A NETWORK APPROACH: TRACKING FEMALE POWER IN SEVEN EPIC NARRATIVES

In this chapter, we use network analysis to compare representations of characters marked as female by conventional cultural standards in seven epic narratives from different cultures and time periods. Specifically, we analyze gender in five ancient narratives: the Maya Popol Vuh; the Greek Iliad by Homer; the Irish Táin Bó Cuailnge; the Old English Beowulf; the Icelandic Laxdæla Saga; and two more recent fantasy epic narratives in English, the trilogy The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, and the first five books of the series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. We apply network measures to quantitatively identify which characters are the most influential to the social networks portrayed in these works, reading their access as a sign of influence in their respective story worlds. Our analysis shows that while male characters have the most influence overall, female characters have relatively more influence in the Laxdæla Saga than in the other works-a finding that corroborates a “traditional” comparative, narrative analysis of the works. But tellingly, its social network is more similar to modern social networks in the real world than those of the other works.