Let me start by saying that I've been blown away by the sheer scope and brilliance of this game. I had high expectations coming into this, and it well exceeded them.
But having said that, there is always room for nitpicking and a good gripe, and there is one issue I'd like to get off my chest. It's something I've noticed in multiple Bioware titles, and it raised its head again last night in a brief interaction between Blackwall and Varic:
· Blackwall: This guard captain from Kirkwall that you're friends with...
· Varric: She's stronger than you.
· Blackwall: Right. Just checking.
For all intents and purposes, this was simply a light-hearted exchange between Blackwall and Varic, and there was every likelihood that Varic was simply winding Blackwall up. But there's something else at play here that, like I said, I've noticed in many Bioware games (particularly the Dragon Age series): namely, that for a woman to be revered and respected while plying her trade in conventional 'masculine' endeavours, she must be 'stronger' than her male counterparts.
Now, before I'm inevitably labelled a misogynist, I would like to point out that I'm a father of three daughters who has also been the lead instructor for women's self defence classes for more than ten years. The issue of gender equality is something I deal with on an almost daily basis. One of the most common objections we hear from our students is, "But I'll never be as strong as most men, so how can I expect these techniques to work?" It often takes months (and in some cases, years) to alter this mindset. The ability to defend oneself in a fight is measured by more than simply physical strength. Indeed, the capacity to master distance, timing and technique outweighs the importance of strength; attributes that women tend to grasp quicker than men.
So why not focus on these traits (and others) when fleshing out a character like Aveline; a woman who has excelled in an arena dominated by men? Going by her character modelling, I find it difficult to think of Aveline as being "powerfully built". Her build (like Cassandra) speaks more of a fighter who focuses on dexterity and exploiting the weaknesses of her larger opponents, and less on trying to best her fellow soldiers in an arm-wrestling competition (again, like Cassandra). It is widely known that, pound for pound, men are typically stronger than women, so for the writers to focus on brute strength time and time again when singing the praises of their warrior-heroines seems almost counterintuitive to what they're trying to achieve. By this point I would expect to hear the hackneyed counter of, "You're expecting realism in a fantasy setting?" But unless we're told otherwise, we have to assume that humans of Thedas share the same physiology as our own. Suspension of disbelief means different things to different people. When accepted notions of physical limitations are routinely ignored, I get taken out of the story.
I knew little of Cassandra's background before beginning DA:I, but it wasn't long before I found myself growing more and more intrigued by her back-story. Beneath that oft-brusque demeanour is a woman who holds true to her principles and shows glimpses of compelling vulnerabilities. She is very much in the same vein as Joan of Arc, and like the Maid of Orleans, she is blessed with strengths that seem to be lacking in many of her male compatriots: an innate leader, immeasurably courageous, steadfastly determined and a gifted tactician. Together with her evident prowess as a warrior, she is at once convincing in her role. But all too often in Bioware games, the need to paint heroines like her as being superior in all aspects (including those that seem, at best, implausible) diminishes somewhat the very basis of what makes them such compelling characters.
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