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Xena and Miss Amelia: 2 Comparable Female Heroes
Carl Van Vechten — Van Vechten Collection at Library of Congress
Xena, the Warrior Princess is a super-hero who’s life has been twisted by the entire Greek pantheon of Gods since her birth. Dahak, the evil One-God, has said” as Xena goes, so goes the world” (The Deliverer), and even this non-Greek God has also been obsessed with Xena. It can be argued that she is a true hero in the classic Greek since of the word.
The opening narration of the show “describes Xena as a “hero” not a heroine”(Stein 4). “In a time of ancient gods, warlords, and kings, a land in turmoil cried out for a hero and she was Xena” (Xena Warrior Princess). It is never questioned on the series whether a woman can be a hero or a warrior. “It is simply taken for granted that a woman can and is a hero and a warrior” (Stein 4).
Miss Amelia is a Super-personality who has a whole town obsessed with her life. Like Xena, as she goes, so goes the town. Her life is as important to the town as Xena’s is to ancient Greece. These two characters are larger than life, and no one can take their eyes off them as their stories unfold. Miss Amelia and Xena are both “dark, tall wom[e]n with bones and muscles like a man” (McCullers 4). Their grim appearance insures that others keep them at arms length, and it is very rare for them to attach themselves to…
