Dissecting Dragons: Episode 199: Troubled, Dead or MIA - Parent-child Relationships in Speculative Fiction

Episode 199: Troubled, Dead or MIA - Parent-child Relationships in Speculative Fiction

 

There's no denying that parent characters suffer at the hands of authors, particularly if we're talking about MC's parents in SFF. Aside from the obvious reason (ie if a character is young enough for parental presence to impact on whether they fulfil their narrative destiny) there's really no reason for the casual removal of parents from a story. This week the dragons look at how and why parent characters are removed and why this can have a negative impact on the story. Weeding through the usual parent tropes, Jules and Madeleine discuss how the same stories can be told differently. On the slab this week; Game of Thrones, Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce and many more.

 

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic