The Blue Sword

I've read this a million times, starting when I was about 13. As an adult, I notice how dull the story really is. There is no true conflict, only the emergence of a human weapon who is unstoppable. But it still holds magic for me as an image of a young woman slowly awakening to her inner strength. My favorite part is when Harry and Corlath turn their war-rage into healing power, something that can only be done through a relationship – ,the real magic that has faded in the long absence of a “damalur-sol,” I believe. Too bad there was never a further volume about the development of this impulse, I would have found that really interesting.

On the other hand, an absurdity I did not notice for many years is that Harry never menstruates! She never has to deal with that mess and inconvenience, as she's riding about for days and weeks through the desert, being an intrepid female warrior. But a real female warrior would have to deal with it. Maybe the drug she's given during her six-week training time suppresses her period. Or maybe her blood-letting sword is an image for the menses? At the age I first fell in love with the book, I wanted to forget about my period as well, so this was not an issue for me. But now, I want books that acknowledge all sides of our female physicality.

Perhaps sensing this omission (she once called The Blue Sword her embarrassing fantasy of her 10-year-old idea of the perfect life), McKinley made up for this omission with Deerskin, which goes far in the other direction, dealing as it does with taboo topics like incest and rape, and of course menstruation. I remember how powerful it was for me when I first read it. After that, sadly and strangely, her books became largely unreadable for me, with their convoluted language that tangled up some promising ideas in a jumble of words. But the earlier ones remain some of the touchstone books of my life, and I'll always be fond of this one even as I now see its weaknesses.