Olesya Salnikova Gilmore on Crafting Feminist Agency in Historical Gothic Mysteries

One of the biggest challenges when publishing books was the lack of feminist agency in female characters. One way to give agency to a class that historically never had it is to give them a business. Many female heroines in gothic novels own tea shops and other businesses. Owning her own business gives the heroine some agency, but connecting the business to the gothic mystery solidifies it. Agency can only exist if the character is moving the plot forward. A business doesn’t just give the heroine independence and a living, it catapults her into the main plot of the story, rendering her an active participant with power.

• When I first started publishing books, my biggest challenge was the lack of agency in my female characters.
• Owning her own business gives the heroine some agency, but connecting the business to the gothic mystery solidifies it.
• A business doesn’t just give the heroine independence and a living, it catapults her into the main plot of the story, rendering her—a woman with historically no power—an active participant with power.

Source: Crime Reads  | 
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