Fantastical fiction is, felicitously, no longer the forbidden fiefdom of phallus-kind. In spite of the success of female authors and the growth of female fandom, the ongoing strength of male, and specifically heterosexual male, perspective is undeniable. For good or ill, fantasy was and still is highly popular with male readers. The extent to which fantastical fiction is subject to this perspective and to which it incorporates the quest motif, is the extent to which the male quest for a woman, or women, or The Woman, exerts itself in fantastical fiction. This came to mind as I thought back over three novels that I have read in the past year in which main male characters' quests for female companionship end in ways that suggest certain patterns. For what it is worth, I am assuming that there is nothing particularly significant about the fact that these three novels are all game-related.
SPOILERS FOLLOW FOR
Saga of the Old City (1985) by Gary Gygax,
Saga of the Old City (1985) by Gary Gygax,
Man of Gold (1984) by M. A. R. Barker,
and Prince of Wolves (2010) and Master of Devils (2011) by Dave Gross.
If you haven't read the latter three books, I highly recommend that you bookmark this post and come back later. I will at least try to soften the spoilers for Gross' novels, so as not to undermine my ongoing campaign to convince everyone to read them. No seriously, go read Gross' two NOW, then come back. I'll keep the post up.
In Gygax's first novel, the young thief Gord strives to rise from his humble beginnings and make his way in the world (of Greyhawk). A part of his rise is finding a woman. The first two are false prizes, but all indications are that he finally has found The Woman in Evaleigh. (PS She's a princess.) Only she turns out to be The One Who Got Away. Thus Gord is free to continue his Oerthly wanderings.
In Barker's first novel, the young scholar-priest Harsan leaves his life of quiet study in the temple and is set upon a path of adventure and advancement in the world of Tekumel. First he meets the bad girl. Then he meets the good girl. Finally {MAJOR SPOILER} he ends up getting both the sexy bad girl (who is high caste) and the sweet good girl (low caste and with a curse), because -- hey! -- who doesn't want to have the wish fulfilled of having the best of both? (It is natural to suppose that Barker's conversion to Islam makes polygamy a live option for his character.) My expectation from the double domesticity of the hero at the denouement is that Harsan's career as an adventurer is at an end.
Dave Gross' excellent novels, set in Pathfinder's Golarion, follow the exploits of Pathfinder and nobleman Varian Jeggare and his bodyguard of partially demonic heritage, Radovan. In the first, we glimpse a noblewoman of Count Jeggare's past: a youthful flame who gives every indication of having been a female mentor and a bad girl. Radovan, however, meets both the sexy bad girl (a real bitch! No, I'm not being a male pig, honest!) and the sweet good girl (with a curse). Radovan leaves them both behind when he must leave the scene of adventure for home, though he certainly continues to think of them (am I wrong to think the former carnally and the latter as something more than merely carnal?) afterwards. In the second novel, the ladies are off-limits to Radovan, because he gets stuck in a state of demonic, uh, enhancement. So it's Jeggare's turn to have a love interest: yep, she's a princess and has the potential to be The One. However it doesn't work out, and there's some indication that she may instead turn out to be The One Who Got Away.
From this selection of three authors and four novels, common characteristics recur in regard to the female love interests of the male main characters. In the stories of Gygax and Gross, the females who are the characters' goals elude them. The character (particularly in the case of Jeggare) is deepened by loss and is kept free for further unattached adventuring. Further, male readers who have suffered the loss of a beloved woman are given the opportunity to strengthen their identification with the heroes. In Barker's story, the struggle of the book is doubly rewarded, and the male reader enjoys the fantasy of not having to choose between two desirable women -- who, incidentally, resonate with different archetypes. Hmm, now I'm tempted to go back and analyze all these female love interests in terms of four feminine archetypes. Maybe I will save that for a future post.
