Here’s an image from the TV Show “Legend of the Seeker,” which is based off of Goodkind’s series. Although decidedly different from the series, the show also portrays Kahlan (left) and Cara (right) as self-empowered individuals.
So fun fact about me – one of my favorite authors of all time is Terry Goodkind. And, one of my favorite series of all time is his “Sword of Truth” series. It has 12 absolutely incredible novels in it, all of which can stand on their own as compelling narratives but that come together to create an enthralling world filled with realistic characters. I hate to sound like a paid advertisement, but there’s a reason why, to date, Wizard’s First Rule (the first book in the series) is still the highest paid fantasy book from a first-time author.
This summer, I decided that I missed my “Sword of Truth” obsession and that I needed to reread the series. I have just finished the fifth book, Soul of the Fire – I am soaking the books up like it’s my job, spotting things and making connections that I wasn’t able to the first time over. And reading the books all over again has led me to some thoughts about the characters Goodkind created, especially the female ones…
Unlike most fantasy novels, the “Sword of Truth” series really has two protagonists, one of which is female. Thus, Richard Cypher/Rahl shares the spotlight with the Mother Confessor herself, Kahlan Amnell. Interestingly, Kahlan really almost provides the series with two different characters. As an individual, Kahlan is an intellectual and sophisticated woman who has had a privileged but hard life. She understands her professional role but still yearns for a more normal life. This side of Kahlan more adheres to female stereotypes – despite her professional ‘success,’ Kahlan more than anything wishes she could have the ‘normal’ life of falling in love and having a family. However, this more feminine sentimentality is balanced out by Kahlan’s other side…As the Mother Confessor, Kahlan is the epitome of female empowerment. She is unfazed by anything or anyone and she is the pinnacle of power in her world. Literally, her decisions and her rule outweigh any king’s, queen’s, or council’s. However, this side of Kahlan too contains an inherent contradiction. In order to maintain her power and influence, Kahlan puts on her “Confessor face,” in which she basically shuts down all of her emotions – this gives Kahlan a robotic, almost de-feminized aspect. On the other hand, Kahlan as a Confessor has her power because her touch is feared by all. By her touch, Kahlan can wipe out a person’s personality and individuality and replace their selfhood with unwavering and obsessive love for her. These two things, touch and love, seem decidedly feminine in that they are associated with maternity and female sexuality. Not to mention the fact that Kahlan’s official title is MotherConfessor – she is the symbolic mother of everyone in the
Midlands. In this way, Kahlan represents the contradictions inherent within everyone, but especially a female protagonist in a fantasy novel. She continuously battles her individual desires for love and motherhood with her professional duties and responsibilities. She is not some lovesick butcher’s daughter or some emotionally impoverished prostitute. She is a successful and courageous woman who provides the fantasy genre with an important model of realistic female empowerment.
Kahlan and Richard as illustrated of the cover of “Stone of Tears” by Terry Goodkind.
In contrast to Kahlan Amnell, Cara is not exactly a well-rounded female figure. Tortured as a child as training to become a Mord Sith, Cara is introduced as someone whose femininity was used against them – Mord Sith are women who were chosen as children because they were the most pure and the most innocent. The implication here is that the purest and most innocent aspects of femininity can be turned into weapons of mass torture and domination – not exactly the most stellar recommendation for female virtue. However, Cara (and the other Mord Sith) do exhibit an unusual aspect of female power – that is, female physicalpower. Cara is trained in combat but, with her Agiel (which is just a leather rod imbued with magic to give both the holder and the victim pain), she does not even need convention weapons. Cara can and does overcome multiple burly men at the same time with just her body. And although you might think that the Agiel gives her an unfair advantage, you have to realize that the second Cara touches her Agiel, it gives her the same excruciating and debilitating pain that it inflicts upon others. So, Cara is able to defeat soldiers and mercenaries and wizards while feeling continuous pain that literally drives men to their knees. Talk about role reversals. However, despite her physical prowess, Cara is emotionally crippled. As Mord Sith, she has been trained to forsake all emotional displays – everything from fear to love to hatred to pleasure. Only after Richard inherits D’Haran rule are Cara and the other Mord Sith allowed to be human, never-mind ‘feminine.’ But even still, it takes personal and directed attention from Richard to get Cara to slowly become more than an effective torture machine. Richard’s influence, although not coddling or condescending, does take on an almost patriarchal quality. He feels responsible for these women and wants to enable them to lead more normal lives. Importantly, Cara does not allow this. She obeys Richard’s commands when she feels like it – ultimately, she decides when and how she wants to act. So, as Cara becomes more and more human and less and less robotic, she actually acquires more power. On top of her physical power, Cara also gains emotional and personal power in her ability to choose and make her own decisions. So, I won’t ruin the series for you guys, but suffice to say that as the series progresses, Cara specifically demonstrates the progression from torture machine to human and from limited power to overall self-empowerment.
An illustration of Cara that was used on the cover of “Temple of the Winds” by Terry Goodkind. Here’s a quote from her…”If you get yourself killed trying to rule the world, I will personally break every bone in your body.”
Through these two main characters, Goodkind provides the fantasy genre with rare female figures – both battle inherent contradictions, but neither is truly ruled by the men in their lives and in their worlds. By reverting feminine stereotypes of weakness and submissiveness, Kahlan and Cara challenge not only Richard, but the reader as well. We, as readers, are forced to look at their counterparts in the fantasy genre and are ultimately left dissatisfied. As a female reader and a female fantasy fan, I can personally account for this dissatisfaction. I can’t even tell you how many fantasy novels I have read with these weak, pathetic female ‘heroines’ that bring nothing to the table but a tepid romance subplot. Finally, I have found two main characters, who just happen to be female, that actually progress the fantasy genre rather than just continuing its potential character stagnation.
What do you guys think? Am I being too hard on the fantasy genre? And do you agree with my analysis of Kahlan and Cara’s characters? Or are they not as progressive as I see them?
Churning Pages 