The Picara: From Hera to Fantasy Heroine

Author/Contributor(s):	Kaler, Anne K
Publisher:	University of Wisconsin Press
Date:	01/01/1991
Binding:	Paperback
Condition:	NEW

Courtesan and criminal, thief and trollop, warrior and wanderer-the picara embodies the continuing archetypal pattern of a woman's autonomy. She is the sly sharpster in Defoe's heroines such as Roxana and Moll Flanders. With an ancestress like Becky Sharp, the picara evolves into Scarlett O'Hara before finding a comfortable niche as the female hero in fantasy written by women. The Picara traces the development of this character, from an autonomous woman in a harsh patriarchal society to the female hero of the modern fantasy novel.