Difficult Damsels

A relaxed, conversational episode where Rachel and Kat discuss the fictional characters that have inspired them and proven difficult in their own right and the quotes we love. Also, tattoos, Therapy Treehouse segues and some good old-fashion ridiculousness!

After watching her family murdered off one-by-one and successfully navigating the male-driven world of Roman politicking, Agrippina is finally the Empress of Rome. For a short time, she’ll become the nightmare of male Roman egos and get a taste of unprecedented power as a woman, maneuvering through spaces previously denied to every other woman in Rome, all to ensure her son lands on the the Imperi...

Roman historians did not write about women very often, but when they did it was only when they were very, very good or very, very bad. Agrippina the Younger was very, very bad. Sister to one emperor, wife to another and mother to perhaps the most notorious Roman Emperor of them all, Agrippina refused to be shut out from the power structures men dominated. And history vilified her for it. Join us f...

Artemisia I of Caria was said to terrorize the open seas in the Aegean Sea during the 5th century BC. She is one of the few women in history remembered completely on the merits of her own exploits independent of a relationship to a husband or son. As one of King Xerxes I’s most trusted advisors, Artemisia made a name for herself as one of the Persian army’s most fearsome naval commanders in their...

As an onna-musha, Tomoe Gozen was one of the rare few female warriors to participate in offensive warfare if the stories are to be believed. Join us again for another tale set during the Genpai War. The same tale of family drama and betrayal – this time from the side of Minamoto no Yoshitaka and the warrior that would go on to inspire generations of samurais. In this choose-your-own-ending adventu...

Known to history as the Shogun Nun, Hōjō Masako’s rise to power in Medieval Japan tends to be overshadowed by her husband and Japan’s first official Shogun, Minamoto no Yoritomo. Yet, long after her husband died and she shaved her head in the style of Japanese widows of the time, Masako remained a formidable and ruthless figure in the Kamakura shogunate. Thanks to this Difficult Damsel, the Hōjō C...

Thanks to the skillful pen of Shakespeare, Margaret of Anjou’s reputation has been forever sullied by the Elizabethan poet. In the last part of our series on the she-wolves of Medieval England, we delve into the Lancastrian side of the English civil war known as The War of the Roses. Join us as we take a look at one of England’s most vilified queens and try to determine if her reputation is well d...

Peasant. Prophet. Martyr. Saint. The Hundred Years War has left the French country in ruins, divided amongst each other and drained of hope. Until 17-year-old Joan of Arc receives the first of her visions from God. These visions of a victorious France will eventually take her to the French Dauphin, Charles VII and lead France into victory with the Maid sent from the King of Heaven leading the char...

Peasant. Prophet. Martyr. Saint. The Hundred Years War has left the French country in ruins, divided amongst each other and drained of hope. Until 17-year-old Joan of Arc receives the first of her visions from God. These visions of a victorious France will eventually take her to the French Dauphin, Charles VII, and lead France into victory with the Maid sent from the King of Heaven leading the cha...

Vilified as the “She-Wolf of France” – a power hungry Machiavellian femme fatale who succeeded in usurping the throne of England from her husband and placing her son on the throne with her as Queen Regnant. But is it truly that simple? Was Isabella a shameless and ruthless vixen or is there more to this Difficult Damsel? Isabella is one of the most notorious Queen Consorts in English history, resp...

The sheer force of will that was Eleanor of Aquitaine has been the source of many a salacious tale. But what is real and what is embellishment? Eleanor’s wealth and land made her Europe’s most eligible bachelorette and a tempting damsel to snatch up. But she proved every bit as difficult for her would-be captors as she did the kings she would go on to marry. History’s singular Queen Consort to bot...

History may have forgotten Empress Matilda, but we haven’t. When The White Ship disaster deprived Henry I of his only legitimate male heir, he names his daughter Matilda as his successor. But the throne is stolen from her by her cousin, Stephen of Blois. England is subsequently thrust into a civil war known as The Anarchy for nineteen years. But Matilda eventually gets her victory in her son, the...

Known as the Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory’s atrocities have been sensationalized over time. But what do we really know about this difficult damsel? Was she the notorious monster of legend? Did she truly bathe in the blood of virgins or did the myth end up taking on a life of its own?

Welcome to Difficult Damsels! In this inaugural episode we introduce your hosts Rachel and Kat and ask what it means to be a difficult damsel, how we strive to be difficult in the world today, what it means to be authentic and what we want out of this podcast. We hope you have as much fun listening as we did recording and we hope you join us on this podcast journey. Stay Difficult!