History Literature / WhenWomenWereDragons

* TragicDropout: Marla gave up her dreams so she could go to work and keep her sister in college. Alex fears she is headed the same way, since she needs to support Beatrice after Alex turns 18 and their father cuts off their financial support.

* CoolOldLady: Elderly Mrs. Gyzinska has been running the local library system and a nationwide secret research collective for decades. She is [[VetinariJobSecurity too indispensable]] to depose, and uses her influence to protect researchers whose work is being silenced by congress and to support promising children like Alex who want to follow an unconventional path.

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Most dragonings are voluntary, though a woman may feel the urge to change so strongly that it feels more like a compulsion. If a woman does not wish to change, like Mrs. Green, they can often suppress the urge. [[spoiler: Beatrice is an usual dragon/girl since she can alternate forms and partially transform at will.]]

* DelightfulDragon: Dragons use their power to better the world. Some dragons start guarding pods of whales and other edangered species, others use their [[TheNoseKnows sense of smell]] and flight to defuse minefields, and others defend civil rights protesters. [[spoiler: Beatrice]] forms an international pacifist organization which defends civilians from the effects of war and encourages peacemaking. It's very hard to stop them, since they are enormous and invulnerable.

* LeavingYouToFindMyself: When women choose to dragon, they must necessarily leave their loved ones to chase their own goals (at least, until they start coming back). [[spoiler: Sonja]] dragons at the end of the book and leaves her lover behind to explore the universe. [[spoiler: Alex]] is invited to follow, but she cannot bring herself to leave her other connections behind.

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Most dragonings are voluntary, though a woman may feel the urge to change so strongly that it feels more like a compulsion. If a woman does not wish to change, like Mrs. Green, they can often suppress the urge. [[spoiler: Beatrice is an usual dragon/girl since she can alternate forms and partialy transform at will.]]
* {{Weredragon}}: Women (cis and trans) can [[ScaledUp transform into dragons]]. The phenomenon is under-researched and little understood, but it seems to occur most often in women who resist the suppression and social constraints placed on women.

* * ControlFreak: Alex's mother keeps her house spotless, is always neat and put-together, and clings rigidly to social norms. She loves her daughters and her sister but discourages their abnormal behavior.

* {{Weredragon}}: Women (cis and trans) can transform into dragons. The phenomenon is under-researched and little understood, but it seems to occur most often in women who resist the suppression and social constraints placed on women.

* InformationWantsToBeFree: The Wyvern Research Collective, championed by Mrs. Gyzinska and Dr. Gantz, is dedicated to researching and sharing information about dragons. The [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar House Un-American Activities Committee]] tries on numerous occasions to suppress them for threatening the American way of life. Known members are fired and blacklisted from academia.

* RedScare: The principal at Beatrice's school has a poster reading "Better Dead Than Red!" on his wall. It is mid 20th-century America, after all.

* HomeschooledKids: When school-age dragons move back home, most public and private school refuse to enroll them. Consequently, many turn to homeschooling. Even after the schools start admitting dragons, [[spoiler: Beatrice]] decide to stay in homeschool, since it better fits their personality and educational needs.

* FieryRedhead: Beatrice has curly orange hair and an irrepressible spirit. She is full of energy, totally fearless, and not bound by the same cultural taboos as other characters.

* IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: Alex is wicked smart, but she is also very lonely. Part of this is because her responsibilities leave no room for socialization, but even before she started caring for Beatrice, her only friend was Sonja. There are not many students in her school with a similar interest in math, after all, and her intense studiousness is off-putting for students and staff alike.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Dragons in this universe

* FantasyForbiddingParent: Alex's father does not want Alex to go to college. He wants her to settle down with a husband, or maybe enter the workforce directly after high school. Her mother shuts down any [[BeserkButton questions about dragons]]. She snaps when Beatrice takes her "inappropriate" interest in dragons too far. Her attitude rubs off on Alex, who strongly disproves of Beatrice drawing dragons.

* CoolOldLady: Elderly Mrs. Gyzinska has been running the local library system and a nationwide secret research collective for decades. She is [[UltimateJobSecurity too indispensable]] to depose, and uses her influence to protect researchers whose work is being silenced by congress and to support promising children like Alex who want to follow an unconventional path.

* TheDragonsComeBack: Newly-transformed dragons normally hide away in remote places on Earth or take to the stars, but in the 60's they return to their homes en masse. The human world cannot get rid of them (it's very hard to move a giant, fire-breathing reptile against their consent), so they need to accommodate them. Soon dragons can attend school, own businesses, and even run for office.

* {{Weredragon}}: Women (cis and trans) can transform into dragons. The phenomenon is under-researched and little understood, but it seems to occur most often in women who resist the suppression and social constraints placed on women.

''When Women Were Dragons'' is a feminist AlternateHistory novel by Kelly Barnhill. It takes place in a [[NeverWasThisUniverse world mostly like our own]], only women occasionally [[{{Weredragon}} transform into dragons]] and fly away. This fact of nature has historically been erased and never discussed because, well, it's an uncomfortable subject. It's better to just UnPerson the women or say they died.

The story is told as a memoir by Alexandra "Alex" Green, a bright girl growing up in Wisconsin in the 1950's and 60's. Alex is a little girl when the Mass Dragoning happens. In the chaos, her Aunt Marla transforms and flies away, causing Alex's cousin Beatrice [[FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo to become her little sister]]. The two sisters grow up with a [[FantasyForbiddingParent stern]] but sickly mother and an [[ParentalNeglect emotionally-absent]] father, all keeping the secret of Beatrice's biological mother under wraps. Alex loves her sister deeply but becomes increasingly concerned with Beatrice's fascination with dragons, especially after their mother dies of cancer and their father [[PromotedtoParent leaves them to fend for themselves]]. On top of all that responsibility, Alex is determined to go to college to study mathematics. How can she continue to care for Beatrice while still pursuing her own dreams?

*