Mary Sue

This article is about the character type. For the website, seeThe Mary Sue.For other uses, seeMary Sue (given name).

TheMary Sueis acharacterarchetypein fiction, usually a young woman, who is often portrayed as inexplicably competent across all domains, gifted with unique talents orpowers,liked or respected by most other characters, unrealistically free of weaknesses, extremely attractive, innately virtuous, and generally lacking meaningfulcharacter flaws.Usually female and almost always themain character,a Mary Sue is often an author's idealizedself-insertion,and may serve as a form ofwish fulfillment.Mary Sue stories are often written byadolescentauthors.

Originating fromfan fiction,the termMary Suewas coined by Paula Smith in the 1973 parody short story "A Trekkie's Tale", as the name of a character standing in for idealized female characters widespread inStar Trekfan fiction. The term has been applied to male characters as well, though a male character with similar traits may be labeled aGary StuorMarty Stu.

As a literarytrope,the Mary Sue archetype is broadly associated with poor quality writing, and stories featuring a Mary Sue character are often considered weaker for it. Though the term is mostly used negatively, it is occasionally used positively.

Origins

The termMary Suecomes from the name of a character created by Paula Smith in 1973 in theparodystory "A Trekkie's Tale",published in Smith's and Sharon Ferraro'sStar TrekfanzineMenagerie.The story featured Lieutenant Mary Sue ( "the youngest Lieutenant in the fleet—only fifteen and a half years old"), and satirized idealistic female characters widespread inStar Trekfan fiction. In 1976,Menagerie's editors wrote:

Mary Sue stories—the adventures of the youngest and smartest ever person to graduate from the academy and ever get a commission at such a tender age. Usually characterized by unprecedented skill in everything from art to zoology, including karate and arm-wrestling. This character can also be found burrowing her way into the good graces/heart/mind of one of the Big Three [Kirk,Spock,andMcCoy], if not all three at once. She saves the day by her wit and ability, and, if we are lucky, has the good grace to die at the end, being grieved by the entire ship.

Smith and Ferraro created the character to parody a recurring pattern found in author submissions toMenagerie,in which a young woman would arrive on theStarshipEnterpriseand quickly win over the established characters. While the Mary Sue character did not originally have a specific gender, these submitted stories tended to be written by women. According to Smith and Ferraro, women made up most of theStar Trekfan base, unlike the larger science fiction fandom. Smith and Ferraro had initially considered other (male) names such as "Murray Sue" or "Marty Sue". Comparing the character to male proxies such asSuperman,Smith later said, "It was OK for [men] to have placeholder characters that were incredibly able".

While originally used to describe fan fiction characterizations,the termMary Suehas been applied to characters and stories in commercially published fiction as well. According to folkloristCamille Bacon-Smith,the stories that represent the "pure" form of the Mary Sue character are "found in theStar Treksection of any bookstore ",for example, cadet Piper, the protagonist of the 1986Star TreknovelDreadnought!by Diane Carey. Mary Suecan also refer to the fan fiction genre featuring such characters; these stories feature female heroines who are young, attractive, and exceptionally gifted, and serve as the author'sself-insertioninto the story.They often resolve the conflict of the story, win the love of the other characters, and die a heroic death at the end.Mary Sue stories are often written byadolescentauthors. An author may create a new character based on themselves, or they may alter an established character's personality and interests to be more like their own.

Analysis

The two characteristics of idealization and self-insertion are usually cited by fans as hallmarks of a Mary Sue character.Angie Fazekas and Dan Vena write that such characters "provide an opportunity for teenage girls to write themselves into popular culture narratives as the heroines of their own stories".According to Jackie Mansky inSmithsonian,some critics argue that "Mary Sues opened up a gateway for writers, particularly women and members of underrepresented communities, to see themselves in extraordinary characters". AuthorAnn C. Crispindescribed the termMary Sueas "a put-down, implying that the character so summarily dismissed is not a true character, no matter how well drawn, what sex, species, or degree of individuality".

Bacon-Smith writes that Mary Sue stories are "central to the painful experience of a female fan's adolescence", especially for those who could not or would not remain intellectually or physically subservient to their male peers; they represent a combination of active protagonist with "the culturally approved traits of beauty, sacrifice, and self-effacement".In fan-fiction versions, the protagonist traditionally dies at the end of the story; Bacon-Smith says this expresses the "cultural truth" that to enter womanhood in a male-dominated American society, one must kill the "active agent within [herself]"; Mary Sue thus embodies a "fantasy of the perfect woman", who exists to serve the needs of men while minimizing her own abilities. Less commonly, male characters may be used to personify the same wish-fulfillment functions. CalledMarty Stu,Gary Stu,orLarry Stu,these characters are typically discussed infan cultureas adjuncts to the Mary Sue trope.For example, fans have argued that inStar Trek,the characterJames T. Kirkis a "Marty Stu".

Smith commented in 1980 that her intent was never "to put down all stories about inspiring females". In a 2011 interview, she said that the male alternative is rarely pointed out, citingJames Bondand Superman as popular "Marty Stu" characters.She argued that male Mary Sues benefit the male audience'scoming of age:"[W]hat gets focused on in the culture is defined by boys and young men. Psychologically, there's a turning point in men's lives. There's a point where they need to break away from women in their youth, and then later they come back to women as grown men, but many men never make it, never quite come back to a world that includes women as human beings".

Cultural impact

The Mary Sue character has acquired a negative connotation in fan communitiesas a poorly developed character, too perfect and lacking in realism to be interesting. According to Bacon-Smith, the label is "the most universally denigrated genre in the entire canon of fan fiction"and may represent "self-imposed sexism" by limiting the qualities allowed for female characters. Mansky writes that as the term gained in usage, fans—most often male fans—have used it to denigrate any capable female character.

Bacon-Smith argues that fear of creating a "Mary Sue" may be restricting and even silencing to some writers. She quotes theStar TrekfanzineArchivesas identifying "Mary Sue" paranoia as one of the sources for the lack of "believable, competent, and identifiable-with female characters". During a discussion between female authors atStar Trekfan conventionClipperConin 1987, one author stated, "Every time I've tried to put a woman in any story I've ever written, everyone immediately says, this is a Mary Sue". At a 1990 panel discussion, participants "noted with growing dismay thatanyfemale character created within the [fan] community is damned with the term Mary Sue ". Editor Edith Cantor describes a fan author who feared their character was a "Mary Sue", although the author admitted she did not know what a "Mary Sue" was. Cantor writes, "just as every dog is allowed one bite, so every Trekwriter should be allowed one Mary Sue", to be given "a sympathetic reading and critique, and perhaps returned to the author with the explanation that she is following a too-well-beaten path".

Writing in feminist popular culture magazineBitch,Keidra Chaney and Raizel Liebler describeStar Trek: The Next GenerationcharacterWesley Crusheras a "quasi–Gary Sue", who is "a brilliant teen who always seems to discover the answers to problems and who is promoted to the crew of the Enterprise with no formal training".According to writerPat Pflieger,the character may have been a stand-in forGene Roddenberry,whose middle name was Wesley.

Gavia Baker-Whitelaw ofThe Daily Dotdescribes the fan fictionMy Immortal's main character, Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way, as "a Mary Sue protagonist who was clearly a glorified version of the author". The characterArya Starkfrom HBO'sGame of Thronesseries has been labeled a Mary Sue for her heroic role in the show's finale; frustration with this characterization inspired a response on the feminist websiteThe Mary Sue,which took its name as an effort to "re-appropriate" the term.

Media-studies researcher Christine Scodari says there is a tendency withinslash fandomto label major female characters such asNyota Uhurain the 2009 filmStar Trekas "Mary Sues", because of a perception that development of the female character takes away screen time from male characters. Twitter users have debated whether theStar Warssequel trilogyfeatures a Mary Sue in its protagonist,Rey,on the basis of Rey's seemingly natural skills as a mechanic, a fighter, a pilot, and a user of "The Force",which draw admiration from the film's other main characters.

See also

• Author surrogate
• Competent man
• Girlboss
• Goody Two-Shoes
• Ideal womanhood
• Magical Negro
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl
• Pollyanna
• Tolkien fan fiction
• Tuckerization,when someone is written into a story by someone else

Further reading

• Bacon-Smith, Camille (2014). "Training New Members". In Hellekson, Karen; Busse, Kristina (eds.).The Fan Fiction Studies Reader.University of Iowa Press. pp. 138–158.ISBN978-1-60938-227-8.
• "Full record for Mary Sue n."Science Fiction Citations.Archived fromthe originalon July 17, 2018.
• Gardner, David (March 2004)."Mary Sue Gives Birth, Baby Undergoes Sex Change. The Role ofStar TrekFan Fiction in the Creation ofStar Trek: The Next Generation".The Internet Review of Science Fiction.1(3). Archived fromthe originalon June 5, 2010.
• Pflieger, Pat (2001)."'Too Good To Be True': 150 Years Of Mary Sue ".Merrycoz.org.Archivedfrom the original on August 30, 2019.RetrievedNovember 27,2020.
• Smith, Paula. "A Trekkie's Tale". Reprinted in:Cantor, Johanna, ed. (Winter 1980). "Mary Sue, a Short Compendium".Archives V(fanzine). Danvers, Mass.: Yeoman Press. p. 34.
• Verba, Joan Marie (2003). "Part Two: Steady Growth (1972–1974)".Boldly Writing: A Trekker Fan & Zine History, 1967–1987(PDF).Minnetonka, Minn.: FTL Publications.ISBN978-0-9653-5754-8.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on April 11, 2005.

External links

• The dictionary definition ofmary sueat Wiktionary