How to write women with agency in historical fiction

Women are the primary buyers and readers of fiction today, so it’s unsurprising that many writers choose to center their historical novels on women characters. Not only is writing about women a savvy marketing decision, it’s also interesting—historical novels about women often shine a light on parts of history that have been ignored and under-studied in the worlds of academia and non-fiction. But writing about women characters also comes with its challenges.

We’ve all heard craft advice that recommends our protagonists have “agency”—that they drive their own story forward by acting, not reacting—and that we avoid writing characters who are “passive.” But what does this guidance mean if we’re writing about a time period in which women were systematically denied agency? If women in the century you’re researching were married off by their fathers against their will, unable to vote or possess property, robbed of bodily autonomy, or not even permitted to go outside unchaperoned, you may be asking yourself how you can write a character whose story is her own.

In this blog post I will share five tips for how you can still create an active and compelling main character, without writing a story that feels inauthentic or overlooks these historical realities. Some of these pointers may also be helpful if you’re writing about characters from other historically disenfranchised groups (e.g., a character who is enslaved, has a disability, or who faces religious, class, or racial prejudice), but throughout I will reference women for clarity.

1. Take inspiration from real women

First, although when we think about the most famous historical figures, our minds may leap immediately to men, it’s worth noting that they were of course many women throughout history who wielded power, whether in public or private. You may choose to write a novel about a “marquee character” i.e., a famous person from history, whose name readers instantly recognize. Anne Boleyns and Cleopatras may not be new subjects for historical fiction but that doesn’t mean there aren’t readers hungry for new takes on them. You could also create a fictional character who influences those around her in similar ways to these famous historical models. Or you could choose to write about a real woman from history whose name isn’t known today, although it should be. If you’ve stumbled across a woman from the past who did something extraordinary, lean on your research to accurately depict how she achieved what she achieved in a time when women faced significant social hurdles.

2. Break the rules… with consequences

A second strategy you can employ is to overtly call out in your text when a woman character is doing something against the “rules” of the society she lives in. I would just strongly suggest that she also faces consequences for ignoring whatever authority she’s rebelling against. For instance, if your main character is sneaking out of her house unchaperoned every night to meet her lower-class lover, she should get caught at least once. Otherwise, readers may start wondering why every lovesick heiress in Regency London isn’t doing the same thing. As authors of fiction, it’s our job to make our main characters suffer. So, whether she’s being lectured by her husband, accused of being a witch, or pilloried in the stocks, give us moments when your protagonist is punished for being a woman with agency.

3. Find power in traditionally feminine pastimes

Throughout history, women have worked, both inside and outside the home. So, why not take inspiration from how women spent their time to advance your plot? Examples of this will vary by century, class, and setting, but maybe your protagonist codes a secret message into her embroidery or quilting, maybe she poisons her employer when serving him dinner, or maybe she dances her way to wielding political influence. Strong women characters don’t always have to be masculine or tomboyish (although they can be, of course!). Just ask yourself what tools, skills, and weapons your main character has in her arsenal.

4. Give her allies and accomplices

Just because you’re writing about a time when women were denied equal rights to men, that doesn’t mean all your male characters have to suck. And writing your protagonist with agency doesn’t mean she has to do everything alone. Think about the helpful men around her whom you can use to solve plot problems. Is there a brother, a lover, or a stableboy who can deliver that message, smuggle her into that tavern, or take the blame for one of her misdemeanors? Just be careful that your heroine isn’t perennially a damsel in distress and that one male side character isn’t stealing the show. One way to protect against this is that at the climax of the novel, when it really matters, your protagonist should triumph or fall and fail based on her own merits.

5. Disrupt familiar tropes

She listens at a door. She dresses as a boy. There are reasons these two scenarios are so familiar. Authors of historical fiction have grappled for years with how to make women characters more active and how to give them access to rooms and arenas that they might have traditionally been denied access to. My advice here is to be aware of the tropes that we’ve read in historical novels again and again. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them but maybe ask yourself what’s a new twist you could bring to an old trick? I’d love to read about the woman character who can’t bind her chest tightly enough, or who gets caught with her ear to the door before hearing anything useful, or who comes up with a much more innovative way to discover information. Surprise your readers and they will keep coming back to you and your novels again and again.