History TheSmurfettePrinciple / Literature

* It takes ''456 pages'' to reach a (and pretty much the only) female character in ''The Sword of Literature/{{Shannara}}''. [[LampshadeHanging Even her rescuer is VERY surprised]].

** The Legendarium features very few women, but only rarely follows the actual SmurfettePrinciple. Creator/JRRTolkien has mentioned that there is only one known dwarf woman in history -- Fíli and Kíli's mother, Dís (who is briefly mentioned in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and in the appendices to ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''). Others certainly exist, but she is the only one he named.
** Tolkien later regretted he didn't have more females in ''The Lord of the Rings'', claiming he didn't know how to write for them. Eowyn's crucial role in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, where she slays the Witch-King, can perhaps be seen as apology for this. [[note]] On the other hand, most of the female characters he did write are generally regarded as well-written. Even those who didn't get a lot of ink like Arwen and Goldberry. There's something to be said for quality over quantity. [[/note]]

** Brought up in ''Literature/UnfinishedTales'', where the Numenorean noblewoman Erendis at one point gives a lecture to her daughter about how little women feature in the great tales and histories of Middle-earth, a fact she attributes to its patriarchal nature and the lack of care and interest men pay to the women of their lives.

* Leah Clearwater in the ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'' series is the sole female werewolf not only in her pack, but in HISTORY.

* Leah Clearwater in the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' series is the sole female werewolf not only in her pack, but in HISTORY.

* ''LightNovel/FateZero'' has Saber, [[spoiler:a GenderBender version of a traditionally male character to start with and]] the only female amongst five individual servants, each summoned by a single master. None of the masters are female.

'''Eowyn''': But no living man am I! [[BondOneLiner (STAB)]].

* Mildly deconstructed in ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy''. The setting's criminal underworld is heavily male-dominated, and as a result heroine Vin- raised to be a thief by her thief half-brother- has been the only (or one of the only) girl or woman in any given situation for most of her life. This has a very visible influence on her personality.
** [[WordOfGod Sanderson has admitted]] that he considers having Vin be the only female member of Kelsier's crew a definite flaw in the first book, and something he would have made sure to {{Avert}} if he were writing the story in the present day.

* ''Literature/GoodOmens'' has LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters. In a gang (well, four) of children, only Pepper is female. Of the five HorsemenOfTheApocalypse, only War is female. Pepper is even War's [[EvilCounterpart Good Counterpart]].

** In the present day, Daenerys Targaryen is the only female claimant to the Iron Throne.

** Although a lot of women [[BehindEveryGreatMan have ruled behind the Iron Throne]] (*cough* [[MotherMakesYouKing Cersei Lannister]] *cough*), there is only one known female queen regnant in the history of the Seven Kingdoms: Rhaenyra Targaryen. The fact that she ruled during a civil war, coupled with her own personality flaws as well as the inherent misogyny of the setting ensured that there is no more queen regnant; Rhaenyra's granddaughter Daena almost inherited the Iron Throne, but she was displaced by her uncle (and Rhaenyra's son) Viserys because she was "too wild".

** Although a lot of women [[BehindEveryGreatMan have ruled behind the Iron Throne]] (*cough* [[MotherMakesYouKing Cersei Lannister]] *cough), there is only one known female queen regnant in the history of the Seven Kingdoms: Rhaenyra Targaryen. The fact that she ruled during a civil war, coupled with her own personality flaws, as well as the inherent misogyny of the setting ensured that there is no more queen regnant in the future; Rhaenyra's granddaughter Daena almost inherited the Iron Throne, but she was displaced by her uncle (and Rhaenyra's son) Viserys because she was "too wild".

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Ginny, of the seven Weasley children, is the only daughter.

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* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'': [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] in the first book, when Holly point-blank asks Root if he's harder on her because she's a girl. He admits it, and then points out that she's the ''first'' female in Recon, and needs to set an example. It's also worth noting that the only other female up for the job Holly considers a 'bimbo'. The series itself barely averts this trope because of Juliet, Butler's ActionGirl sister, though she doesn't do much of anything until book 3.

** The Legendarium features very few women, but only rarely follows the actual SmurfettePrinciple. Creator/JRRTolkien has mentioned that there is only one known dwarf woman in history - Fíli and Kíli's mother, Dís (who is briefly mentioned in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and in the appendices to ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''). Others certainly exist, but she is the only one he named.
** Tolkien later regretted he didn't have more females in ''The Lord of the Rings'', claiming he didn't know how to write for them. Eowyn's crucial role in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, where she slays the Witch King, can perhaps be seen as apology for this. [[note]] on the other hand, most of the female characters he did write are generally regarded as well-written. Even those who didn't get a lot of ink like Arwen and Goldberry. There's something to be said for quality over quantity. [[/note]]

*** "Literature/SearchByTheFoundation": When Dr Darell and Pelleas Anthor create their anti-Second Foundation rebellion, they invite fellow males Jole Turbor, Dr. Elvett Semic, and Homir Munn. Together, these five men discuss how to find evidence of the Second Foundation and what must be done when they have. However, Arkady has decided to make herself a member of the group without informing them. She's only fourteen, and decides that a secret mission away from home to discover the Second Foundation sounds much more interesting than merely sitting around at home and doing school work. While Arkady is the only female protagonist, there are several other women who appear in this story. None of them, however, are shown to have knowledge of the First Foundation's rebellion against the Second Foundation.

* ''Literature/GoodOmens'' has LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters. In a gang (well, five) of children, only Pepper is female. Of the five HorsemenOfTheApocalypse, only War is female.

** Tolkien later regretted he didn't have more females in Lord of the Rings claiming he didn't know who to write for them. Eowyn's big role in the Battle of battle of the Pelennor fields can be seen as apology for this and her killing the Witch King. [[note]] on the other hand, most of the female characters he did write are generally regarded as well-written. Even those who didn't get a lot of ink like Arwen and Goldberry. There's something to be said for quality over quantity. [[/note]]