#equal rites

[dr-graf]

[elisabethdeep-blog]

Reread Equal Rites recently. I used to think it was about feminism and little girls getting the same opportunities as little boys. Which, it isn't not about that. But ALSO.

It's about an intersex kid.

It's about a little girl born with a staff.

And that's Not Right.

The adults in the room- her father, the 'medical professional'- attempt to remove the staff, by blade and by fire. The fresh little baby SCREAMS. So they agree to pretend it doesn't exist. She'll probably grow up just a regular little girl.

right?

But just around the onset of puberty..... it becomes apparent, not to her, but to the adults, that she's not going to be Regular.

The medical professional tries again to rectify matters. She tries to destroy the staff while the girl is unconscious. The girl screams. The adults give in. They aren't monsters.... but life will be so much harder, so much less foreseen, for this strange little girl....

They try to raise her 'right'.

If she won't be a conventional woman... maybe an unconventional woman. A Powerful woman- in the way that women can be powerful. Are permitted to be powerful.

But she's not a woman- she's a child. What will she be, when she's grown? A Witch. A Wizard. She can't be either. She can't be neither.

(The term 'warlock' is repeatedly invoked and scoffed. The etymology of 'warlock' is 'breaker of oaths'. Counter to the covenant. Rulebreaker.)

Right.

[inezrable]

"If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing badly."

This has fundamentally changed how I view my work, whether that's writing, or cleaning or just taking care of myself. Thank you Granny Weatherwax

[reluctanttree]

we love a good genderfluid moment in discworld

[longearedhare]

It has been said before but it bears repeating: if you are struggling to divest yourself of the Harry Potter franchise, may I suggest getting into Discworld, not as a replacement but as an UPGRADE? Perks of Discworld include, but are not limited to:

-41 books (no, you don’t have to read them in any given order, most work as standalone although there are some that are arguably part of a series)

-specifically British charm

-magic (including different systems of magic and not just one poorly explained type)

-funny af

-author isn’t a transphobic POS

-golems (including an arguably transgender golem named Gladys)

-EXTREMELY expansive world building that takes place over a long time, covering different populations, the Industrial Revolution, magical AND non-magical groups, and even a whole section of “science” books which discuss the physics, biology, and so on

-well-written female characters

-nuanced moral messages

-death is a cat person

[aeshnacyanea2000]

They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance.

-- Terry Pratchett - Equal Rites

[jluvswicked2]

The official start of the Witch series. Even with just Granny present it’s still great.

[foolfarseer]

the way I was absolutely HOWLING 😂🤣

[stupidphototricks]

I'm so far behind on posts I still want to write about The Truth and Small Gods, but I just started Equal Rites, one of my first favorites although it's been a long time since I last read it, and I just want to take a minute to respect one of the all-time great fantasy/humor book openings. You just can't read this and not want to keep going.

This is a story about magic and where it goes and perhaps more importantly where it comes from and why, although it doesn't pretend to answer all or any of these questions. It may, however, help to explain why Gandalf never got married and why Merlin was a man. Because this is also a story about sex, although probably not in the athletic, tumbling, count-the-legs-and-divide-by-two sense unless the characters get totally beyond the author's control. They might. However, it is primarily a story about a world. Here it comes now. Watch closely, the special effects are quite expensive.

-- Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites

[afinestoutlove]

'Um, women aren't allowed in,' said Esk.

Granny stopped in the doorway. Her shoulders rose. She turned around very slowly.

'What did you say?' she said. 'Did these old ears deceive me, and don't say they did because they didn't.'

'Sorry,' said Esk. 'Force of habit.'

'I can see you've been getting ideas below your station,' said Granny coldly.

Equal Rites, Terry Pratchett

[dr-graf]

[onetobeamupart]

Why was it that when she heard Granny ramble on about witchcraft she longed for the cutting magic of wizardry, but whenever she heard Treatle speak in his high-pitched voice she would fight to the death for witchcraft? She’d be both, or none at all. And the more they intended to stop her, the more she wanted it. esk the gender you are

[proceduralbob]

If magic gives people what they want, then not using magic can give them what they need.

Equal Rites, Terry Pratchett

[pratchettquotes]

There was a village tucked in a narrow valley between steep woods. It wasn't a large village, and wouldn't have shown up on a map of the mountains. It barely showed up on a map of the village.

It was, in fact, one of those places that exist merely so that people can have come from them. The universe is littered with them: hidden villages, windswept little towns under wide skies, isolated cabins on chilly mountains, whose only mark on history is to be the incredibly ordinary place where something extraordinary started to happen. Often there is no more than a little plaque to reveal that, against all gynecological probability, someone very famous was born halfway up a wall.

Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites

[aeshnacyanea2000]

'Let's find this Great Hall then. No time to waste.' 'Um, women aren't allowed in,' said Esk. Granny stopped in the doorway. Her shoulders rose. She turned around very slowly. 'What did you say?' she said. 'Did these old ears deceive me, and don't say they did because they didn't.' 'Sorry,' said Esk. 'Force of habit.' 'I can see you've been getting ideas below your station,' said Granny coldly.

-- Terry Pratchett - Equal Rites

[alda-rana]

Finishing the Equal Rites series with quick sketches of Amschat the Zoon Liar (with Esk), Treatle and Simon, and Granny with Cutangle on a boat.

This reread and draw-along is doing wonders for my productivity; I'm forcing myself to follow the rythm of the reread (which is admittedly quite slow since I just read a few pages every night before bed) so I have to be fast and not seek perfection. These drawings are far from perfect but at least they exist!