Is Untamed Worth Reading For Fans Of Strong Female Leads?

Hmm, interesting question. I'd actually push back a bit on the premise. 'The Untamed' / 'Mo Dao Zu Shi' isn't really the go-to for a fan craving a narrative built around a female protagonist. The central romance and plot are firmly about the two male leads. The female characters are there, and some are great (Wen Qing is a personal favorite), but they're not the leads. If someone's primary desire is to follow a woman's journey from start to finish, they might feel sidelined. That said, the ones present are written with real depth and aren't just props. Worth reading? For the overall story, which is phenomenal, yes. But if 'strong female lead' is the sole or main criteria, there might be better fits out there.

I came to 'The Untamed' through the live-action series first and was so floored by the complex characters I had to hunt down the novel, 'Mo Dao Zu Shi'. If you're looking purely for a story centered on a conventional 'strong female lead' in the action-heroine sense, you might be initially disappointed. The core narrative is fundamentally about the bond between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. That said, the worldbuilding is packed with formidable women who operate with immense agency, just not always as the front-and-center POV characters.

Jiang Yanli is a perfect example of strength redefined. She isn't a fighter, but her emotional resilience and the quiet, unwavering power she holds in holding her fractured family together is incredible. Her choice in the end isn't one of weakness, but of devastating, deliberate agency. Yu Ziyuan, the Violet Spider, is literally a legendary cultivator whose ferocity and pride shape the entire tragic backstory. Even the younger generation like Lan Jingyi's 'sister' (in the donghua) or Wen Qing, who is a brilliant doctor making impossible choices under duress, show different facets of strength.

So is it worth it? If you appreciate female characters who are intelligent, morally complex, and drive the plot through their decisions rather than just being love interests or damsels, then absolutely. Just go in understanding that the primary lens is male, and the female cast, while brilliantly written, are supporting players in this particular epic. The richness of their roles is in their impact, not their page count.

Thinking about it more, Wen Qing's arc alone—a healer forced into a political nightmare, trying to protect her brother—is a masterclass in writing a 'strong' character whose power is her expertise and her compassion, not her sword arm.