“You’ve Come a Relatively Middling Distance, Baby”: Signs of Shift in Female Fictional Detectives

 

Make sure you're signed in and comment below for a chance to win a copy of Another Margaret by Janice MacDonald, her newest in the Randy Craig Mystery Series!

Back in the 1980’s, I wrote a thesis on parody in the development of detective fiction. My central argument was that the growth of the genre was dependent on the examination and copying of previous elements in antecedent books. New writers paid homage to the writers who had come before. Newer characters were reminiscent of older characters. Dupin’s idiosyncrasies were mirrored by Holmes; Holmes’s bees became Poirot’s vegetable marrows, which in turn grew into Wolfe’s orchids. Hammett’s terseness became Chandler’s similes, which gave birth to all private eyes’ smart mouths. In my studies, one of the things noted across the board was the naming of the female detective, and what resonances and inferences were made by readers as a result. Checking through the lists of new and continuing detectives from thirty years on, things may be changing.

Names such as Kinsey, Sam, Randy, V.I., Hilary, Nikki, Jaime, Micky, Danny, Jo, Fran, Clare, Bo, Sydney, Jordan, Alex, Brodie, Charley, Benny, Jeri, Robin, Casey, Andy, and Bailey abounded in the stories of female private investigators, girl sleuths, talented amateurs, and police procedurals. And don’t forget the sidekicks, like Nancy Drew’s friend George (Don’t wave Trixie Belden’s friend “Honey” Wheeler at me as a counter argument—you’re not the person who named their first daughter Madeleine, now are you?).

The androgynous moniker does two or three things for a character. First of all, a boyish name subliminally points to a tomboyish nature, which makes the reader think the character might be more sporty and capable of holding her own in a moment of physical distress. Nothing elicits the capacity to swim an icy river like being called by one’s initials; it’s so much easier to see a tomboy growing up to take a bullet to the shoulder. Although PD James gave the name Cordelia, the most feminine of appellations, to her detective entering an “unsuitable job for a woman,” we are far more likely to consider a Regan to be the blood-letting sort.

Secondly, being mistaken for a man might also allow a character to arrive to a meeting spot early and get the drop on whomever she was meeting for the first time. Of course, canny writers don’t overuse this trope, and they are careful about where they set the meetings. After all, asking for a Sam Adams in a bar is sort of like asking people if they have Robin Hood in a bag—one of those silly, prank phone calls of childhood.

And third, the naming of a female character with a unisex name acted as a doffing of the cap to the tradition, something every mystery novel does, in some way, to those that came before. Characters are modeled on earlier detectives in the canon, they read detective fiction in their spare time, and even wonder how a particular fictional detective would have dealt with a problem at hand. To name your character with an androgynous name was to align yourself with the genre, and all who sailed in her. This, more than anything, is the best reason to offer up a character with an androgynous name—tradition! There is no genre more steeped in tradition than mystery fiction, and the acknowledgment of the ways of the past assure readers that they are in safe hands.

Nowadays, this particular element of character isn’t as widely used. It is possible to read this sea of change in a number of ways. Women, on the whole, are becoming so much a mainstay of detective fiction that it is no longer an unsuitable job. Or maybe, with all the Shelbys, Taylors, Carsons and Madisons in the world, every name is beginning to sound androgynous. Another possibility is that the genre has grown so much that traditions linking each new book to the past are becoming thinner and more frayed. Or you know what? Maybe the reason we’re seeing more female detectives with feminine monikers is that in the twenty-first century, women are now considered capable of kicking anyone’s puny butt.

I like the thought of that last one.

Comment below for a chance to win a copy of Another Margaret by Janice MacDonald

To enter, make sure you're a registered member of the site and simply leave a comment below.

TIP: Since only comments from registered users will be tabulated, if your user name appears in red above your comment—STOP—go log in, then try commenting again. If your user name appears in black above your comment, You’re In!

 

Another Margaret Comment Sweepstakes: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.  A purchase does not improve your chances of winning.  Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 years or older as of the date of entry.  To enter, complete the “Post a Comment” entry at https://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2015/11/youve-come-a-relatively-middling-distance-baby-signs-of-shift-in-female-fictional-detectives-janice-macdonald-Another-Margaret-Randy-Craig-Mystery-Series beginning at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) November 20, 2015. Sweepstakes ends 1:59 p.m. ET November 27, 2015. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Ravenstone, imprint of Turnstone Press, 206-100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 1H3.

 


Janice MacDonald has taught English literature and creative writing for universities and colleges and extension courses in detective fiction since the late ‘80s. She also writes the Randy Craig Mystery series, set in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Randy “Miranda” Craig is nobody’s naïf.

Comments

  1. Michael Kelberer

    Great post – sharing with my SinC group.

  2. Bjorn Hock

    Thank you for the insight. There are some things I had not considered about the “naming of the shrew”. Seriously, I respect your last comment as there are too many real life females who could kick my puny ass!

  3. Jayne Barnard

    You’re so right that many names are beginning to sound androgynous.

  4. Vanessa Galore

    I think the trope of androgynous names for female characters is really overused and tired (not just in detective novels but also in women’s literature). I also hate when names are spelled weirdly–it slows me down when I’m reading and distracts me.

  5. Sally Schmidt

    Great post, good points I hadn’t thought about.

  6. Lynn Ristau

    Two of my favorite female detectives are named Barbara and Maeve, no mistaking them as androgynous. Guess I don’t read many mysteries with androgynous named detectives, male or female.

  7. Grace Koshida

    Interesting post about the changing frequency of the use of androgynous names for female characters in mysteries.

  8. pate

    Interesting take. I’m a bit of a name-nerd, and the unisex name is an international trend that has been going on for decades, as Ashley, Jordan, Cameron, Whitney and Sydney gave way to Madison, Reese, McKenna, Bailey, Waverly, etc. James is the most recent. Of course, if you’re from the South, you’re used to family surnames being used as first names for both sexes. That’s why we have a Kinsey and a Taylor!

  9. Nancy Pate

    The above comment is mine. Didn’t realize I wasn’t logged in. — Pate

  10. Andra Dalton

    Interesting insight!!! Thanks for the opportunity to win & good luck to all who enter!!! Happy Holidays to all!!!:)

  11. Daniel Morrell

    sounds like another good one

  12. Sally

    Always enjoy a good story with a female detective, regardless of her name.

  13. Susan Pertierra

    Interesting article since it gives some food for thought.

  14. Deb Philippon

    Really interesting literary history. The articles here are usually pretty good.

  15. Peter W. Horton Jr.

    Female detectives never get their proper credit! Yes!

  16. L Peters

    nice to have female perspectives. thanks

  17. Jim Belcher

    Not to mention authors hiding their gender with initials or unisex name (I really dislike “androgynous”).

  18. Kat Emerick

    Interesting reading

  19. Nissa Evans

    love to win this book please

Comments are closed.