Furthering the Bechdel Test

[flwyd]

I was recently thinking about the Bechdel test—whether a work of fiction

1. Has at least two female characters
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something other than a man

and ways it might be extended to the next level. I like this formulation: a story

1. Has a female protagonist
2. Who completes her objective
3. And is rewarded with something other than a man

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass pass. As does The Wizard of Oz and Frozen. I suppose Island of the Blue Dolphins passes, though I'm not sure if getting off the island was the main character's goal. So there's decent success at stories targeted at young people, though Disney certainly has a history of missing the mark. In the women-killing-dangerous-enemies genre, the films Alien (and Aliens) and the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo trilogy pass.

I then realized that I don't know, off hand, a lot of stories or films with female protagonists. And many of the ones I do know, I've forgotten what the reward is at the end of the story. I'd love to hear more stories in the comments to add to the list.

Comments

[conuly]

Um....

Un Lun Dun

The Occasional Diamond Thief

Records of a Spaceborn Few (not sure which viewpoint character is the protagonist, but lots of them are female and none of them get hitched)

City of Stairs

Ancillary Justice (okay, I never remember which is first, but that trilogy)

A Face Like Glass

The Golem and the Jinni

This list is just off the top of my head, mind.

[willow_red]

From the world of television, these are the first examples that come to mind:

Buffy
(A man is sometimes the reward, but usually ends up sacrificed later to achieve a goal)

Supergirl

The new Doctor Who
(Probably; I haven't had time to watch the first episode yet, but it'd be really surprising if a man is the reward very often)

[(Anonymous)]

I think Bujold's Paladin of Souls and Barrayar count, and probably Sharing Knife series, though it's been a while for that one. The protagonists do get men, but it's not the primary reward.

The Discworld novels with witches and Tiffany Aching all fit the bill, I believe.

Barbara Hambly has written a number of fantasy books with female protagonists who complete their objective, but I can't remember which ones get other rewards.

Hmm, do female but non-human protagonists qualify? How about books with multiple protagonists, some of whom are female?

[dr_tectonic]

Whoops, that was me.

[randomdreams]

In "a wrinkle in time" Meg gets her brother back, so I'm not sure if that counts or not.