List of female monsters in literature explained

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

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

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
• 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
• Annabeth Chase
• Rachel Elizabeth Dare
• Zoë Nightshade
• Sally Jackson
• Thalia Grace
• Silena Beauregaurd
• Bianca Di Angelo
• Clarisse La Rue

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Reed. Susan. The Tale of Mélusine. European studies blog. British Library. 18 January 2018. reed. 26 October 2015.
2. Web site: Sims. Beth. The Characters of Paradise Lost: Sin and Death. Darkness Visible: A Resource for Studying Milton's Paradise Lost. University of Cambridge. 18 January 2018. darkvis.
3. Web site: Williams. Deborah Lindsay. Monstrosity and Feminism in Frankenstein. Electra Street. New York University Abu Dhabi. 18 January 2018. wms. November 2014.
4. Web site: Droll Stories by Honore de Balzac. Project Gutenberg. 18 January 2018. droll.
5. Web site: Goss. Theodora. Five Monsters That Explore Gender, Sexuality, and Race. Tor. 18 January 2018. goss2. 20 June 2017.
6. Web site: Goss. Theodora. Where Are All the Female Monsters in Literature?. Read it Forward. 18 January 2018. goss.
7. Web site: Warner. Marina. Bad-good girls, beasts, rogues and other creatures: Angela Carter and the influence of fairy tales. Discovering Literature: 20th century. British Library. 19 January 2018. warner. 25 May 2016.
8. Web site: Leffler. Yvonne. Female Gothic Monsters. The History of Nordic Women's Literature. 18 January 2018. nordic. 12 October 2016.
9. Web site: Smythe. James. The Girl With All the Gifts by MR Carey – review. The Guardian – Books. 18 January 2018. smythe.