Changing the plot, #1

The problem with reading older books, especially books like The Monk, is that the heroines aren't very likable.

When The Monk was written, the ideal heroine was meek, obedient, beautiful, and (most importantly) sexually pure. In fact, at that time, the word virtue (for women at least) was synonymous with virginity or chastity.

Things have changed since then. Maybe they're still similar in some romantic comedies, but The Monk is not a romantic comedy. It has romance, yes, but it also has murder and imprisonment. I think that if it were a movie, it would be something between a drama and a thriller.

Well, you only have to watch something like Silence of the Lambs or Kill Bill to see that meekness and chastity are no longer required qualities for female heroines. Clarice Starling and Beatrice Kiddo kick ass, literally and figuratively. They go after what they want. They have to deal with some obstacles first, but they go after it nonetheless.

In The Monk, Antonia is the ultimate boring but virtuous female heroine. She just sort of sits there being meek and modest until Ambrosio comes and takes her away. Do we feel sorry for her? Of course. But do we really like her? Meh.

Agnes is a bit better, because what she goes through is much more harrowing, and she does show some resolve in refusing to let go of her baby. But still . . . she disappears for most of the book and then is rescued by her brother. Yawn.

The only interesting woman in The Monk is Matilda, just because she actually takes some action to get what she wants. Unfortunately, it turns out that Matilda isn't even a real woman in the end. So it doesn't end up mattering that much.

I refuse to write characters like this. I don't want to imbue my entire novel with a feminist agenda, because that's not the point of this novel. I do, however, insist on making my female characters into regular human beings -- not just pretty objects for men to fight over -- and I think that human beings who try to do or get things are much better novel fodder than passive human beings.

Therefore, I'm going to be altering the plot in my adaptation. I'm still thinking about what precise changes to make, because I want them to be character driven. But I have some ideas. I'll be posting about them later today.