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Equal Rites: Difference between revisions
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| author = Terry Pratchett
| central theme = The sex one was born as should not limit one's opportunities in life.
| elevator pitch = A dying wizard passes his staff to a newborn heir, but in his haste neglects to check their sex. Now a youngster, Esk finds herself stuck between the accepting community of witches, and the elitist university of wizardry.
| genre = Fantasy
| franchise = Discworld
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| publication date = 1987
}}
'''''Equal Rites''''' is the third ''[[Discworld]]'' novel. This was the first to demonstrate the series was not simply about Rincewind, instead shifting to a new location and a new set of characters. It is the first book in the "witches series", although the setting is only half-formed. Pratchett himself noted later on that the Granny Weatherwax that features here is a much more limited character than the one that appears in fully crafted form by ''[[
The plot begins with a dying wizard who wants to bestow his staff and power upon a suitable baby - an eighth son of an eighth son. However, due to some confusion, he does so to the eighth ''child'' of an eighth son, who happens to be a girl given the name Eskarina. The book centres around Eskarina being brought up and trained by Granny Weatherwax the witch, and muses on the difference between wizard magic and witch magic (broadly speaking, out of the sky and all mythic grandeur vs. out of the earth and to do with people). After failing to raise her as a witch because of the constant interventions of the sentient staff, Granny decides to take her to Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork to see what the wizards make of her. An up-and-coming (if gangly and clumsy) wizard genius named Simon provides added spin to Esk's quest to figure out just what kind of magic she's part of.
Because of the book's feminist slant and the fact that the name Terry can be unisex, a lot of female authors praised the book while assuming Terry Pratchett was a woman (this was, of course, before he was a near-household name), which is why copies these days usually have his photo on the back.
{{tropelist}}
* [[Achievements in Ignorance]]: Esk is able to teleport something without a "counter-weight" because no-one's ever told her this is impossible.
* [[The Call Left a Message]]
* [[Can Not Tell a Lie]]: The Zoons, a river-trading people who are mostly physically incapable of lying, except for their political leaders who are specially trained and known as Liars. It's noted that the first lie they ever achieved was "Actually, my grandfather is quite tall", and the current Liar attained his position with the bold claim that his grandfather was seventeen feet tall.
* [[Characterization Marches On]]: Granny's specific role as The Crone since ''[[
* [[Continuity Nod]]
** A rag rug made presumably by her mom or dad (maybe the quilt Granny uses) is mentioned in {{spoiler|Granny's will in}} ''[[
** It was thought for a long time that Eskarina was a victim of [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome]] in that she is not mentioned for several dozen books throughout the series, some personalities in the book no longer seem canonical, and a [[
* [[Cosmic Horror]]: The Things from the Dungeon Dimensions, subverted in that they are actually quite weak when attacked in their own dimension, being cobbled together out of parts from random creatures.
* [[Curse]]
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* [[Empathic Weapon]]: Esk's staff. The link is strong enough that what one feels, the other feels {{spoiler|(First, when the staff is put into the fire. Second, when Esk is in the Dungeon Dimensions)}}.
* [[Epic Fail]]: Drum Billet and Mr. Smith committing one of these is what kicks off the book, particularly in the latter's refusal to let Granny get a word in edgewise about Eskarina's gender.
* [[Feminist Fantasy]]: Made stronger by the fact that the staff's previous owner was led to Eskarina by magic, and it is stated that magic never makes a mistake.
* [[Hey, It's That Voice!]] (the [[Useful Notes/Fonts|typeface]] version): At one point the Things from the Dungeon Dimensions speak in the same block capitals as Death, which can be a bit disconcerting to the reader used to later Discworld books.
{{quote|{{smallcaps|Give it to us.}}}}
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* [[Retcon]]: Blink and you'll miss it, but this is actually the first book to refer to the leader of Unseen University as the Archchancellor—in ''The Light Fantastic'' Galder Weatherwax was just described as the Chancellor. Later books retconned the Archchancellor title as always being there.
* [[Shapeshifter Showdown]]: The duel between Cutangle and Granny, inspired by those in the Arthurian Mythos (and perhaps best known to modern eyes through Disney's ''[[The Sword in the Stone]]'') which illustrates the difference between wizard and witch magic, Cutangle turning into powerful things and Granny into more modest things that restrain them through subtlety.
* [[Shout-Out]]: The other worlds that the Things are trying to break into include a flat world with a [[World Tree]], another flat world with the Midgard Serpent (also referenced in ''[[
* [[The Talk]]: Averted constantly. Either Esk is dense or really good at faking.
* [[Talking in Your Dreams]]
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* [[World Tree]]: A brief reference to another planet that has this.
{{Discworld novels}}▼
{{reflist}}
▲{{Discworld novels}}
[[Category:Equal Rites]]▼
[[Category:
[[Category:Literature of the 1980s]]
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