Pratchett’s Women IX: The Truth Has Got Her Boots On Pratchett seems at his most comfortable when writing intensely pragmatic women, and Sacharissa is very much in this vein. I found it interesting that her primary personality quirk at the beginning of the story was an obsession with historically ladylike behaviour, and what is ‘seemly’ for a lady to do, wear and say (which pretty much puts her on par with Mrs Arcanum). It’s worth noting that while William thinks such beliefs are frivolous and unnecessary, for Sacharissa they’re probably essential survival skills in a world that veers from medieval to Victoriana to modern attitudes and back again at a moment’s notice, and in a city that still thinks calling prostitutes “seamstresses” is highly amusing.

Pratchett’s Women IX: The Truth Has Got Her Boots On

Pratchett seems at his most comfortable when writing intensely pragmatic women, and Sacharissa is very much in this vein. I found it interesting that her primary personality quirk at the beginning of the story was an obsession with historically ladylike behaviour, and what is ‘seemly’ for a lady to do, wear and say (which pretty much puts her on par with Mrs Arcanum). It’s worth noting that while William thinks such beliefs are frivolous and unnecessary, for Sacharissa they’re probably essential survival skills in a world that veers from medieval to Victoriana to modern attitudes and back again at a moment’s notice, and in a city that still thinks calling prostitutes “seamstresses” is highly amusing.

  1. hanjizoe reblogged this from tabithadarlingsbedroomfloor and added:
    someone wrote a series of essays analyzing feminism in discworld? i know what i’m doing tonight.
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