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A rant about Mary Sues
Jun. 7th, 2005 08:26 amThis was prompted by a comment somewhere about the history of Mary Sues which included Richardson's Clarissa in the list. I doubt it will interest anyone except me, though.
I know that Mary Sues are the bane of fanfic's existence; I don't dispute that. But I am perplexed by the extension of that term to include original characters in fiction and on screen. It seems that the term has grown to cover characters that the viewer or reader finds annoyingly perfect or too central to the plot. This strikes me as a problem: in expanding the term it becomes almost meaningless to my mind. There's a plethora of female and male fictional characters I can't abide (Little Nell would be at the forefront), but I think that's the nature of certain periods and styles of writing. Victorian fiction is obsessed with the iconic angel in the house character; it's part of the period's cultural background. Classifying such figures as a Mary Sue seems to me to miss a salient feature of Victorian culture and thought.
The other issue is that using a modern term flattens historical reality; Helen of Troy is perfect (except for the adultery and getting Troy burnt to a crisp bit, but we'll ignore that for the moment) but she's a creation of a particular culture's fantasies and myth. Popping her in the same category as the miraculous sister of Legolas who has flashing eyes and the ability not to be influenced by the One Ring seems to miss the point.
My other issue is that calling so many characters Mary Sues legitimizes the use of such characters in fanfic. As I see it the challenge in writing fanfic is to take on an established universe and write within its parameters of characterization even if you alter the storyline (and I have no problem with altering the storyline as long as it fits the characters) and no making the characters over into everything that you want them to be. They've got to reflect what is there as much as they do with the narrative you want to write - though, obviously, everyone has different perceptions of the characters. But if every character you despise in fiction is a Mary Sue then you're just following historical precedent and that makes creating your own Mary Sue something more, not less, acceptable.
Or am I wrong about this? Is there a good reason to expand the term Mary Sue to include original characters? Is it a useful literary term outside fandom?
I know that Mary Sues are the bane of fanfic's existence; I don't dispute that. But I am perplexed by the extension of that term to include original characters in fiction and on screen. It seems that the term has grown to cover characters that the viewer or reader finds annoyingly perfect or too central to the plot. This strikes me as a problem: in expanding the term it becomes almost meaningless to my mind. There's a plethora of female and male fictional characters I can't abide (Little Nell would be at the forefront), but I think that's the nature of certain periods and styles of writing. Victorian fiction is obsessed with the iconic angel in the house character; it's part of the period's cultural background. Classifying such figures as a Mary Sue seems to me to miss a salient feature of Victorian culture and thought.
The other issue is that using a modern term flattens historical reality; Helen of Troy is perfect (except for the adultery and getting Troy burnt to a crisp bit, but we'll ignore that for the moment) but she's a creation of a particular culture's fantasies and myth. Popping her in the same category as the miraculous sister of Legolas who has flashing eyes and the ability not to be influenced by the One Ring seems to miss the point.
My other issue is that calling so many characters Mary Sues legitimizes the use of such characters in fanfic. As I see it the challenge in writing fanfic is to take on an established universe and write within its parameters of characterization even if you alter the storyline (and I have no problem with altering the storyline as long as it fits the characters) and no making the characters over into everything that you want them to be. They've got to reflect what is there as much as they do with the narrative you want to write - though, obviously, everyone has different perceptions of the characters. But if every character you despise in fiction is a Mary Sue then you're just following historical precedent and that makes creating your own Mary Sue something more, not less, acceptable.
Or am I wrong about this? Is there a good reason to expand the term Mary Sue to include original characters? Is it a useful literary term outside fandom?
