“But you will be a girl heroes fear”: Mia Corvere’s Gender Portrayal and Queerness in Jay Kristoff’s The Nevernight Chronicle

Abstract

This article argues that Australian author Jay Kristoff's Nevernight trilogy contests, deconstructs, and subverts gendered restrictions and stereotypes often found in fantasy literature. Protagonist Mia Corvere overcomes both tropes of toxic masculinity and a single-minded focus on revenge by facing her fears, emotions, and embracing her queerness. As this article shows, the heroine’s gender performance moves beyond binary constructions and challenges narrative conventions as well as reader assumptions.