Reconsidering Lin Shan

Throughout my reading of River of Stars I've been quietly bothered by the character of Lin Shan. At this late point in the book (I've just finished chapter XXIII) I think I know why.

Ren Daiyan is your typical fantasy protagonist with a little bit more. He's imagined being a warrior since youth, he carries with him a strong sense of purpose, and we see him learn how to achieve this purpose as he gets older. Nonetheless, the difference between him and the kind of hero you get in the cheesiest of fantasy stories is that we see him develop very clearly. We see him and his purpose run headlong into the political and social structures of the world. What's more, we also see him flex his intelligence as he manoeuvres around these structures. Where he can.

Shan, on the other hand, is not really your typical female protagonist. She's much more empowered than women tend to be in fantasy. Yet, just like Ren, she's also hemmed in by the world around her. However, what marks the biggest difference between these two characters' arcs is that Shan appears to grow relatively little over the course of the story.

Shan changes along with Ren, sure. But, her changes seem to be less from learning about what to do next than they are from simply realizing or intuiting what to do next. Kay very clearly uses this quality of hers to show her intelligence, but it makes for a flat arc.

Aside from growing up and changing from a girl to a woman, from a virgin to a wife, at her core Shan changes very little. It's as if the character she will be at the end of the book is something that she pulls from within herself rather than something that she constructs from herself as Ren does.

Now, maybe I find this difference in character arc jarring because I'm a man. As such, I'm not privy to the way women's minds work. Or maybe, again, for the same reason, stories of construction rather than of intuition resonate more strongly with me.

Whatever the underlying reason for my own personal opinion, that opinion remains. Shan is a fine character, but because she seems to come pre-packaged as a strong female character that strength is less satisfying than the development we see in Ren's arc. After all, as the story progresses we realize that Ren has carefully planned his rise to military prominence and watch as he adapts to being in love with Shan and (I imagine, though it's not been made completely clear yet) managing a counter-attack on the Altai.

Shan, however, just appears to be along for the ride that her world provides - in spite of her intelligence and wit.