I recently finished reading Stardust a couple weeks ago and I noticed that the females in this novel are lacking in notice and attention. I state this because in the beginning of the book their is very little mention of Dunstan’s wife or Tristan’s sister. Furthermore when Tristan leaves Wall these characters are never mentioned again. This is shown also with Una who is just used to procreate with Tristan and is not able to gain a strong female role until the end of the book. Additionally, women face further stigmatization through the three old witches in the book that remind me of the witches from Macbeth. These women show a portrayal of women that do not want to be old and are wanting to achieve societies standards of youth and beauty. This motif is also seen through Yvaine who is literally captured by Tristan to do as he pleases to bring her back to Victoria.
The lack of female roles in stardust
(spoiler alert) While, I know in the end that Una and Yvaine end up being Queens of stormhold to make up for their lack of power earlier in the novel, I am not sure that it justifies Una being a slave worker and Yvaine being dragged everywhere by Tristan. I know that the point of this novel is for Tristan to find himself and become a man, I just that these women were not left out in the process. Also Yvaine and Una face further stigmatization being in the land of Fraerie and a sort of racism since there seems to be some prejudice towards the people of Faerie this shown as during the fall the people from wall will never by their goods from a market fair. I do not think this fair as there should be mutual trading and benefits between the people of wall and the land of Faerie.
