Strong Female Character: Lady Eboshi
Written by AJ Dent, GeekGirlCon Staff Copy Writer
Lady Eboshi stands with her workers. Photo source.
When you really think about it, Lady Eboshi is the original source of every awful thing that happens in the anime movie Princess Mononoke. She is also just as fascinating and fierce as the main female character, however, and I can’t help but admire her for it.
Trying to summarize this multifaceted, larger-than-life film is tough, but it begins with a classic (wo)man-against-nature conflict narrative. On a quest for riches, Lady Eboshi builds Irontown, a settlement entirely dedicated to producing iron. To make room and materials for this colossal factory, she clear-cuts acres and acres worth of the surrounding woods, enraging the forest gods within.
All hell breaks loose when Nago, an esteemed warrior warthog god, gets a ball of iron lodged in his body, infecting him with evil. He begins attacking and killing everything in sight, completely driven by hateful demons. In order to stop the murder of nature and bring balance back to the earth, Lady Eboshi’s work must be eliminated.
Lady Eboshi charges into battle. Photo source.
So why would I dare call such a trouble-starter a strong female character? She’s much more than a run-of-the-mill bad guy. This woman extensively traveled across countries to recruit workers who had been rejected by the general populace. Her main work forces were lepers shunned by society, and prostitutes who’d never had another professional choice before.
She obviously uses these people’s skills and strengths to her own advantage, but she is downright good to them, too. Providing ample food, warm homes, and a genuinely caring community, she helps them heal both physically and emotionally. Many were alone and penniless when she met them, and most would have never escaped miserable lives if not for her. Every citizen not only reveres her, but willingly goes to war in order to protect her and the city they’ve built. When the women insist on defending her, she even has rifles designed specifically for them to learn and use!
When it comes to her relationship with leading lady San — aka Princess Mononoke — you could say it’s a bit strained. San has sworn to kill Eboshi, as she was raised by wolves in the woodlands being destroyed. In this battle, though, Eboshi is mostly trying to protect her assets and stay alive, not assassinate San out of pure evil. Constantly combating over their passions — iron versus earth, spirits versus humans — they definitely pass the Bechdel Test!
I won’t ruin the flick for those who haven’t yet seen it (because, do! Go see it! You’ll be doing yourself a huge favor!), but suffice it to say, somewhere along the way, Lady Eboshi has a change of heart. As if she wasn’t enough of a badass already, she becomes a dynamic character in the story, growing as a person and changing the fate of everyone around her.
While San will always be the star to root for, Lady Eboshi is absolutely brilliant, protective, and driven, making her one of my all-time favorite strong female characters.
