Terry Pratchett's Discworld.” Mythlore: a Journal of J.R.R
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Háskóli Íslands School of Humanities Department of English Terry Pratchett’s Discworld The Evolution of Witches and the Use of Stereotypes and Parody in Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad B.A. Essay Claudia Schultz Kt.: 310395-3829 Supervisor: Valgerður Guðrún Bjarkadóttir May 2020 Abstract This thesis explores Terry Pratchett’s use of parody and stereotypes in his witches’ series of the Discworld novels. It elaborates on common clichés in literature regarding the figure of the witch. Furthermore, the recent shift in the stereotypical portrayal from a maleficent being to an independent, feminist woman is addressed. Thereby Pratchett’s witches are characterized as well as compared to the Triple Goddess, meaning Maiden, Mother and Crone. Additionally, it is examined in which way Pratchett adheres to stereotypes such as for instance of the Crone as well as the reasons for this adherence. The second part of this paper explores Pratchett’s utilization of different works to create both Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad. One of the assessed parodies are the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm as well as the effect of this parody. In Wyrd Sisters the presence of Grimm’s fairy tales is linked predominantly to Pratchett’s portrayal of his wicked witches. Whereas the parody of “Cinderella” and the fairy tale’s trope is central to Witches Abroad. Additionally, to the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales, Pratchett’s parody of Shakespeare’s plays is central to the paper. The focus is hereby on the tragedies of Hamlet and Macbeth, which are imitated by the witches’ novels. While Witches Abroad can solely be linked to Shakespeare due to the main protagonists, Wyrd Sisters incorporates both of the aforementioned Shakespeare plays. It is examined in which way Pratchett parodies the plays as well as which aspects of them are used. Finally, the different effects of the parody are assessed, stating the distinct reasons of imitation such as the infusion of humor and familiarity into the novels. Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 2. Background ............................................................................................................... 2 2.1. Discworld ........................................................................................................... 2 2.2. Lancre and Genua .............................................................................................. 2 3. Stereotypes in Literature ........................................................................................... 3 3.1. The Stereotypical Witch and Her History in Literature ..................................... 3 3.2. The Shift in Stereotypes ..................................................................................... 5 3.3. The Stereotype of Maiden, Mother and Crone .................................................. 7 3.4. The Witches in Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad ............................................ 8 3.4.1. Magrat Garlick ............................................................................................ 9 3.4.2. Gytha ‘Nanny’ Ogg .................................................................................. 10 3.4.3. Esmeralda ‘Granny’ Weatherwax ............................................................ 11 3.4.4. The Wicked Witches: Black Aliss and Lily Weatherwax ........................ 12 4. Parody and Pastiche in Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad...................................... 14 4.1. Pratchett, Parody and Pastiche ......................................................................... 14 4.2. Parody One: Grimm’s Fairytales ..................................................................... 15 4.2.1. Witches Abroad ........................................................................................ 15 4.2.2. Wyrd Sisters .............................................................................................. 18 4.3. Parody Two: Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth .......................................... 18 4.3.1. Hamlet in Wyrd Sisters ............................................................................. 19 4.3.2. Macbeth in Wyrd Sisters ........................................................................... 20 5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 22 Works Cited .................................................................................................................... 24 Schultz 1 1. Introduction The use of satire and parody as literary devices in fiction but also as features of movies are omnipresent. Thus, Terry Pratchett’s love for those literary devices is not surprising. His Discworld series is a highly creative universe, filled with unique ideas, characters and settings. However, Pratchett like many other authors is influenced by past myths and other established writers. Kramer states that “[T]raditionally, the genre of fantasy has been understood as stemming from Medieval Romance and fairy tales, and, even further back, from myths and legends of the ancients” (153). Satirical use of past fantasies and fairytales can be observed in for instance Lev Grossman’s The Magicians (2009) referencing J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series (Kramer 154). However, Lev Grossman does not just parody Harry Potter, he indebted C.S. Lewis Narnia into his own work. Like Grossman, Terry Pratchett’s works are inspired by more than one source. Pratchett states, that he is convinced that in the genre of the Tolkien dominated fantasy literature “things needed livening up a bit” (Pratchett, 00:35-00:45). Therefore, he utilizes parodies to create a new work with a familiar scaffolding. Pratchett himself describes the Disc on which his works are set as a “world and mirror of worlds” (Pratchett, Guards! Guards!). The major influences of the witches’ series, which is going to be central to this paper, are the Brothers Grimm and William Shakespeare. Particularly Shakespeare is according to Lanier “omnipresent in pop culture and, indeed, pop culture has helped produce the various Shakespeares whose cultural meanings loom so large for us” (19-20). Thus, Pratchett’s applies grandiose works of literature to his own fairy tales Wyrd Sisters as well as Witches Abroad. The main protagonists of these novels are witches; however, they are not adhering to the common Brothers Grimm stereotype of the classical necromancer that comes to most people’s minds when thinking of witches. On the contrary, it becomes evident that Pratchett consciously parodies certain aspects of both Shakespeare and the Brother Grimm and thereby, distinguishes his witches from what was and is commonly believed to be the character of a supernatural magical being. It is apparent that Terry Pratchett’s use of humor and parodies as well as his play with stereotypes makes both Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad timeless pieces of satire as well as ironic approaches towards the mainstream stereotypes of witches. Schultz 2 2. Background 2.1. Discworld Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is at first glance nothing like Earth. It seems closer to a humorous take on flat earthers, people believing that the Earth is flat. Though Earth is not, Pratchett’s Discworld is indeed a disc. The flatness, which is scientifically false, has been proved by a journey to the Edge of the disc in The Colour of Magic. The disc is situated on the back of four large elephants which are themselves standing on the back of a large turtle, Great A’Tuin. In Equal Rites, the first novel starring the witches of Lancre and the third novel in the Discworld series, Pratchett describes the world as well as its background as: A turtle, ten thousand miles long. … [o]ne of the rare astrochelonians from a universe where things are less as they are and more like people imagine them to be, and it carries on its meteor-pocked shell four giant elephants who bear on their enormous shoulders the great round wheel of the Discworld. (1) Discworld is not an ordinary world. It is not comparable to Earth but rather a world removed from scientific explanations. Things happen due to magic and the power of story, the so-called narrative imperative (Pratchett et al., The Science of Discworld). The only science that exists on Discworld is there because it was put there. The Science of Discworld explains that witches and wizards create their own science, “some kind of pocket universe in which magic no longer works, but rules do” (Pratchett et al.). It becomes evident that Discworld possesses its own folklore with its own rules and beings determining the life in the many monarchies of the world. 2.2. Lancre and Genua The two main settings of Wyrd Sisters and Witches Abroad are Lancre and Genua, regions separated by the Überwald and more than three thousand miles. Pratchett’s anti-stereotypical portrayal becomes evident already in the simple summary of the plots and the willingness of the witches to travel great distances to help and protect others. One of Discworld’s monarchies and the setting for the aforementioned novels is Lancre, a small kingdom in the Ramtop Mountains. Behind it, knife-edge peaks and dark winding valleys climbed into the massive Schultz 3 backbone of the central ranges. In front, the land dropped abruptly to the Sto plains, a blue haze of woodlands, a broader expanse of ocean and, somewhere in the middle of it all, a brown smudge known as Ankh-Morpork. (Pratchett, Witches Abroad 60) Though,