toshiki Hirano (1989–2002): Miyu, half-human and half-vampire
1990s
- Tehanu and The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin (1990, 2001): Tehanu, part-human and part-dragon[5]
- Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton (1993–present): Many female characters are vampires, shapeshifters, and other creatures. In the later books, Anita Blake becomes a succubus.
- Animorphs series by K. A. Applegate and Michael Grant (1996–2001): Rachel and Cassie, can transform into any animal they touch
- Aprilhäxan by Majgull Axelsson (1997): Desirée, 'the April witch', a shape-shifting monster[8]
Twenty-first century
2000s
- Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones (2000): Elda, a griffin
- The Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris (2001–13): Sookie Stackhouse, a faerie-human hybrid. Many other female characters are vampires, fae, shapeshifters, etc.
- Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch manga series by Michiko Yokote (2002–5): Lucia, Hanon and Rina, mermaid princesses
- Emily Windsnap series by Liz Kessler (2003–15): Emily Windsnap, half-human and half-mermaid
- The Ingo Chronicles by Helen Dunmore (2005–12): Sapphire, half-human and half-mermaid
- Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer (2005–8): Several female characters are vampires and one is a werewolf. Bella becomes a vampire in the final book of the series.
- Bone Song by John Meaney (2007): Laura Steele, a benevolent zombie woman.
- The Shifters series by Rachel Vincent (2007–10): Faythe Sanders, a werecat
- The Story of GROWL by Judy Horacek (2007): Growl, a young female monster
- Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead (2007–10): Lissa, Jill and Rose, vampires
- The Host by Stephenie Meyer (2008): Wanderer, a female parasitic alien implanted into the body of a human woman
- Faery Rebels series by R. J. Anderson (2009–11): Knife, Linden and Rhosmari (among others), faeries
- Fire by Kristin Cashore (2009): Lady Fire, a 'human monster'
- Soul Screamer series by Rachel Vincent (2009–13): Kaylee and Nash, banshees
- The Parasol Protectorate and Finishing School series by Gail Carriger (2009–15): Sidheag Maccon, a werewolf
2010s
- iZOMBIE comic book series by Chris Roberson (2010–12): Gwen, a revenant or zombie
- A Centaur's Life manga series by Kei Murayama (2011–present): Himeno, a centaur
- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (2011): Claire has a second mouth in the back of her head, and the Ymbrynes can shape-shift into birds
- Monster Musume manga series by Okayado (2012–present): Many of the female characters are mermaids, centaurs, etc.
- Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (2012): Seraphina, half-dragon, half-human
- The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey (2014): Melanie, infected with a zombie virus[9]
- Talon series by Julie Kagawa (2014): Ember, a dragon hiding in human form
- Interviews with Monster Girls manga series by Petos (2015–present): Hikari (a vampire), Kyōko (a dullahan), Yuki (a snow woman), and Sakie (a succubus)
- Lorali series by Laura Dockrill (2015–17): Lorali and Aurabel, mermaids
See also
References
- Reed, Susan (26 October 2015). "The Tale of Mélusine". European studies blog. British Library. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- Sims, Beth. "The Characters of Paradise Lost: Sin and Death". Darkness Visible: A Resource for Studying Milton's Paradise Lost. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- Williams, Deborah Lindsay (November 2014). "Monstrosity and Feminism in Frankenstein". Electra Street. New York University Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- "Droll Stories by Honore de Balzac". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- Goss, Theodora (20 June 2017). "Five Monsters That Explore Gender, Sexuality, and Race". Tor. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- Goss, Theodora. "Where Are All the Female Monsters in Literature?". Read it Forward. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- Warner, Marina (25 May 2016). "Bad-good girls, beasts, rogues and other creatures: Angela Carter and the influence of fairy tales". Discovering Literature: 20th century. British Library. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- Leffler, Yvonne (12 October 2016). "Female Gothic Monsters". The History of Nordic Women's Literature. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- Smythe, James. "The Girl With All the Gifts by MR Carey – review". The Guardian – Books. The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
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