Terry Goodkind is a seemingly controversial author, but in
my opinion, he has some of the best female representation in fantasy. I love Kahlan
and the Mord-Sith. Kahlan,
the Mother Confessor, can brainwash her victims with a single touch. The
Mord-Sith, tragically are tortured until the break and become the best killing
machines, feared throughout the land. And in both cases, it can only be women because only women have the strength and ability to handle these powers. Men
and women are given sex-specific powers in Sword of Truth. I haven’t come across
that in other fantasy novels. It's an interesting concept.
The women are extremely powerful and honestly more powerful
and smarter than the main character Richard. Richard only gets out of
situations because he is the MC and without him there is no story. The women
from Nicci, to Kahlan, to Addie, are powerful in their own right and don’t act
clueless. I find in a lot of fantasy and romantasy the female MC is whiny,
clingy, or powerful just because they are the MC. (Violet from Fourth Wing or
Persephone in Touch of Darkness) In SOT, the women are not naïve and if you mess with
them you will die instantly and they will not regret it.
My favorite scenes are when Kahlan slaughters an entire army
naked on horseback, and when the Mord-Sith are in love and they feed the squirrels.
Other favorite scenes include when Kahlan was recovering and the pain that was described
in the first half of Faith of the Fallen. Even how the Mord-Sith use the Agiel
and it causes pain each time but they are used to it, reminds me of how women with
period pains are brushed off as being “used to it”, that pain and being a woman
is a part of life. That women have pain built in, so we know how to handle it. Even the leather being "blood red" reminds me of how women bleed for the majority of their lives and many women are not bothered by the sight of blood because we see it every four weeks. Regardless of whether or not that was Goodkind’s intention, that was the way I
interpreted that.
The power that these women have is unmatched. I also like that they are distinctly feminine and want to feel beautiful occasionally and want to “feel like a woman”. As a woman, I understand this sentiment completely. Beauty and power go hand-in-hand and while occasionally they use their beauty to seduce, it is then followed by unbelievable power. The Richard and Kahlan love story is amazing and those two would do anything for each other. Kahlan may be a Queen and army general but she also has a soft side and the nuance of identity is shown within the series. People want many things and Kahlan longs to be a mother and leader of her people and partner to Richard. The Mord-Sith go from being ruthless killers to laughing and feeding squirrels and even a lesbian relationship with Raina!
The women are not less feminine for having power. Usually women in fantasy are depicted as brains vs beauty (Daphne and Velma from Scooby Doo) or they are "manly" as in they compete physically with men and have a trauma which makes them emotionless and cold until a man comes along and thaws the "ice queen" trope (Natasha Romanoff). Or super aggressive and can only feel anger and sadness (Jessica Jones) Or they hate being a woman, in the "Not Like Other Girls" trope (Arya Stark). Girliness doesn't mean weakness and manliness doesn't mean being angry/stoic/violent.
In Sword of Truth, they are everything at once. They are beautiful women but seduction/sex/romance is not their power nor a plot point. They don't feel the need to prove themselves to others by beating characters up constantly or being abrasive (looking at you Korra). They are confident because they control the room. Most importantly, sexual violence is not their character development catalyst.
These women like doing their hair and destroying armies. They aren't submissive but they aren't aggressively strong. They love being women but aren't reduced to vanity. They aren't one dimensional. They do not have to act like men to be powerful. The men in the series fear and respect the Confessors and Mord-Sith. Women are given equal footing in this fantasy world. The women are only seen as sex-objects by the bad guys. (there is a lot of rape) The heroes of the world see the women as partners and assets of which they cannot turn the tide of battle otherwise. The women take command and lead without Richard, even defying his orders, and Richard even admits they were right to do so. I have yet to find a series that depicts women in the fantasy setting in this way. Women who are strong and loving and ruthless and smart and who get their own story in tandem with the man. Not a side piece, or a romance plot point or hero's trophy.
(I low-key ship Nicci and Richard but Richard's love and loyalty and dedication to Kahlan is outmatched lol.)
See here
for another blog's take on this!