In the sixth chapter of The Shepherd\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Crown<\/i>, Geoffrey gets closer to Lancre; Tiffany struggles with her new life. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Well, if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m wrong about this, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all are probably already cackling. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what this is leading to, right? Geoffrey is headed to Lancre at a time right when Tiffany is finally ready to ask for help. In one sense (if this is indeed about Geoffrey becoming a with), this is an inversion of Equal Rites<\/i>. Which feels fitting, given that this is Granny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s final book. (Ugh, even typing<\/i> that makes me sad.) But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also very much not<\/i> that book, and to say it is would ignore so much of the growth we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen in the Discworld<\/i> series. That includes Pratchett\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s growth as a writer, too!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So. Geoffrey. If we think about his abilities and his manor, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s definitely \u00e2\u20ac\u0153odd\u00e2\u20ac\u009d compared to other young men around him. Pratchett plays with that oddness here as Geoffrey enters the Star pub. On the surface… yeah, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weird how Geoffrey dresses. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s weird that he walks around with a goat named Mephistopheles. He doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want money; he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t eat meat; his goat is talented; he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind<\/i>. All these little details separate him from others and set him apart. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re differences from what is expected of him as a man in this culture. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of why he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so quickly dismissed by those around him. Yes, the absurdity of his presentation and his matter-of-fact claims contributes to that. Of course it does! But I also feel like Pratchett is commenting on the ways that masculinity is expected of men. How are they supposed<\/i> to perform it? What happens to men who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> perform as they are expected to?<\/p>\n It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also fascinating to me how quickly Geoffrey wins these people over. Not just that. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the how<\/i> as well. He uses polite manners and kindness. He isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t trying to trick anyone or manipulate them. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just being genuine! He shows them that Mephistopheles can count, proves it without being smug, and then asks for very humble lodgings and meals for a few days while he figures out what to do next. He stops a vicious bar brawl but just… telling the men not to fight? And to go ask the woman who they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re fighting over who she actually<\/i> likes??? WHAT THE. It fucking works<\/i>, too! This felt like a distant cousin of Carrot\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s technique of sincerity, you know? Anyway: if this is what he excels at, imagine what he can do with some training. But that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be accepted<\/i> as a witch, though. Maybe? Ugh, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know!!! I could see this happening, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entirely possible that Pratchett is leading me elsewhere. Regardless: I really<\/i> like the character of Geoffrey. And I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m imagining that Pratchett meant us to think of him when Tiffany spoke to Miss Tick.<\/p>\n But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m jumping ahead in Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story. Tiffany is still… going through it. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no way she can ignore just how exhausting it is to be working two steadings at once. Yet it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t until Nanny Ogg spelled it out that I realized what Tiffany was actually<\/i> trying to do here: prove herself. To Lancre. To the Chalk. To the witches of both regions. And to herself<\/i>. She was just given the most important role of her life. She knows the literal and metaphorical shoes she has to fill! So how can she possibly replace Granny Weatherwax?<\/p>\n Well, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear now that she thinks she has to do everything<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And on the surface… yeah, I get that. From her perspective, Granny did everything on her own. Her reputation was of a no-nonsense with who got shit done and probably made you a little afraid along the way. (Or a lot.) She was brilliant and talented and she definitely did this all on her own. Except… well, we<\/i> know from past books that this just isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the case. Granny got help all the time! In her own way, that is. So part of this comes from a flawed perception of the woman. At the same time, Tiffany wants acceptance. She wants her colleagues in particular to believe she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the right one for the job, but is this really the way to achieve that?<\/p>\n I think Nanny Ogg nailed it on the head:\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Really,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said to her one day as they shared a quick meal, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153you<\/i> know you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re good, Tiff. I know you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re good. Granny<\/i>, wherever she is now, knew you was good, but you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to keep tryin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to do it all on your own, my girl.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t! I say this knowing full well that I have often been the exact kind of person who takes everything on myself and doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ask for help because I believe others will view it as a sign of weakness. THIS IS BAD AND TOXIC AND NEVER ENDS WELL. I completely understand why Tiffany has chosen to do all this, but from experience? Oh, no, this won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t end well. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s complicated, though! What if the other witches think she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not up to the task because she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s asking for help so early into the steading?<\/p>\n That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Miss Tick\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s conversation is so vital. Not only does Miss Tick help Tiffany accept that she needs help, but she points out that the biggest naysayer, Letice Earwig, is also the easiest one to ignore. Mrs. Earwig doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really know what she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talking about, and everyone knows that. But also… the witches will see what really<\/i> counts. Mrs. Earwig is all talk, no action. Tiffany needs only worry about one person:\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Herself.<\/p>\n https:\/\/youtu.be\/6906CovyqiU<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – You can now pre-order my second YA novel, Each of Us a Desert<\/i>, which will be released on September 15, 2020 from Tor Teen!<\/a> In the sixth chapter of The Shepherd\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Crown, Geoffrey gets closer to Lancre; Tiffany struggles with her new life. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[451],"tags":[463,248,567],"class_list":["post-5175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-terry-pratchett","tag-the-shepherds-crown"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– Not only that, but my very first pre-order campaign is now live for North American readers! If you submit proof of pre-order, you can get a limited edition print that comes with the book<\/a>.
\n<\/strong>– If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"