In the fifth part of Witches Abroad, Genua is more terrifying than I realized, and the three witches enjoy the benefits of their unintentional heroism. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read Discworld.
Lilith
OKAY, I STILL HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT LILITH, SO LET’S START WITHÂ WHAT THE HELL???
I don’t even know how to deal with this, y’all. Lilith’s view of her “subjects” (if you can even call them that!) is downright horrifying. She speaks of them as if they are objects, not people. She expects their reverence because of her belief that she’s provided them with the best possible life, which is one where they are “full of happiness every hour of the day.” And we see in the next narrative section just how “happy” the people of Genua are, which is NOT AT ALL. They just have to appear happy because that’s the story that Lilith wants. Everyone has a role to play, and if you don’t perform exactly as you’re supposed to? Well, look at the fate of the toymaker, who is punished for – I can barely believe this is real – not whistling and singing the whole day long.
That gives us an idea of how absurd Lilith’s commitment to the story is, but the next part does an even better job.
Mrs. Pleasant and Mrs. Gogol
I can’t claim to understand everything that these two say to each other. There are a lot of references to people or events that I don’t understand quite yet, but through these characters, Pratchett introduces a resistance of sorts. Whether there’s some sort of organization beyond these two characters remains to be seen, but this scene demonstrates that other people in Genua are deeply aware of what Lilith is doing. They know that she’s controlling everything, and Mrs. Gogol, through her clairvoyant cooking (sort of, ha!), is able to predict that three women and a cat are coming to Genua and need to be brought to Mrs. Gogol once they do.
I couldn’t find any descriptive elements for Mrs. Gogol, but the context clues suggest that she should be a black woman. At the very least, Pratchett is referencing a very specific character trope in the voodoo witch he’s created here, and I hope that Mrs. Gogol gets moved away from being a Magical Negro. (And if she’s not actually black? Good lord, this is going to be a hot mess of awful.) Sure, Pratchett sets up that joke about the gumbo clairvoyance being a whim, but the character still exists to be mystical within the story, you know? It’s odd.
Spoils
I really hope we get even more of Magrat as well, since she’s my favorite of these characters and I’m always so interested in her interpretation of things. Namely, she cares. She cares about her duty as a fairy godmother and she cares about learning to use her wand properly. I wouldn’t say that she’s an overtly serious character, but she knows when being thoughtful is actually a good thing. So I’m invested in her journey throughout Witches Abroad more than anyone else.
But any new characterization or growth takes a backseat while Pratchett deals with some more pressing issues, like the trio’s accidental heroism. (Wouldn’t Greedbo be counted as the hero in this case?) The people of the tiny village around the inn rejoice in the presence of these three witches, thankful that someone finally took out the vampire that had been tormenting them for ages. So they shower the witches with food and company as a thanks before the group heads out to the next location. I didn’t realize this until I started writing the review, but doesn’t this development count as yet another example of how the world bows in fear in the face of a witch? Especially Granny, who is revealed to have paid rent ZERO FUCKING TIMES since forever. This is the power she holds, and she’s not afraid to use it!
So I guess I do get why she finds travel boring. I personally don’t, as I think the journey itself can be a lot of fun. Like, I’m so excited to be traveling through Europe and the UK entirely on trains, y’all, and I think that aspect of my upcoming trip adds a layer of joy to everything. (I really do have to remember that this is being published towards the end of my trip, so this might not make sense; I’m writing this BEFORE I ever left for Europe.) But Granny Weatherwax is not one to travel, so the trip itself is nothing but monotony and inconvenience. The food is weird, she doesn’t understand any of the local languages, and she’s out of her element. I wonder, then, if Granny will warm up to travel. Will she get to a point where she enjoys getting from one place to another? Or will she remain in defiance of enjoying herself for the remainder of this book?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJl4UJqcw9c
Mark Links Stuff
– Please help book/finalize the Mark Does Stuff European Tour!
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– The Mark Does Stuff Tour 2015 is now live and includes dates across the U.S., Canada, Europe, the U.K., and Ireland. Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
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