What do I think I know about the patterns I think I see

A rumination. I am currently reading The Day is Dark by Yrsa Sigurdardottir, an Icelandic murder mystery writer with a series based on a woman lawyer protagonist, Thóra Gudmundsdóttir. This is number four in the series and I have read the first and maybe one other of the beginning three. I enjoyed her debut book in the series but am noticing something in this fourth one that I don't recall seeing in the first three.

A seeming deliberate subversion of the integrity of her own female protagonist.

I have seen the same phenomenon with Sue Grafton and her alphabet series (set in California) with protagonist Kinsey Millhone and with Karin Slaughter and her Grant County series (set in a fictionalized Macon, Georgia) with protagonists Sara Linton and Lena Adams. I have only read part of one of Slaughter's books before discarding it for the subversion. I probably should have another go at one.

In all three instances the subversion takes the form of a female protagonist who behaves in some ways just like a male detective protagonist for most the time. But at some point, the author seems compelled to introduce a couple of devices.

For most male detective series, the male protagonist has a flaw of some sort - past trauma, self-destructive stubbornness, alcohol, some burden that is always a threat to him. For these female detectives, the device is not a personal flaw but a personal vulnerability. It seems like a fine distinction but it can develop into the difference between a hero against the odds versus a victim in the face of circumstances.

The second device that parallels the first is an attempt by the author to accentuate the femininity of the protagonist which, to me, always reads as an exercise in tropes and stereotypes. The protagonist becomes obsessed with their relations with a male, they focus on their appearance, they need a female confidant, they dither, they do stupid things like getting drunk and having sex with someone they intended not to. I think in the author's mind they are trying to reinforce the fact that this is not a male protagonist who happens to have a female body. They want it clear that it is a female psyche (however we might identify that) in a female body and therefore they are trying to build up the female factor. But in doing so, it comes across as heavy handed stereotyping and a casting of the protagonist as a helpless victim.

And I don't like that.

Seeing this pattern across these books, I had to ask myself, are these instances a product of my imposing a known preferred model of expectations or is it real? Thinking it through and trying to put my finger on the source of irritation, I asked a series of questions.

Do I have anything against women authors? - No, women are well-represented in my non-fiction reading which is the bulk of what I read.

Do I have something against women mystery writers? - No, women writers are among those at the top of my list of favorites such as P.D. James, Magdalen Nabb, and Donna Leon.

Is it that I don't like reflective protagonists? - No, both Adam Dalgliesh and Guido Brunetti are cultured reflective individuals.

Is it that I don't like female protagonists? - OK, possibly that might be an issue. Certainly not in literature in general. Lots of female protagonists whom I enjoy. However, among mystery series protagonists, I definitely see a dearth. The only one that comes to mind is Kay Scarpetta in Patricia Cornwell's series. Definitely enjoyed her first books but quit reading the series as they became more exaggerated and improbable. It was not that the protagonist became unsympathetic, it was the classic shark jumping challenge. The first book, Postmortem, is elaborate, gripping, tense. Each subsequent book ratchets up yet further and it becomes more and more difficult to suspend disbelief.

I very much enjoy Mma Precious Ramotswe in Alexander McCall Smith's series. Less personable but still a compelling protagonist is Lisbeth Salander in Stieg Larsson's Millennium series.

It is a short list compared to estimable male protagonists but I don't think gender of the protagonist has anything to do with it.

Is it that I don't like detectives who focus on emotions? - Possibly, but still kind of doubt it. Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander is not just reflective but more than a little involved in trying to sort out his emotional life.

Authors who subvert the integrity of their female protagonists by dealing in stereotypes and tropes in order to feminize their protagonist is the answer I came up with which seems to be consistent with the data.