Speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror etc) is all too often populated with strong, young characters. People and creatures breaking out of their adolescence and at the start of their adventures or approaching the prime of their lives. Where young women and girls and non-binary characters feature more often as main and secondary characters, the same can’t be said for older characters. It’s uncommon for the protagonist to be of advanced years, and rare if that character’s a woman.
Older characters are either cast in supporting roles, like the wise old wizard and the sweet grandmother, or as the evil antagonist, the barrier to youthful success. If the antagonist is a woman—the witch, the hag, the crone—she’s often portrayed as jealous and spiteful, corrupted by age and bitter with disappointment. The crone is frequently portrayed as trying to regain their youth at the expense of the victim (some princess who’s never the hero). Youth is the prize.
In fantasy, crones are depicted as deceitful and ugly old women who use their powers for malevolent purposes. Recall how the beauty of Snow White’s stepmother and Melisandre in Game of Thrones corrupts when their true natures are revealed. As always there are exceptions to generalised observations, examples include Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg from the Discworld series and General Leia Organa from Star Wars—these magnificent characters embrace and celebrate their age and don’t pretend to be anything but what they are—but they’re rare.
The crone, with some exceptions, is a woman to be feared.
In science fiction, crones as characters are often, non-existent or invisible. Check out the list of SciFi books featuring old women compiled by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley HERE.
It’s disappointing that our literary interpretations of alternate and future civilisations are, again and again, bereft of the aged. That there are so very few examples of older women cast as characters who captain spaceships or rule societies or play an active role in revolutions and rebellions. And yet, in terms of readership, women prevail. Read Nikky Lee’s summary of a 2018 James Cook University study HERE.
We need to do better. It’s bad enough having to live in a society that worships youth and strives to push back against the ravages of time through surgeries, fillers, pills and creams. We’re urged to disguise our age with makeup and hair dye, then accused of being deceptive. It’s an unwinnable battle.
I not only need my fiction to offer escape from reality, but I also crave to be represented in the books that I read. I’m not ashamed of my age—it’s hard won. My husband and my parents died younger than they should have—I celebrate every day that I’m gifted. But I’m very aware that I’m often no longer ‘seen’ or ‘heard’. We older women exist, we’ve seen and experienced a lot of shit, and we can’t be fucked putting up with it anymore.
When I set out to write the first novella in the Ghost Assassins of Bijou series, I did so with the conscious decision to portray the invisible crone. I went further than that—I weaponised her invisibility. Although it’s not always explicit, more and more of my recent stories feature older women as the main character. I’m reclaiming the crone as a feminist icon and whether they’re the hero or the villain depends on your point of view.
If you consider my characters to be evil, then I suggest that you should fear the crone!
Older characters are either cast in supporting roles, like the wise old wizard and the sweet grandmother, or as the evil antagonist, the barrier to youthful success. If the antagonist is a woman—the witch, the hag, the crone—she’s often portrayed as jealous and spiteful, corrupted by age and bitter with disappointment. The crone is frequently portrayed as trying to regain their youth at the expense of the victim (some princess who’s never the hero). Youth is the prize.
In fantasy, crones are depicted as deceitful and ugly old women who use their powers for malevolent purposes. Recall how the beauty of Snow White’s stepmother and Melisandre in Game of Thrones corrupts when their true natures are revealed. As always there are exceptions to generalised observations, examples include Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg from the Discworld series and General Leia Organa from Star Wars—these magnificent characters embrace and celebrate their age and don’t pretend to be anything but what they are—but they’re rare.
The crone, with some exceptions, is a woman to be feared.
In science fiction, crones as characters are often, non-existent or invisible. Check out the list of SciFi books featuring old women compiled by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley HERE.
It’s disappointing that our literary interpretations of alternate and future civilisations are, again and again, bereft of the aged. That there are so very few examples of older women cast as characters who captain spaceships or rule societies or play an active role in revolutions and rebellions. And yet, in terms of readership, women prevail. Read Nikky Lee’s summary of a 2018 James Cook University study HERE.
We need to do better. It’s bad enough having to live in a society that worships youth and strives to push back against the ravages of time through surgeries, fillers, pills and creams. We’re urged to disguise our age with makeup and hair dye, then accused of being deceptive. It’s an unwinnable battle.
I not only need my fiction to offer escape from reality, but I also crave to be represented in the books that I read. I’m not ashamed of my age—it’s hard won. My husband and my parents died younger than they should have—I celebrate every day that I’m gifted. But I’m very aware that I’m often no longer ‘seen’ or ‘heard’. We older women exist, we’ve seen and experienced a lot of shit, and we can’t be fucked putting up with it anymore.
When I set out to write the first novella in the Ghost Assassins of Bijou series, I did so with the conscious decision to portray the invisible crone. I went further than that—I weaponised her invisibility. Although it’s not always explicit, more and more of my recent stories feature older women as the main character. I’m reclaiming the crone as a feminist icon and whether they’re the hero or the villain depends on your point of view.
If you consider my characters to be evil, then I suggest that you should fear the crone!
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