tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post2709901279191959295..comments2024-02-18T00:11:11.490-08:00Comments on Heroines of Fantasy: The Role of the HausfrauHeroines of Fantasyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07169664399606524540noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-84074837719155291002012-07-15T20:42:57.694-07:002012-07-15T20:42:57.694-07:00I am loathe to say I've never read a Diana Wyn...I am loathe to say I've never read a Diana Wynne Jones. Sounds like a character I'd love. Perhaps I shall have to make it my first. :)<br /><br />Yes, Mylla! Absolute hausfrau material, well, until she leaves that cottage for...her new life.Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-13024332466510217612012-07-15T19:04:56.227-07:002012-07-15T19:04:56.227-07:00And though I shouldn't count my own unpublishe...And though I shouldn't count my own unpublished work, there's a reason this appeals to me.<br />In the co-written novel that will probably never see the light of day, the character Mary is housekeeper for her brother and the house she keeps is an ancient semi-sentient reservoir of magic so she is in charge of renewing the wards and charms as well as sweeping floors and emptying chamberpots. <br /><br />And of course Mylla in The Willow Knot spends the first part of the story repairing and maintaining a derelict cottage so she and her brother will have shelter.batgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15143310557906978680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-59575016840627121372012-07-15T18:59:28.848-07:002012-07-15T18:59:28.848-07:00Another! Milly in Diana Wynne Jones's Chrestom...Another! Milly in Diana Wynne Jones's Chrestomanci series. In the first (written, but not first chronologically) Charmed Life, she appears to be a plump, ordinary mother and wife, who keeps the household running smoothly. And she is. She's also an immensely powerful wizard who used to be a goddess incarnate.batgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15143310557906978680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-19028918393152502192012-07-10T20:30:22.310-07:002012-07-10T20:30:22.310-07:00McKillip's "Solstice Wood" gives us ...McKillip's "Solstice Wood" gives us a hausfrau in all the ladies of the Fiber Guild. <br /><br />When you mentioned Barliman, Sam automatically came to mind.<br /><br />We've now got almost as many men on that hausfrau list as women!Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-3433214897568588622012-07-10T20:17:09.334-07:002012-07-10T20:17:09.334-07:00This speaks to me on many levels because when I re...This speaks to me on many levels because when I review the list of my favorite authors this trope seems to appear all the time. McKillip works with it repeatedly. I saw it a little in Eld, more in the RiddleMaster set and again in her works since. I also see it on CJ Cherryh's Tree of Swords and Jewels. The Steading as a whole has that same kind of "order, food, clean" vibe. I think its an important place in CJ's celtic fantasy. The Gruagach is an amazing character.<br /><br />And I think in the end the quest for order fuels the use of such characters and places. Barliman Butterbur remains one of my favorite figures in LOTR, as does Bombadil. The trope encapsulates all the vital things that speak to us of home: security, light, laughter, order, smells, cleanliness, etc. It is the counterpoint to the chaos we thrust our characters into. I think Myazaki plays with it beautifully in Howl's Moving Castle.<br /><br />Gotta love your hausfrau.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-8338440630499272062012-07-10T12:45:55.403-07:002012-07-10T12:45:55.403-07:00Eeep! She's ME! Hahahaaa!Eeep! She's ME! Hahahaaa!Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-79700552372714966642012-07-10T12:44:11.963-07:002012-07-10T12:44:11.963-07:00Not a fantasy title, but coincidentally, right now...Not a fantasy title, but coincidentally, right now I am reading DARK IS THE SKY by Jessica Chambers. The protagonist is a Hausfrau and a novelist. I mean, really. Does it get any better than that? ;)Karin Rita Gastreichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13788750258292938903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-51599965351543592732012-07-09T14:48:31.824-07:002012-07-09T14:48:31.824-07:00Barbara--you are a wicked, wicked thing, but I lov...Barbara--you are a wicked, wicked thing, but I love you!<br /><br />Hmmm...a domestic witch with cats, eh? Sounds eerily familiar. ;)Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-91265113727360676572012-07-09T14:37:12.053-07:002012-07-09T14:37:12.053-07:00Oh, Terri, I could send you one of my spare copies...Oh, Terri, I could send you one of my spare copies, mwa-haha!batgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15143310557906978680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-83261867137003285032012-07-09T14:36:26.351-07:002012-07-09T14:36:26.351-07:00I think Morwen in Patricia Wrede's Talking to ...I think Morwen in Patricia Wrede's Talking to Dragons would qualify - she's a very domestic witch with cats and garden, and she feeds those who arrive at her cottage.<br />There's a similar character in The Seven Towers, but I can't find my copy to verify her name. Amberglass?batgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15143310557906978680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-42010335003535054782012-07-09T14:12:28.837-07:002012-07-09T14:12:28.837-07:00Dang it, batgirl! Leave it to you to put more book...Dang it, batgirl! Leave it to you to put more books on my TBR pile. Then again, I'd have to really go searching for it, huh?Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-60862723634248868872012-07-09T13:38:51.051-07:002012-07-09T13:38:51.051-07:00Two of the characters in Katherine Blake's The...Two of the characters in Katherine Blake's The Interior Life fit this. One is Susan, the suburban housewife who finds herself imagining (living?) an otherworldly story of a kingdom under siege, and the other is Marianella, maidservant to a Lady of that land and necessarily practical and domestic given that her Lady is a Seer and doesn't always notice things.<br /><br />It's a terrific book, though sadly out of print. I've bought and given away several extra copies.batgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15143310557906978680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-43656726321726827642012-07-09T13:27:23.869-07:002012-07-09T13:27:23.869-07:00Oh, good call, Clint! He is sort of motherly, isn&...Oh, good call, Clint! He is sort of motherly, isn't he. :)Terri-Lynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468004163467894720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3764159777348916628.post-20827091090870713212012-07-09T12:26:56.479-07:002012-07-09T12:26:56.479-07:00Tom Bombadil from LotR. Yes, he's a he, but I...Tom Bombadil from LotR. Yes, he's a he, but I think he fits the requirements, except for the frau part.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com