Female monsters in literature

This is a list of female monsters in literature:

Before 1900

Antiquity (until fifth century AD)

• Greek mythology
  • Amphitrite, an oceanid or nereid and wife of Poseidon
  • Callirrhoe, an oceanid and wife of Poseidon
  • Doris, an oceanid and mother of the Nereids
  • Echidna, half-woman and half-snake
  • Electra, an oceanid and mother of the Harpies
  • Eurynome, an oceanid and the third wife of Zeus
  • The three Gorgon sisters (Medusa, Euryale, and Stheno), with hair made of venomous snakes, turn anyone who looks at them to stone
  • The Harpies, birds with the heads of women
  • Lamia, a child-eating, disfigured monster
  • Metis, an oceanid and first wife of Zeus
  • The Nereids, oceanids
  • Scylla and Charybdis, sea monsters living on opposite sides of a narrow strait
  • The Sirens, women combined with birds, whose songs lured sailors to wreck their ships
  • The Sphinx, the head of a woman and the body of a lion, said to have guarded the entrance to the city of Thebes
  • Styx, an oceanid and wife of Pallas

Middle Ages

• Beowulf (c. 700–1000): Grendel's mother, a monster-woman
• Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (c. 1220): The Valkyries, female creatures (often depicted as winged) of Norse mythology, who choose which fighters live and die in battle
• Roman de Mélusine by Jean d'Arras (1392–94): Mélusine, a water spirit of European folklore[1]

Early modern period

• Paradise Lost by John Milton (1667): Sin, an allegorical character with the tail of a fish[2]

Nineteenth century

• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818): Female version of the creature created by Victor Frankenstein – he destroys it before it can be brought to life[3]
• The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (1837): The title character is a mermaid
• The Succubus by Honoré de Balzac (1837): A succubus disguised as a woman[4]
• Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu (1871–2): Carmilla, a vampire who preys upon young women[5]
• The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells (1896): Half-finished puma-woman created by Dr Moreau, who eventually fights and kills him[6]
• The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen (1894): Helen, the child of the character Mary and the Greek god Pan[6]

Twentieth century

1950s

• The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (1954): Shelob is a gigantic female spider

1960s

• Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey (1967–2012): Ramoth and --Ruth--(note: Ruth is actually a male dragon), dragons
• Vampirella comic book series, created by Forrest J Ackerman (1969–83): Vampirella, a vampire

1970s

• Lila the Werewolf by Peter S. Beagle (1974): Lila, a young female werewolf living in New York City[5]

1980s

• The Belgariad series by David Eddings (1982–4): Dryads, female human-like creatures, bound to oak trees
• Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter (1984): Fevvers, a circus performer claims to be part-swan[7]
• Vampire Princess Miyu by Toshiki Hirano (1989–2002): Miyu, half-human and half-vampire

1990s

• Tehanu and The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin (1990, 2001): Tehanu, part-human and part-dragon[5]
• Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton (1993–present): Many female characters are vampires, shapeshifters, and other creatures. In the later books, Anita Blake becomes a succubus.
• Animorphs series by K. A. Applegate and Michael Grant (1996–2001): Rachel and Cassie, can transform into any animal they touch
• Aprilhäxan by Majgull Axelsson (1997): Desirée, 'the April witch', a shape-shifting monster[8]

Twenty-first century

2000s

• Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones (2000): Elda, a griffin
• The Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris (2001–13): Sookie Stackhouse, a faerie-human hybrid. Many other female characters are vampires, fae, shapeshifters, etc.
• Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch manga series by Michiko Yokote (2002–5): Lucia, Hanon and Rina, mermaid princesses
• Emily Windsnap series by Liz Kessler (2003–15): Emily Windsnap, half-human and half-mermaid
• The Ingo Chronicles by Helen Dunmore (2005–12): Sapphire, half-human and half-mermaid
• Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer (2005–8): Several female characters are vampires and one is a werewolf. Bella becomes a vampire in the final book of the series.
• Bone Song by John Meaney (2007): Laura Steele, a benevolent zombie woman.
• The Shifters series by Rachel Vincent (2007–10): Faythe Sanders, a werecat
• The Story of GROWL by Judy Horacek (2007): Growl, a young female monster
• Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead (2007–10): Lissa, Jill and Rose, vampires
• The Host by Stephenie Meyer (2008): Wanderer, a female parasitic alien implanted into the body of a human woman
• Faery Rebels series by R. J. Anderson (2009–11): Knife, Linden and Rhosmari (among others), faeries
• Fire by Kristin Cashore (2009): Lady Fire, a 'human monster'
• Soul Screamer series by Rachel Vincent (2009–13): Kaylee and Nash, banshees
• The Parasol Protectorate and Finishing School series by Gail Carriger (2009–15): Sidheag Maccon, a werewolf

2010s

• iZOMBIE comic book series by Chris Roberson (2010–12): Gwen, a revenant or zombie
• A Centaur's Life manga series by Kei Murayama (2011–present): Himeno, a centaur
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (2011): Claire has a second mouth in the back of her head, and the Ymbrynes can shape-shift into birds
• Monster Musume manga series by Okayado (2012–present): Many of the female characters are mermaids, centaurs, etc.
• Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (2012): Seraphina, half-dragon, half-human
• The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey (2014): Melanie, infected with a zombie virus[9]
• Talon series by Julie Kagawa (2014): Ember, a dragon hiding in human form
• Interviews with Monster Girls manga series by Petos (2015–present): Hikari (a vampire), Kyōko (a dullahan), Yuki (a snow woman), and Sakie (a succubus)
• Lorali series by Laura Dockrill (2015–17): Lorali and Aurabel, mermaids

See also

• Monster literature

References

1. Reed, Susan (26 October 2015). "The Tale of Mélusine". European studies blog. British Library. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
2. Sims, Beth. "The Characters of Paradise Lost: Sin and Death". Darkness Visible: A Resource for Studying Milton's Paradise Lost. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
3. Williams, Deborah Lindsay (November 2014). "Monstrosity and Feminism in Frankenstein". Electra Street. New York University Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
4. "Droll Stories by Honore de Balzac". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
5. Goss, Theodora (20 June 2017). "Five Monsters That Explore Gender, Sexuality, and Race". Tor. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
6. Goss, Theodora. "Where Are All the Female Monsters in Literature?". Read it Forward. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
7. Warner, Marina (25 May 2016). "Bad-good girls, beasts, rogues and other creatures: Angela Carter and the influence of fairy tales". Discovering Literature: 20th century. British Library. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
8. Leffler, Yvonne (12 October 2016). "Female Gothic Monsters". The History of Nordic Women's Literature. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
9. Smythe, James. "The Girl With All the Gifts by MR Carey – review". The Guardian – Books. The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2018.