Lucy's Blade Chapter Summary

Of the fifteen fantasy novel covers, there seems to be an implicit standard in employing Arthurian and medieval themes among most illustrators. The heavily romanticized rendering of the fantasy story as an archetypical tale with green dragons, enchanted weapons, and gratuitous cleavage operates as a genre identifier, similar to the burly-haired lumberjacks of romance novels. While it may seem detrimental for the genre to don a homogeneous veil, the purpose of collective identity remains. When picking up Holly Black’s Ironside, the illustration of a white floral wreath bordered by silver leaves, leaves ambiguity. Flipping the book to its backside leads to more leaves. Near Ironside, sits Lucy’s Blade by John Lambshead, which features: a green-scaled …show more content…
Upon inspection, there are no visible men aside from a background army composed of indiscernible figures. Out of ten novels featuring women on the cover, Bradley and Paxson’s work is the only one to embody an air of female dignity and independence. Semblances of such traits not found in others. A feat in itself, Ravens of Avalon challenges the deep-rooted nature of placing women in the peripheral sidelines away from the sight of men, and instead, into roles of command (Bradley and Paxson). Despite these efforts to regain a similar footing equalling men, the aggregate population’s choice to maintain risqué attire to satisfy aesthetic beauty completely undermines this ideal. Alongside the absentminded absence of moral garment, is the complete absence of a “racial” minority in any cover, a secondary method in aesthetic …show more content…
The alluring smile, the flaunting chest, and the timid pose; these attributes form a portrait of delicate femininity to draw in a male readership. This teasing vulnerability constitutes the main goal of the illustrator. It allows the viewer to live vicariously as the male protagonist with privileged access to the female’s body. This viewpoint however, promotes the importance of superficial appearances and the exploitation of women through hyper-sexualisation, two ideas largely perpetuated by the mass media. Anne Kelleher’s Silver’s Lure is an exemplary case, ushering the male reader to fantasize about the women-of-fairy by role-playing as the hero. Two starkly real looking individuals stand and look straight ahead with the female behind the male. What appears to be a chastity belt, wraps itself around the female’s waist, a major contrast to her cream coloured dress. It is clear enough that the image is tempting the reader to make sexual advances on the female, given that the hero’s garb is silver, along with his hair, thus silver’s lure. The over abundance of sexualising women is an obviously demoralizing point and yet, continues to be a standard depiction. Kelleher’s Silver Lure is no different, surrendering modesty in exchange for widespread public appeal. Lastly, the majority decision to not include racial