Sanderson's female protagonists all act the same?

[kogs]

Well I shouldn't say all, but some of Sanderson's female protagonists all seem to act and speak the same way regardless of age or social status.  Siri, Shallan, and Sarene all seem to have the exact same witty, sarcrastic, almost arrogant remarks, particularly towards men.  I'm almost inclined to say Shai is the exact same way, if to a lesser degree.

 

Is this something that others have noticed?

[GreyPilgrim he/him]

This is definitely a topic which has come up every now and again. I think Brandon's female characters are definitely similar, but I don't think it is a real problem. The characters you mention are definitely sarcastic (Shai not so much) and witty, but I feel that beyond that they are really very different characters all with their own traits. Note also that these are really only a few of Brandon's female leads: Vin is definitely very different, Vivenna also. Marasi is sort of in between.

 

The sarcastic and witty woman is certainly one of Brandon's favorite characters, but I feel that he gives them enough different traits beyond that to make them into round characters.

[Argent he/him]

Shallan and Sarene are the two I feel are most similar - I keep reading Shallan in Sarene's voice, as impressed on me by the Graphic Audio adaptation of Elantris. I am not alarmed by this, or any of the other similarities - in a certain light Dalinar is very similar to Elend. Which are both very similar to Aragorn. It's a minor flaw I am perfectly okay with. 

[Topomouse he/him]

When I read the title of the topic i started thinking about similarities between the various heroines and I was starting to think you had point. Then I saw who you gave as an exemple and I think that while there are some little similarities, they are not too strong in my opinion.

I say this since my opinions of(or reactions to) those three characters are very, very diffentet:

I found Siri to be very likeable and fun, also kinda cute in her naivetè.

On the other hand Sarene is more like someone I would like to work with. She inspire more respect then fondness from me.

And last but not least, I find Shallan very annoying. I think I'm part of a minoriry in this but I don't really like her. To be fair that was in The Way of Kings, in Word of Radiance I started to appreciate her more given the whole of her story and her ordeal after the shipwreck. Still not my favourite character.

 

 

 

Kinda like that damnation Egwene, I hated her till the last moment...

[Cromptj he/him]

I think the problems come from Brandon trying to make his female characters stand out from other females in the book, and giving them interesting scenes, when they cannot fight or do not have any magical abilities. The most notable exceptions to this rule, e.g. Vin, Shai, Vivenna can all use magic.

[Delightful]

When I first read Shallan's perspective I thought she was quite similar to Sarene, but then she grows in a totally different direction. I've thought the same thing to a lesser degree about Vivenna and Siri, but I basically just find that if I don't think about it too much, it doesn't bother me.

 

I actually thought Marasi was quite different, as was Ranette and Shai, while Steris is way too weird to be similar to anyone else.

[Mistdork she/her]

I'd rather have them be witty and sarcastic though (to some extent) then have them be mean and arrogant (I have no idea what series I might be talking about, though! Why would I think poorly of characters from one of my favorite series?). The thing is, though, that just because wittiness is a favorite trait of Sandorson's females, it isn't their only trait (everyone's discussed this in depth already, so I won't). And really, witty-sarcasm isn't just a trait of these characters, it's a frequent trait in a lot of his protagonist regardless of gender. That said though, a lot of people have that kind of humor, it's really not that unusual, 

[king of nowhere]

they are called archetypes. all possible personalities fit into one of them, enough that they will look similar at first glance. just in the same way that all nerds look the same when seen by non-nerds. or all people doing a job look the same to other people. it's only when you get to know the people that you appreciate their distinct personalities.

archetypes work because they are very rough divisions, they divide people in broad categories so that everyone fits one way or the other. that do not mean that those people are similar for real.

[Alina Two she/her]

I feel this might be a symptom of Brandon's tendency to give most of his characters (female and male) the same witty, banter-dependent sense of humor. I'm not complaining - it's always fun to read. However, if you look at many of the witty/humorous dialogue-heavy group scenes from Mistborn, Stormlight Archive, Elantris, etc, they all read as very similar. If all of our favorite Brandon characters were at the same dinner party, they would have a grand old time because they would all find each other hilarious.

 

So, yes, many of these female characters sound the same at times. I think it has more to do with Brandon's sense of humor than actual character sameness.

[Meg]

Interesting topic. Kind of, I'm a bit disappointed to find some of the female characters make me feel to many similarities. I wouldn't in any way say that Shallan and Sarene are comparable, other than Vin, Lift, and Shallan, who kind of seem to follow the same path.

You see, my comparisons are based on other aspects than witty comments.

And there are Siri, Vivenna, Jasnah, and Navani. None of them fit in the "witty" nor in (my) development category.

All in all I don't see that "all" female protagonists act, develop or talk the same way. There are enough individual aspects.