WHY IT'S SO GOOD TO BE BAD: WRITING THE FEMALE ANTIHERO

'Trickster dwells in the realm of shadow, but perhaps that is for our salvation.' C.G. Jung 

The antihero. The trickster. Why are they so appealing? They toe the line between good and bad, but never commit any atrocities that would turn them into the villain. The outcome for them is usually redemption--but not always--and victories come at a cost that's bittersweet. Antiheroes aren't the White Hats, the knights in shining armor. They surprise and delight and sometimes disappoint in delicious ways. They're spiky, unreliable, always have a trick up their sleeve, and we never know what direction they're going to take. The female antihero isn't afraid to walk in the shadows, to do what must be done, and never considers herself to be the hero. She likes that she can be bad and people expect it of her. Or she's flawed and has no desire to be perfect. Being morally ambiguous, she can surprise us. Antiheroines have been dismissed as Bad Girls, but they're more than that. They're not heroes by any means, and would scorn being called one. They aren't in the story for the glory--they're in it for the mayhem. But, occasionally, instead of spiraling towards self-destruction, these ladies can rocket into a crazy noble orbit.

Antiheroism used to seem solely a male domain, but folklore and mythology are peppered with female tricksters: Morgan le Fay, Circe, Lilith, Kali, Hecate, The Morrigan, the Kumiho. And it seems female tricksters are a lot scarier than their male counterparts. These ladies control dark magic and the elements of night or nature. They rule in the world of tempests and moonlight and are often associated with death.

Classic literature brought another Renaissance of trickster girls. The most infamous are Becky Sharp in William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair; Emma Bovary in Madame Bovary; Catherine Earnshaw from Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights; Emma Woodhouse from Emma by Jane Austen; Estella Havisham from Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. They are all young, supremely selfish, and devious. The characters who encounter them often regret doing so. But these ladies are fighting against the limitations of their eras, when women were considered useless and frivolous. They aren't going to settle for what society demands.

Some of my favorite antiheroes in books and film:

    

    Harley Quinn (DC Comics)

    Villanelle (Killing Eve)

    Faith Lehane (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

    Beth Harmon (The Queen's Gambit)

    Lada Dragwyla (And I Darken by Kiersten White)

    Jude Duarte (The Cruel Prince by Holly Black)

                                         Jame Kencyr (Godstalk by P.C. Hodgell)

   

 Mia Corvere (NeverNight by Jay Kristoff)

  Morgaine (The Book of Morgaine by C.J. Cherryh)

  Miranda (Maledicte by Lane Robins)

We need more female antiheroes, more tricksters from people of color, women and girls whose venture into chaos shakes things up. Who are your favorites?