Representation of women in crime fiction: a study of the development of the genre across time
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REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN CRIME FICTION: A STUDY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GENRE ACROSS TIME Crime fiction is a literary genre that deals with crimes, their detection, criminals and motives. This genre is somewhat different from mainstream genres and has multiple subgenres that include detective fiction, courtroom drama, hard-boiled fiction, and legal thrillers, all having a few common elements such as suspense and mystery. This genre has thrived for more than a century and seems to be in its glory in the contemporary times. The earliest crime fiction known was written in 1857 by Thomas Skinner Sturr. Since then, it has come a long way, claiming a place for itself among the popular genres of the time. In the contemporary times, women form a majority of the genre, both as writers as well as readers. I have taken this topic because I wish to study the representation of the fair sex who have been represented more often than not as passive and secondary characters. Through the centuries patriarchy has always branded women in stereotypical roles, never giving them space to grow out of them and find their own selves. One such role which is ascribed to them is that of a victim. The victimisation of women by branding them as victims and therefore, snatching away any female subjectivity, have left them in a weaker and inferior position, giving them a second-class treatment and making them what Simone de Beauvoir calls “the second sex”. This deprivation of female subjectivity is also reflected in crime fiction strikingly. Crime fiction, like any other genre, had been dominated by male writers, creating prototype male protagonists, heroes as well as villains, detectives as well as criminals, with marginalized female characters presented only either as damsels in distress or as seductresses, but never giving power in their hands to take forward the narrative. It’s only recently that the genre has given space to accommodate women. With the emergence of feminism, women writers were given more opportunities to put forward their ideas, beliefs, creativity and subjectivity. Crime mysteries as a genre gave admittance to female writers somewhat later than the more popular genres. In contrast to earlier times, in the contemporary times women crime fiction and mystery writers have come up eminently, rather dominating this genre. Women are no longer portrayed or imagined as weak characters. One can see, then, a tremendous change in the trajectory of this genre. Where earlier there were highly efficient male detectives, in the recent times their female counterparts have secured a strong stand for themselves. In the crime mysteries of earlier times, the detectives as well as the criminals were often males by both male as well as female writers. Examples of this bias are two of the most famous detective series in the world – Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. As Raymond Chandler, the most notable crime fiction writer of all time, famously described the heroic detective in The Simple Art of Murder: “A man who is neither mean nor tarnished. Who is unafraid and honorable. He is lonely, but well fit for the adventure of uncovering the truth. Above all, he is a good enough man in any world, and the best man in his own”. It was always men who took on corruption, fraud and violence whereas not a single female lead can be found, in either a positive or a negative role, in the earlier plots. Comparatively, the modern crime fiction is giving more space to women. Unlike earlier, many modern women writers are getting involved in writing such mysteries. Now female lead characters have been created by both, male and female modern authors. Tess Gerritsen, one of the top modern crime fiction writers, has introduced women centric series called, Rizzoli and Isles, where a female crime investigator teams up with an equally strong and independent female forensic expert to solve homicidal cases. Modern writers are not shying away from presenting female characters in a negative lead role either. Gone Girl is a pertinent example. For the purpose of my study I have taken four British novels – The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (1901-02), The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1926), An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James (1972) and Woman with a Secret by Sophie Hannah (2015). Through the study of these four novels I wish to dig into the psyche of the society and observe the ideology working behind and also how crime mysteries have developed over the time. The first book, The Hound of the Baskervilles is by Arthur Conan Doyle. The book deals with the most famous detective of all time, Sherlock Holmes, and his assistance in solving a murder case of a Sir Charles Baskerville by a mysterious “gigantic hound” supposedly a result of a curse since the era of English Civil War. Amidst the superstition and lack of evidences, Holmes somehow finds his way to unravel the mystery of this perfect crime, exhibiting an extra-ordinary intellect and judgement faculty. The second book is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. Agatha Christie is famous for her crime fictions world-wide. She has provided the world with the most famous detective after Sherlock Holmes. Her detective, Hercule Poirot, is as charming and high on intelligence quotient as Doyle’s. In the book, Poirot is entrusted with the murder investigation by Flora Ackroyd, the niece of the dead Roger Ackroyd. Despite strong alibis for almost every character and an incomprehensible motive behind the murder, Poirot manages to shed light on the circumstances, compelling each character to confess his or her position in the case, and finally disclosing his knowledge of the killer’s identity. In both the texts there is minimal portrayal of women, marginalizing them to supporting characters. They are mostly presented either as victims or women in need of assistance from these two highly efficient individuals. The third book taken in is An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P.D. James. The book revolves around a young female private detective, Cordelia Gray, who finds herself single handedly solving a case of homicide of the son of a leading scientist. With no assistance at hand and a competing male dominated police force, Cordelia emerges as a more realistic personality who doesn’t fit in the cold hearted stereotypical image of a detective. In the text, strong bond among female characters can be seen. These women stand together against the male villain. The detective as well as the criminal in the novel belong to the same sex and yet they don’t stand against each other, rather mould the climax to give poetic justice. Also, Cordelia outwits in the end the very male authoritative figure from whom she learnt the art of investigation. The fourth novel that I have taken is Woman with a Secret by Sophie Hannah, in which the protagonist, Nicki Clements, is an apparently ordinary suburban wife and mother with an actually complicated psyche. She has many secrets buried within her heart that people around are unaware of, except one complete stranger called Gavin who she confides in through the means of internet and who when dies leaves behind the suspicion on her. Nicki Clements, is one of the most remarkable pathological liars in recent fiction. This book engages readers in its domestic drama of troubled relationships and presents two unique investigators, male and female, both working together and complementing each other. The notion of women incapable of strong personalities like their male counterparts is challenged in this text through the complex personality of Nicki Clements, who leaves a life-long imprint in the mind of the reader. Crime fiction, because of its distinguished position from mainstream genres, has remained somewhat lesser explored. In my dissertation I wish to trace the shift in women’s representation from Doyle and Christie to P.D. James and contemporary writers such as Sophie Hannah; and how the modern female protagonists are taking over the once archetypal male detective heroes with their development from the position of victims to lead roles. I also wish to study the difference between writings of the male and female authors of this genre across time. BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary Sources: Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. Gerorge Newnes. 1902. Christie, Agatha. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. William Collins, Sons. 1926. James, P.D. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. Faber and Faber. 1972. Hannah, Sophie. Woman with a Secret. Harper Collins. 2015. Web Sources: Women in Detective Fiction: A Wider Look.web. https://mysterypeople.wordpress.com/2015/03/26/women-in-detective-fiction-a-wider-look/ Female Protagonists in Crime Fiction: What You Need To Know.web. http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/female-protagonists-crime-fiction-need-know Download 20.42 Kb. Share with your friends:
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