Sue the Patriarchy: Analysing the “Mary Sue” Trope and Its Many Problems

Abstract

[Abstract] As women have slowly but surely inserted themselves within traditionally male fields, problems regarding their contributions have repeatedly arisen in patriarchal attempts to boycott their efforts. The literary world is not an exception, since women writers continue to face endless criticism whose sole function is to undermine not only their works but their very will to produce. Such is the case of the Mary Sue, who was born as a character pertaining to the fan fiction realm but expanded past its beginnings and permeated the literary field as a trope. The original Mary Sue was created by a woman and propagated into original works of fiction by other women because of her success; nonetheless, the patriarchy condemned the trope of the Mary Sue and ultimately thwarted it so that it became yet another instrument of misogynistic criticism. For that reason, this paper intends to highlight the feminism behind the original Mary Sue and to prevent its bigoted use by exploring its history and illustrating how the patriarchy is at fault for its demise.