In the fifteenth part of Mastiff, Beka navigates a dinner that ends up being less awkward than she expected, and then SURPRISES. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Mastiff.
Oh, y’all, there is literally nothing I’m reading or watching right now that I was looking forward to returning to after six weeks on the road. THIS BOOK IS RUINING ME, AND I AM HAVING SO MUCH FUN READING IT. So it was absolutely a treat to come back into the world of Mastiff (admittedly, after a brisk run through my last three or four reviews to refresh my memory L O L) and be able to remember why I was so excited about this novel. Shit is so real! I still have just under half of the novel to read! I am not at all ready for this!!!
The Dinner
I don’t think I was amiss in anticipating an awkward and uncomfortable meal, so it was a pleasant surprise that Pierce introduced two incredible characters here to help Beka through this. I mean, right off the bat, Beka realizes what a disaster has been set before her:
Wondering how I could fit among them when they were so snugly bracketed by other coves, I gave the hall another look and realized the pain of the night before me. All of the castle’s women, from the ladies-in-waiting on down to the lowliest of the serving maids, sat at the line of tables closest to the wall where I was. Half of another table, the next one, was also filling with mots, young old. The remaining two and a half tables sat only coves.
It’s not that Beka has an aversion to hanging out with other woman. Given the context of what she just went through, she is expecting that these woman all worship the Gentle Mother, which means she’ll just go through even more of the same judgmental nonsense from strangers. But lord, I loved that Pierce added another dimension to this by having Pounce explain to Beka why this division along gender lines would ultimately be harmful:
How do they expect folk to understand each other if they’re separated when they aren’t rushing about their work?
They aren’t expected to understand one another, he replied. The women will learn to flirt over a friend’s shoulder, instead of close. The men will see the women as distant and unknowable. Their friends will be only men. The women will see men as strong and unknowable. Their friends will be only women.
There’s obviously a value in creating something like a safe space for women, and I don’t think that Tamora Pierce is speaking in that context. To me, this is a statement about empathy. It’s about being able to understand other people, particularly those that are different from one’s self. How is that going to happen if you’re constantly separated from said people? (I know this also has a different meaning and features different dynamics, but this bit reminded me of the recent study published about American racial dynamics in friendships, which postulated that three quarters of all white people don’t have any non-white close friends. WHICH DID NOT NEED A STUDY BECAUSE WE COULD HAVE TOLD YOU THAT. But still! The base idea is similar. We often surround ourselves with the familiar and the comfortable, and the people in this book are forced to do that, though they probably aren’t even aware of this.)
To make matters worse, Beka is sat in a spot with other women so that she can be specifically discouraged from talking to anyone else. BECAUSE IT’S THE SAME DYNAMIC PLAYING OUT AGAIN. Are you different? Go to the corner and don’t talk to anyone. Okay, I’m being ridiculous, but still. It’s infuriating! Plus, Beka can’t even be her sassy self because she’s got to be a good representative for Gershom. Her own sense of duty is more important at the moment. That’s why I’m so thankful for Pounce, Fay, and Iris. The three of them use humor and honesty to make this dinner a whole lot more tolerable for Beka.
Oh gods, I shouldn’t get attached to Iris and Fay, should I? It’s not going to be much longer before Beka and company have to leave, and we won’t see them again, and THIS ISN’T FAIR. THEY’RE SO WONDERFUL. Here are two older women who have found a way to get away with whatever they goddamn please for a number of reasons, and what do they do? They comfort Beka. They entertain her. They give her information, though I’m not sure that was an intentional thing. Still! What great characters, y’all!
The Spinner
(Hey, that rhymes!)
There’s some vital information passed along to us and to Beka, first by Fay and Iris regarding the slave business being run through this place. I did like how conscious Pierce was about the uncomfortable nature of all of this, since the text itself is fairly clear in its criticism of the act, both through Beka and Iris. I don’t know where this plot is going, though, because I can’t quite remember when slavery was outlawed in Tortall. I know that this happens at some point before we get to Alanna’s tale, so it’s possible that this will all be a backdrop to Mastiff throughout.
Regardless, the context of how slavery plays into this story is important. What Beka then learns from Fess, the sole local spinner, adds to the story. I’m fascinated that the tension present in Mastiff isn’t so much of a mystery of identity as it is a story about desperation. While Fess herself is one of the biggest plot twists we’ve gotten so far, I don’t think anyone reading this would be all that surprised that there’s more confirmation that Prince Baird and Master Elyot were involved in the sale of the prince. We know these people are behind it. The rapidly moving plot here is concerned more with collecting the evidence as quickly as possible and assuring that they find Prince Gareth before he is killed. AND I’M GETTING WORRIED.
But let’s just talk about Fess, because holy shit.
Fess, her name given to me in that moment, exploded outward, surrounding me and picking me up, lifting me high in the air.
LIFTING. HER. IN. THE. AIR. OH MY GOD. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT:
What do you seek? she asked me. You came in search, what is it you search for?
SPEAKING TO HER. OPENLY. There’s actually a beautiful subtext here: Beka is one of the only humans who cares about the spinners and who treats them respectfully, and this is the result! That result: Fess literally floats her into house and into Prince Baird and Master Elyot’s rooms. I can’t get over how immense and incredible this is, y’all. I WAS NOT AT ALL READY FOR IT.
It’s an important development for the story, too, since Beka knows for certain who deserves her suspicion. I love that this makes her so bold in confronting Niccols. Because what does she have to lose at this point? I don’t think these people can hold her or the other Dogs at the palace. I saw this as her way of demonstrating that she was not to be second-guessed or underestimated, and it worked brilliantly. Niccols is slightly terrified by her, as he should be.
So when are Sabine and Beka going to reveal what they’ve found out to one another? WHAT’S THE NEXT STEP??? This is so exciting, y’all. I’M SO EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK.
Video 1
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