[HPforGrownups] FF: Question: Mary Sue

[Margaret Dean]

No: HPFGUIDX 20550

Simon wrote:
> 
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., dfrankis at d... wrote:
> > Incidentally Hermione's Mary-Sue-ism (expression not known this
> > side of the pond) could also be a Harry POV thing.
> 
> Catherine: <<<Yes, I know this is probably OT, but what is a Mary-Sue-ism??>>>
> 
> This term comes from fanfic. I believe it originally comes from Star Wars,
> where the character in question was named Mary-Sue.

Oh no, not Star Wars.  Mary Sue was alive and well before Star
Wars was drawn or thought of.  To the best of my knowledge the
term (and the name) come originally from Star Trek fan fiction,
though the phenomenon itself is probably even older.
 
> Mary-Sue is a perfect person, who comes into the story. A little mysterious
> she would, in HP terms, be cleverer than Hermione. Have all the males chasing
> after her, before she runs off to save the world. Or something like that. More
> information at: http://writersu.s5.com/history/marysue.html
> 
> Usually she is the author insertion into the story and many look down on
> stories with a Mary-Sue in it. There is a male equivalent, but this is less
> clearly defined and not as common (possibly because there seems to be a much
> larger proportion of female than male writers - at least in the HP world).

That seems to be true of fan fiction in general:  the majority of
the writers of it are female.


--Margaret Dean
  <margdean at erols.com>