*coughs politely* I was careful to use the word 'canon' so as to avoid the impression that the potential for cliché was anything other than retroactive.

I with you on the degree of womanly helplessness... and male anxiety on their behalf... but I've been on a classic-fiction reading kick for a few months (and sci-fi before that, don't get me started) so I'm both noticing it more, and letting it intrude on the story less.