29 March 2010
Today’s Tabbloid
PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net
ROGUE FEED
Pulp Fantasy Library: Sword
Woman
MAR 29, 2010 12:01A.M.
Fans of Robert E. Howard frequently find themselves having to correct
all manner of misapprehensions about him and his literary output. Two
such misapprehensions concern Howard’s portrayal of women
characters and the mistaken belief that the man from Cross Plains had
anything to do with the character of Red Sonja. About the latter, very
little needs to be said, as it’s a fact of history that REH did not create the
chainmail bikini-wearing Hyrkanian swordswoman, who made her first
appearance in the pages of Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian comic book in
the early 70s. It’s true that Howard did create a female character named
Sonya of Rogatino for a single story called “The Shadow of the Vulture”
(published in 1934), but this Red Sonya hails from the 16th century, not
the Hyborian Age, and her prowess with pistol and blade stems from skill
rather than a divine blessing.
The question of Howard’s portrayal of women characters is a complex
one, but I think it’s fair to say that, much like his male characters, his
primary agenda was spinning a good yarn. Consequently, his females are
what he felt they needed to be in order to tell the kind of story he wished
to tell. Many were mere accessories to male protagonists, yes, but there
are multiple examples to the contrary. Indeed, I think Howard deserves
far more praise than he often gets for his female characters, both in the
Conan stories — Bêlit and Valeria, for example — and elsewhere. When
he wished to do so, he could create female characters every bit as real
and multifaceted as his male characters.
1
Which brings me to Agnes de Chastillon, better known as Dark Agnes.
Though created in the 1930s and the protagonist of three short stories
(two complete and one not), she never appeared in print until 1975. Later
in the same decade, these three two stories, the last of which was
completed by Gerald Page based on Howard’s synopsis, were collected
together in the paperback volume depicted with this post. As depicted in
her first story, “Sword Woman,” Agnes is a Frenchwoman about to be
married off to a man she does not love by her father, a former
mercenary, who beats her when she shows signs of wishing to defy his
plans.
Unbowed, Agnes kills her husband-to-be on their wedding day and flees
her father, hoping to make her own way in the world. She eventually
makes the acquaintance of Etienne Villiers, who offers to help her find
work so that she might not starve. Of course, the work Villiers has in
mind is prostitution and Agnes soon makes him regret his intentions,
nearly beating him to death in her anger. Agnes nevertheless forgives
Villiers and meets another man, Guiscard de Clisson, who teaches her to
use a sword so that she might better defend herself in the future. She
takes to the blade with astounding speed and then attempts to join
Guiscard’s mercenary company as a soldier. What happens next sets the
stage for the short stories that follow.
Dark Agnes provides quite a counterpoint to Red Sonja, being an
independent, capable swordswoman with a plausible backstory rather
than being a mere vehicle for titillation. It’s worth noting that Howard
thought enough of Agnes that he sent his drafts to C.L. Moore, creator of
Jirel of Joiry, to get her opinion. Moore was quite enthusiastic about
Agnes, according to a letter she wrote to REH in January 1935. In
addition, Howard goes to some lengths in “Sword Woman” to have male
characters note that a female mercenary, while not the norm, was
nevertheless not without precedent. As written, Agnes is remarkably
believable — not your typical “warrior woman,” with all the pathologies
that implies but rather simply a woman who wishes to be treated as an
equal by men and women alike, a person who wishes to forge her own
destiny.
It’s a pity that Agnes de Chastillon is not better known among
aficionados of pulp fiction, as she’s an interesting character who ably
demonstrates Robert E. Howard’s remarkable skill as a writer.
Fortunately, her stories will be included in a new volume of the Del Rey
REH library in 2011. Here’s hoping Agnes, along with some of Howard’s
“lesser” characters, will soon become enjoy the readership they deserve.
Today’s Tabbloid PERSONAL NEWS FOR riorio2@rogue-games.net 29 March 2010

ROGUE FEED

Dwimmermount Game Table

MAR 28, 2010 10:25P.M.

I’ve received several requests for photographs of my group’s game table

au naturel — as it is in the heat of actual play rather than “staged” for
public consumption. Here are several I took during this evening’s
session.

This one was an “overhead shot” during a break in play much later in the
night. You can see my printouts of the treasure tables from the Monster
& Treasure Assortment, along with the Labyrinth Lord books I often use
alongside my OD&D books.

This photo was shot from my perspective. You can see my dice, OD&D
books, Ready Ref Sheets, minis (yeah, they’re plastic prepainteds — sue
me), and a bunch of unused dungeon blocks, among other things. You
can also see where a couple of players sit, along with notepads, character
sheets, and other accouterments.
I’ll do a recount of the events of the session itself later this week. It was a
very good session, one in which Brother Candor came within 1 hit point
of death and a long-time hireling met his demise. The characters also
inadvertently delved deeper into Dwimmermount than they intended
and learned more about the activities of the Argent Twilight within the
mountain fortress. All in all, a good night’s fun.

This one was from a little bit later in the evening, shot from beyond one
of my players. You can see that the amount of the dungeon represented
by the blocks has grown somewhat.