Mark Reads ‘The Wee Free Men’: Chapter 7, Part II

In the second half of the seventh chapter of The Wee Free Men, Tiffany struggles with her own abilities, only to discover that she does know what she’s doing. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Wee Free Men. 

Well, some of this was a bit awkward, but generally speaking, I do enjoy that Tiffany is learning how to navigate difficult realities in the grand tradition of being a witch. There’s a magic to the problem solving that she does, even if she’s frustrated by the fact that she’s not actually doing the sort of magic she thought she would. But I’d argue that the first example in this section—where she advises Hamish on how to not plunge to the ground off the back of a buzzard—is a form of magic, too. I actually look forward to seeing if he actually takes her advice! Because won’t that look like magic once it actually happens??? IT WILL TOTALLY BE WONDERFUL AND FANTASTICAL. 

What Tiffany struggles with, though, is the big picture, the long term. In her mind, magic is still an immediate thing, something that Granny Aching and other wizards/witches did to instantly solve a problem. However, she’s now getting a sense of the scope of magic and how planning for the longhaul can work in her favor. Look, the scene where the Feegles openly fret about which one of them Tiffany’ll choose to marry (and have children with) is… a lot. It’s really uncomfortable, not just because the characters are awkward and uncertain. Like, I got the sense that some of these Feegles were actually game for this? WHICH… OKAY WHAT. She’s a child? For the most part, it seemed that Rob Anybody was perfectly fine not having to fulfill any of his cultural duties with Tiffany, and many of the other Feegle were relieved, too. Fion was irritated and pissed off, though that was because she resented Tiffany’s solution to this uncomfortable cultural rule. So… I guess that’s good? I don’t know, I just felt really gross and weird when characters were basically vying for the chance to have sex with someone who’s a child, you know? And I get that it’s a cultural difference, and I also get that it was never going to happen, either. The whole point to the scene is to demonstrate Tiffany’s further understanding of the power she has. She designs a solution to this problem that delays this forever, prevents her and Rob from ever realistically having to do anything about their predicament, and which satisfies all the Feegle. (Except Fion, of course.) 

So… yeah. I understand the function of the scene, but I think it is Not For Me, so to speak. I was much more into Tiffany’s conversation with William and how that helped her figure out how to enter the world of the Queen. Now, obviously that was gonna be a big scene anyway, since it signifies the point in The Wee Free Men in which Tiffany literally and metaphorically takes her first intentional step into a new world. But William’s argument with Tiffany speaks to what I referred to before: Tiffany still clings to this notion that magic is immediate and without a price. Yes, it’s true that Tiffany doesn’t know what she’s doing. She wasn’t handed an instruction manual when the kelda passed her authority to her! So I completely get why this is so frustrating for Tiffany. She was given this immense responsibility without clear direction from… well, anyone. She’s been dropped into the deep end, and she better learn how to swim fast.

BUT SHE DOES. AND SHE DOES IT SO WELL. When the Feegle stand around, expecting her to just know how to enter the world of the Queen, it’s a high-pressure moment for Tiffany. (Especially since they already know how but won’t tell Tiffany.) And under such a stressful gaze, she does it! She puts together clues left behind by her brother, and when she faces the doorway and fails to make it “work,” she doesn’t give up. She listens. Looks. Observes. Which she is naturally good at! So those abilities that are second nature to her suddenly become the most important part of her “magic,” and it’s how she’s able to unlock the doorway. 

It’s a cool thing to watch. But I’m also just real excited to see what horrors live in the Queen’s world. Y’all, these illustrations are gonna be fucked up, right???

https://youtu.be/7SGZ8t8TJ_o

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