Women warriors in literature and culture

Joan of Arc statue at Place des Pyramides, Paris by Emmanuel Frémiet, 1874.

See also: List of women warriors in folklore

"Woman warrior" redirects here. For For the fictional memoir by Maxine Hong Kingston, see The Woman Warrior., see Woman warrior (disambiguation).

This list of women warriors in literature, and popular culture offers figures studied in fields such as gender studies, cultural studies, film studies, mass communication, sociology, psychology, and anthropology.

Definition and scholarship

According to the Random House Dictionary, the term warrior has two meanings. The first literal use refers to "a person engaged or experienced in warfare." The second figurative use refers to "a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics." Scholars explore both literal examples (such as in the text Joan of Arc: The Image of Female Heroism) as well as figurative ones. Professor Sherrie Inness in Tough Girls: Women Warriors and Wonder Women in Popular Culture and Frances Early and Kathleen Kennedy in Athena’s Daughters: Television’s New Women Warriors, for example, focus on figures such as Buffy Summers from the television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (who inspired the academic field, Buffy Studies). In the introduction to their text, Early and Kennedy discuss what they describe as a link between this "new" image of women warriors and girl power.

Women warriors engaged in combat

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Literature

File:Hua Mulan.jpg

Oil painting on silk, "Hua Mulan Goes to War"

• Aeneid: Camilla
• Artemis Fowl: Holly Short
• Beowulf: Grendel's mother. Grendel's mother was a female warrior, a Valkyrie, or a Norse goddess according to some scholars.
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Lucy and Susan Pevensie
• Conan the Barbarian: Valeria and Red Sonja
• His Dark Materials trilogy: Lyra Belacqua or Lyra Silvertongue, and Marisa Coulter, Lyra's mother; Lady Salmakia, a Gallivespian spy; the witches, such as Serafina Pekkala and Ruta Skadi; the female angels, such as Xaphania
• Dragonriders of Pern series: Lessa and Moreta (Anne McCaffrey)
• Dune series: The Bene Gesserit and other all-female warrior societies including the Fish Speakers and the Honored Matres.
• The Faerie Queene: Belphoebe and Britomart (Britomartis) (Edmund Spenser)
• Harry Potter series: multiple characters including Fleur Delacour, Hermione Granger, Bellatrix Lestrange, Luna Lovegood, Minerva McGonagall, Nymphadora Tonks, and Ginny and Molly Weasley
• Honor Harrington, heroine of the series of the same name (David Weber)
• Jerusalem Delivered: Clorinda (Torquato Tasso)
• Joan of Arc in literature
• Lilith's Brood: Lilith Iyapo (Octavia Butler)
• The Lord of the Rings: Éowyn
• Maximum Ride series: multiple characters such as Maximum Ride, Nudge, and Angel.
• Neuromancer: Molly Millions who also appeared in Johnny Mnemonic (William Gibson)
• Orlando innamorato: Bradamante (Matteo Maria Boiardo)
• Orlando Furioso: Bradamante and Marfisa (Ludovico Ariosto)
• Protector of the Small quartet: Keladry of Mindelan
• Shahnama ("The Book of Kings" or "The Epic of Kings"): Gordafarid, (Template:PerB) (Ferdowsi)
• Sharpe: Comandante Terasa Moreno
• Song of the Lioness quartet: Alanna of Trebond
• Water Margin: Hu San-Niang
• The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts: Hua Mulan appears in the second chapter ("White Tigers") as an imagined form of the narrator (Maxine Hong Kingston)
• The Hogfather-Discworld series: Susan Sto Helit
• Vorkosigan Saga: Cordelia Naismith (Lois McMaster Bujold)

Film

• Yu Shu-lien and Yù Jiāolóng in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Moon and Flying Snow in Ying Xiong a.k.a. Hero
• Ching/San/Invisible Girl in The Heroic Trio
• Charlene Ching and Katherine, among others, in Chek law dak gung, a.k.a. Naked Weapon
• Inspector Jessica Yang in Supercop [1]
• Yim Wing-chun in Wing Chun
• Lulu Wong in Silver Hawk
• Lady Snowblood
• Beatrix Kiddo, Elle Driver, Vernita Green, O-Ren Ishii, and Gogo Yubari in Quentin Tarantino's, Kill Bill, Vol. I (2003)
• Queen Lillian, Princess Fiona and parodies of Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty in Shrek the Third (with a satirical homage to Kill Bill)
• Joan of Arc in film
• Lt. Jordan O'Neil (Demi Moore) in G.I. Jane
• Selene in "Underworld"
• Calamity Jane in various productions
• Ellen aka "The Lady" (Sharon Stone) in The Quick and the Dead
• Hannie Caulder (Raquel Welch) from 1971 film of same name.
• Wende Wagner as an Apache in Rio Conchos (film)
• Morgan Adams in the film Cutthroat Island
• Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
• Guinevere as interpreted in the 2004 film King Arthur [2]
• Fa Mulan in the Disney film Mulan, an adaptation of the myth of Hua Mulan
• Alice, Jill Valentine, and Claire Redfield in the films Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and Resident Evil: Extinction
• Ellen Ripley and Private First Class Jenette Vasquez in the Alien film series
• Pris, a replicant in Blade Runner
• Padmé Amidala portrayed by Natalie Portman in Star Wars prequel trilogy (1999 - 2005)
• Leia Organa portrayed by Carrie Fisher in Star Wars original trilogy (1977 - 1983)
• Trinity, Niobe, and minor characters in the Matrix film trilogy
• Princess Fiona in Shrek (with a satirical homage to The Matrix )
• Sarah Connor in The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and in the television series The Sarah Connor Chronicles
• Elizabeth Swann and Tia Dalma in Pirates of the Carribean
• Cpt Carmen Ibanez Cpt Deladier and Pvt Dizzy Flores ih Starship Troopers

Television

• Lady Marian as interpreted in the BBC 2006 Robin Hood series.
• Xena, Gabrielle, Callisto, Eve and many others in Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
• Sara Pezzini in Witchblade (TV series), a TNT television series based on the manga comic book of the same name by Top Cow Productions.
• Aeryn Sun, a Sebacean warrior, a member of the Peacekeepers in the series Farscape, played by the actress Claudia Black
• Slayers (notably Buffy, Faith, Kendra and Kennedy) in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• In Buffy spin-off Angel, Cordelia developed into something of a woman warrior.
• The four Charmed Ones, Prue, Piper and Phoebe Halliwell and Paige Matthews from Charmed.
• Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced transgenic super-soldier in Dark Angel
• Major/Lt. Colonel Kira Nerys in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Zoe Washburne and River Tam from Firefly and Serenity
• Kara Thrace, various forms of Caprica Six and Sharon Valerii from Battlestar Galactica
• Leela from Doctor Who
• Sarah Connor and Cameron Phillips in The Sarah Connor Chronicles
• Æon Flux in the animated series of the same name
• Cleopatra,Serge,Hel and Rhiana from Cleopatra 2525
• Sydney Fox in Relic Hunter
• Teyla Emmagan in Stargate Atlantis

Comics

Main article: List of superheroines

• Tank Girl , Jet Girl and Sub Girl - Tank Girl comic and movie

Anime and manga

• Haruko Haruhara of FLCL
• The Sailor Senshi in the manga and anime Sailor Moon
• Masane Amaha and the female Cloneblades in Witchblade (anime)
• Almost the entire cast of Claymore
• Rukia Kuchiki, Yoruichi Shihouin, Soifon, Rangiku Matsumoto, Momo Hinamori, Neliel Tu Oderschvank, and Cirucci Thunderwitch in BLEACH
• Revy, Balalaika, Shenhua, Eda, Roberta, Fabiola Iglesias, Yolanda, and Sawyer the Cleaner in Black Lagoon
• Major Kusanagi in Ghost in The Shell series
• Kei in the manga and anime Akira.
• Naomi Armitage in Armitage III and subsequent films.
• Irene "Rally" Vincent and "Minnie May" Hopkins in Gunsmith Cats.
• Knight Sabers in Bubblegum Crisis series.
• Princess Alita Forland (Falis) in Murder Princess
• Casca in Berserk
• Saya Otonashi in the anime Blood+
• Shampoo and Cologne from Ranma 1/2
• Most of the female characters in Naruto, like Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuga and Tsunade.
• The EVA pilots Rei and Asuka and Misato Katsuragi in Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop
• Honoka in The Third
• Integra Hellsing, Seras Victoria, Zorin Blitz, Rip van Winkle, Heinkel Wolfe and Yumie Takagi in Hellsing
• Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki and Fuu Hououji in Magic Knight Rayearth
• Ran Moori from Detective Conan
• Nami, Nico Robin and Nefertari Vivi in One Piece
• Undead priestess Kikyou, Demon Slayer Sango and Kikyou's reincarnation Kagome from Inuyasha.
• Genkai in Yu Yu Hakusho
• Meryl Stryfe, Milly Thompson, Dominique the Cyclops and Elendira the Crimsonnail in Trigun
• Fujiko Mine in Lupin III
• Jo, Meg, Sei, Amy, Takane, and Maria in Burst Angel
• San in the anime Princess Mononoke
• Saber and Rider from Fate/Stay Night
• Julin, Kalin, Seilin, and others in Shaolin Sisters
• Vexille, and Maria in Vexille
• Deunan Knute in Appleseed
• Yoko Ritona, Darry Adai, Kiyoh Ritona, Kinon Bachika and Kiyal Bachika in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
• Rushuna Tendo, Mikan Kurenai, Setsuna Oomido, Kasumi, Touka Kurenai, Fuuka Shirato, and Yuzuriha "Kayaku" Shimon in Grenadier
• Maka in Soul Eater
• There are many famous female warriors in the Battletech universe, including Colonel (and later Khan) Natasha Kerensky, Star Colonel Evantha Fetladral, Former Chancellor Candace Allard-Liao of the St. Ives Compact, former Archon Katrina Steiner of the Lyran Commonwealth and Star Colonel Johanna of Clan Jade Falcon.

Games

• Ada Wong, Claire Redfield, Rebecca Chambers, Jill Valentine and Shiva from the Resident Evil series.
• The Sisters of Battle from Warhammer 40,000.
• Admiral Belleza, Aika, and Fina in Skies of Arcadia
• Agrias Oaks and Meliadoul Tingel of Final Fantasy Tactics
• Alexandra Rovias and Ellia in Eternal Darkness
• Alice in American McGee's Alice
• Alyx Vance in the Half-Life 2 series
• Amy in Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal
• Anna Williams, Asuka Kazama, Lili Rochefort, Ling Xiaoyu, Nina Williams, and others from Tekken series
• Annah of Planescape: Torment
• April Ryan in The Longest Journey and Dreamfall
• Bastila in Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
• Eva and The Boss in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
• Cammy, Chun Li, and Elena and others from the Street Fighter series
• Cate Archer of No One Lives Forever
• Celes Chere and Terra Branford of Final Fantasy VI
• Eva, Meryl, and The Beauty and the Beast unit in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• Da Qiao, Diao Chan, Sun Shang Xiang, Xiao Qiao, Xing Cai, Yue Ying, Zhen Ji, and Zhu Rong of the Dynasty Warriors series
• Fortune and Olga Gurlukovich in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
• General Beatrix and Freya Crescent in Final Fantasy IX
• Jade in Beyond Good & Evil (video game)
• Jaheira of the Baldur's Gate series
• Jaina Proudmore, Tyrande Whisperwind and Sylvanas Windrunner in Warcraft 3
• Joanna Dark of Perfect Dark
• Joan of Arc in computer games
• Kaede Smith, Julia Kisugi, Ayame Blackburn, Handsomes Pink and Light Brown, and Linda Vermillion in Killer 7
• Karin of Shadow Hearts: Covenant
• Kitana, Mileena, Sonya, and others from the Mortal Kombat series.
• KOS-MOS in the Xenosaga series
• Lady from the Devil May Cry series.
• Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider series.
• Lenneth, Silmeria and Hrist from the Valkyrie Profile series.
• Meryl Silverburgh and Sniper Wolf in Metal Gear Solid
• Rikku and Yuna in Final Fantasy X, along with Paine in Final Fantasy X-2
• Rinoa Heartilly, Quistis Trepe, and Selphie Tilmitt in Final Fantasy VIII
• Rayne of the BloodRayne video game and movie series
• Samus Aran of the Metroid series
• Sarah Kerrigan in Starcraft
• Tifa Lockhart, Aeris Gainsborough and Yuffie Kisaragi in Final Fantasy VII
• Rosso the Crimson in Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus

See also

• Girls with guns
• Girl Power
• Female action heroes
• History of women in the military
• History of women in sports

Further reading

• Alvarez, Maria. "Feminist icon in a catsuit (female lead character Emma Peel in defunct 1960s UK TV series The Avengers)", New Statesman, 14 August 1998.
• Au, Wagner James. "Supercop as Woman Warrior." Salon.com.
• Barr, Marleen S. Future Females, the Next Generation : New Voices and Velocities in Feminist Science Fiction Criticism. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000.
• Deuber-Mankowsky, Astrid and Dominic J. Bonfiglio (Translator). Lara Croft: Cyber Heroine. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota Press, 2005.
• Early, Frances and Kathleen Kennedy, Athena's Daughters: Television's New Women Warriors, Syracuse University Press, 2003.
• Garner, Jack. "Strong women can be heroes, too." Democrat and Chronicle. 15 June 2001.
• Heinecken, Dawn. Warrior Women of Television: A Feminist Cultural Analysis of the New Female Body in Popular Media, New York: P. Lang, 2003.
• Hopkins, Susan, Girl Heroes: the New Force in Popular Culture, Pluto Press Australia, 2002.
• Inness, Sherrie A. (ed.) Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
• ———. Tough Girls : Women Warriors and Wonder Women in Popular Culture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999.
• Karlyn, Kathleen Rowe. "Scream, Popular Culture, and Feminism's Third Wave: 'I'm Not My Mother'. Genders: Presenting Innovative Work in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences No. 38 (2003).
• Karras, Irene. "The Third Wave's Final Girl: Buffy the Vampire Slayer." thirdspace 1:2 (March 2002).
• Kennedy, Helen W. "Lara Croft: Feminist Icon or Cyberbimbo?: On the Limits of Textual Analysis". Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research. 2:2 (December, 2002).
• Kim, L. S. "Making women warriors: a transnational reading of Asian female action heroes in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media. No. 48, Winter, 2006.
• Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. New York: Vintage, 1975.
• Magoulick, Mary. "Frustrating Female Heroism: Mixed Messages in Xena, Nikita, and Buffy." The Journal of Popular Culture, Volume 39 Issue 5 (October 2006).
• Mainon, Dominique. The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women on Screen. Pompton Plains, N.J. : Limelight Editions, 2006.
• Osgerby, Bill, Anna Gough-Yates, and Marianne Wells. Action TV : Tough-Guys, Smooth Operators and Foxy Chicks. London: Routledge, 2001.
• Rowland, Robin. "Warrior queens and blind critics." Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 31 July 2004.
• Spicuzza, Mary. "Butt-Kicking Babes." AlterNet. 27 March 2001.
• Tasker, Yvonne. Action and Adventure Cinema. New York: Routledge, 2004.
• ———.Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Culture. London: Routledge 1998
• ———.Spectacular Bodies : Gender, Genre, and the Action Cinema. London and New York: Routledge, 1993.
• Trickey, Helyn. "Girls with Gauntlets." Turner Network Television.
• Ventura, Michael. "Warrior Women." Psychology Today. Nov/Dec 1998. 31 (6).

External links

• Warrior Women On Screen