1

Brigitte Le Juez

Olga Springer

Colm Kearns – 11211829

An Exploration of the Ideologically Progressive Potential of

the Fantasy Genre: The Subversion of Orientalism in Terry

Pratchett’s ‘City Watch’ Novels

A dissertation submitted to Dublin City University in partial fulfilment

of the requirements for the degree of MA in Comparative Literature

Word Count: 12,972

School of Applied Languages and Intercultural Studies

August 21st 2012

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'I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of MA in Comparative Literature, is entirely my own work and has not been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work'.

Signed: _________________ Date: _________________

(Candidate)

Date: ___________________

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Table of Contents

Introduction 6

Chapter 1 11

Critical Review

Chapter 2 28

Jingo, Orientals and Hetero-Images

Chapter 3 43

The City Watch Trilogy, Heroes and Auto-Images

Conclusion 57

Bibliography 60

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Abstract

Colm Kearns - An Exploration of the Ideologically Progressive Potential of the

Fantasy Genre: The Subversion of Orientalism in Terry Pratchett’s ‘City

Watch’ Novels

This dissertation examines a number of novels by contemporary British author Terry

Pratchett with a view to arguing that the fantasy genre can produce ideologically

progressive texts. Arguments regarding the ideological potential of the genre are

examined with regard to this. Specifically, this dissertation contends that the novels

can be read as a subversion of Orientalist ideology. The relationship between the

fantasy genre and Orientalism is discussed. Cultural processes which support

Orientalism, such as the concept of myth and cultural stereotyping in general, are

also explored. Orientalism is argued to operate in a binary of exotic, occasionally

demonised Oriental hetero-image and idealised Western auto-image. This

dissertation asserts that the novels examined manage to subvert both sides of this

binary. Ultimately, it contends that the novels transcend the perceived limits of their

genre to subvert Orientalism and demonstrate fantasy’s ideological potential.

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Acknowledgements

First of all, I would like to thank Dr Brigitte Le Juez, not only for the help and

support she has offered me as my Dissertation Supervisor, but also, as coordinator of

the Comparative Literature program, for an enjoyable and enlightening year.

Similarly, I would like to thank all of my classmates and lecturers, as well as the

students in the other SALIS MA courses, for the many interesting discussions and

enjoyable times we shared throughout the year. In particular, I am very grateful to

Laura Dooley for proof reading my Dissertation.

I would also like to thank my classmates and lecturers from my undergraduate

degree at IADT, without whom my participation in an MA course, let alone

completion of the Dissertation, would have been impossible.

Lastly, I would like to thank my friends and family who provided me with support

and diversion from the task of writing the Dissertation when it threatened to

overwhelm me. Particular thanks is due to my dog, Milly, a beast of unsound mind

and limitless affection.

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Introduction

Broadly, this work will aim to explore Orientalism in fantasy. Specifically, it will

focus on four novels by bestselling fantasy author, Terry Pratchett, in an attempt to

argue that these texts function as subversion of Orientalist ideology. The novels

examined are Jingo (1997), Guards! Guards! (1989), Men At Arms (1993) and Feet

Of Clay (1996). In exploring how these texts undermine Orientalism, this work will

attempt to illustrate how fantasy texts can undermine reductive ideologies and, thus,

be deemed progressive. The subversion of Orientalist ideology in the core texts will

serve as an exploration of how fantasy texts can refute insidious ideologies which the

genre has previously propagated. In essence, this dissertation will advocate

Pratchett’s work as an example of progressive fantasy which illustrates the

ideological potential of the genre.

It is important to elaborate briefly on the meaning of the terms ‘progressive’ and

‘reductive’ within this work. Progressive ideology refers to any ideological stance

which admits its own subjectivity, and in so doing, advocates diversity, both cultural

and intellectual. Progressive texts refrain from homogenising entire cultures or

societies and encourage a more nuanced and open-minded approach to cultural or

social encounters. Reductive ideology attempts to limit perception of events. It

reduces cultures to stereotypes and ignores or conceals contextual influences. It

prescribes a narrow view of events and circumstances. It advocates homogeneity

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through claims to the objectivity of its own standpoint, which thus disavow any

alternative view.

With regard to the central analysis of the core texts of this dissertation, the precise

nature of the texts’ subversion of Orientalism varies. Jingo, one of the texts

examined, functions as a direct satire of Orientalist stereotypes of the Arab world,

while the other three texts feature slightly more oblique refutations of some of the

less progressive conventions of Western heroism. Regarded together, the analysis of

these texts will illustrate how thoroughly and imaginatively Pratchett utilises fantasy

to undermine Orientalist ideology. The specific elements of Orientalist discourse

which Pratchett subverts will be expanded upon within Chapters 2 and 3, but first it

is necessary to outline the theoretical framework and structure of this dissertation.

This study will examine Orientalism as a binary, with attention paid both to its

discursive construction of the Oriental and its symbiotic relationship with the West’s

conception of itself. The dualistic nature of Orientalism as an ideology was

elaborated on by Edward Said when he first addressed the concept in 1978. Said

argued that Orientalism was structured on a binary which lionised the West and

demonised the Orient. He posited that the main objective of his study was to probe

the effects of this ideological division of cultural perceptions.1 This work will

progress from this notion, namely, that Orientalism does not solely concern how the

West constructs the East, but also how the West constructs itself.

1 Edward Said, Orientalism (London: Penguin, 1995), p. 43.

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The field of imagology will therefore be a significant concern of this work.

Imagology is the study of national stereotypes, encompassing not only how a nation

is regarded internationally, but also how nations’ construct perceptions of themselves.

The binary constructed between a culture’s idealised view of itself and the negative

view of outsiders will be expounded upon using imagological tools. Imagology can

be viewed as a field of study which encapsulates Orientalism: the construction and

propagation of discourses which reduce perceptions of cultures to apparently

inherent stereotypical traits. This latter point, this notion of inherent traits, is

particularly pertinent to this work. Said wrote that the tendency to perceive Western

superiority over the Orient as a “scientific truth” is “at the centre of Orientalist

theory”.2 This work will be concerned with this notion of perceived “truth”; how it is

constructed and how Pratchett’s novels undermine it.

This notion of “truth” will be explored with reference to Roland Barthes’ writings on

myth. Barthes work is concerned with examining how ideology can be concealed

and rendered apparently natural or universal, rather than subjective or contextual. It

is on the insidious strength of myth that Orientalism flourishes. Myth transforms

Orientalist discourse into an apparently objective assessment of the Orient and the

West; apparently objective and, therefore, all the more difficult to dispute.

The relationship of myth and the fantasy genre will be another key aspect of this

dissertation. The definition of the term ‘fantasy’ will be expounded on in Chapter 1,

but in brief the term, as it is used in this work, refers to a genre which veers from the

2 Said, p. 46.

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realistic without resorting to rationalising. Fantasy presents concepts which are

strikingly different from the reader’s experience of reality, but nonetheless function

within the fictional reality of the text. Thus, fantasy is itself a variant of the

mythologizing discussed by Barthes, it presents the supernatural as natural, just as

myth renders the subjective seemingly objective. Fantasy’s history of mythologizing

and purveying Orientalist discourse will be explored within this work with a view to

questioning the progressive potential of the genre.

Chapter 1 will attempt to establish a thorough theoretical framework with which the

core texts can be assessed in the following chapters. It will expand on the concepts

mentioned within this introduction, detailing how they relate to each other and how

they function within the fantasy genre. A brief history of Orientalism within that

genre will be provided to help demonstrate the significance of Pratchett’s rejection of

Orientalist ideology. The purpose of this chapter will be to outline how Orientalism

functions through its symbiotic discourses on the Orient and the West, how it

flourishes through mythologizing these discourses, and how they have been

furthered by fantasy texts.

Chapter 2 will examine Jingo in detail, exploring the text’s awareness and rejection

of Orientalist tropes. It will aim to demonstrate the extent of Jingo’s Orientalist satire,

detailing how the text undermines and subverts the various negative connotations

attached to Arabs. The manner in which the text addresses the anxiety of characters

who are aware of Orientalism, but fear becoming complicit in it, will also be

examined. The relationship between the text’s ideological intent and its generic

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conventions will be another significant aspect of this chapter. It will argue that Jingo

manages to transcend the perceived limitations of its genre and employ fantasy

elements in a manner which supports its critique of Orientalism.

The third chapter of this dissertation will act as something of a companion piece to

the second. It will explore how Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms and Feet of Clay,

three novels which precede Jingo’s Orientalism satire, can be read as a subversion of

the West’s idealised image of itself. This chapter will outline how figures such as

monarchs and heroes are discursively constructed as reflecting and advocating a

culture’s ideal values. It will outline how these figures are used to mythologise these

values, and how the three texts examined highlight and critique this process of

mythologizing. Likewise, it will focus on how the texts illustrate the negative

consequences of defining a culture’s values through a single figure. Like Chapter 2,

it will pay attention to how the texts utilise key elements of the fantasy genre to

bolster their ideological arguments.

Ultimately, this dissertation is concerned with the achievement of the core texts in

refuting reductive ideology through a genre so often used to further it. It will detail

the construction of an ideology which relies on narrow-minded binary oppositions in

order to underline the importance of refuting such a belief system. It will outline how

this discourse has been bolstered by mythologizing and reproduced so often in an

effort to highlight the significance of texts which reject and undermine it. The

achievement of the core texts in subverting this insidious ideology will act as a

demonstration of the fantasy genre’s potential to champion progressive ideology

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Chapter 1: Critical Review

As previously mentioned in the Introduction, this chapter will outline the context in

which Terry Pratchett’s work will be explored in the succeeding chapters. Namely, it

will expand on the concept of fantasy literature, and explore the genre’s ideological

potential. This latter point will be examined with reference to Roland Barthes’

Mythologies, detailing how fantasy can depict situations and circumstances in which

ideology is naturalised within the fictional milieu of the text. The concepts of

imagology and Orientalism will then be illustrated to develop a framework from

which to address the traditionally problematic depiction of the Orient in the fantasy

genre. The counterpoint to the exotic, homogenised, and largely negative portrayal of

the Orient and its inhabitants will be outlined; the idealised western hero, whose

logical and honourable nature is depicted in stark contrast to the decadent and

volatile Oriental. Thus, the aim of this chapter is to illustrate the problematic binary

in which depictions of the Orient in fantasy so often operate, and outline the

significance and prevalence of this situation.

It is necessary to define the term ‘fantasy’, in terms of how it will be referred to in

this work. ‘Fantasy’ refers to a genre of literary and audio-visual mediums,

characterised by the presence of ‘fantastic’ elements. It is a genre which emerged

from the tradition of fairy tales and has subsequently been influenced by, and

adapted, elements of ancient mythology and religion. In her essay ‘On the Origins of

Modern Fantasy’, Michelle Eilers defines fantasy as “a post-Enlightenment prose

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fiction genre composed of narratives in which an extranatural power plays a

fundamental role and that aims to create an illusion of reality”.3 Allowing for Eilers’

definition to cater for film, in addition to prose, renders it applicable to this work. It

is a genre whose distinguishing features are those which distance it from our

experience of reality – magic, fantastic or mythical creatures, incredible natural

occurrences – but that nonetheless attempts to create a certain degree of

verisimilitude in terms of narrative structure. The plot often follows a linear

chronology and despite the disparities between the fantasy world and reality, the

consequences of actions are always understandable and often realistic, within the

milieu established by the text. Succinctly, the fantasy genre presents the impossible

as if it were possible by depicting fantastic elements in a coherent narrative.

Fredric Jameson speculates as to the ideological potential of the genre in his essay

Radical Fantasy. Jameson argues that fantasy’s ability to purvey radical, rather than

reductive, ideology is hindered by its reliance on “a mythology of good and evil”,

which he claims is “incompatible with history.”4 He claims that, by operating under

such a simplistic binary, the genre cannot adequately address or critique

contemporary social and cultural relations. His attitude with regards to what

constitutes a radical work is primarily a Marxist one but, broadly, his essay sets itself

in opposition to the propagation of reductive ideology. He advocates texts which

question reductive ideology and challenge dominant perceptions, a standard he feels

fantasy has largely failed to reach. He asserts that the pre-modern, medieval settings

so prevalent in fantasy, render it largely ahistorical. Its setting becomes universalised

3 Michelle Eilers, ‘On the Origins of Modern Fantasy’, Extrapolation, 4, 41, 2000, p.317.

4 Fredric Jameson, ‘Radical Fantasy,’ Historical Materialism, 4, Vol. 10, 2002, p. 274.

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and, thus, it cannot depict the historical conditions and progressions which shape

social and cultural relations. Ultimately, Jameson views fantasy as “a celebration of

human creative power and freedom which becomes idealistic only by virtue of the

omission of precisely those material and historical constraints.”5

However, he

concludes by asserting that, although fantasy is necessarily ahistorical, its

uninhibited exercise of imagination can potentially express radical ideology:

Whether such fantasy can be any more politically radicalising than any other cultural

forms (or indeed than literature and culture generally) is not only a question of the

immediate situation, it is also one of consciousness-raising as well – or in other

words an awareness of the possibilities and potentialities of the form itself.6

Jameson’s argument that fantasy’s radical potential lies in self-awareness serves as a

significant counterpoint to the assertions of Joshua David Bellin. In his book,

Framing Monsters: Fantasy Films and Social Alienation, Bellin argues that fantasy

films “play a vital role in circulating and validating pernicious cultural beliefs

embedded in specific social settings.”7 Although Bellin’s book focuses on fantasy

films, the criticisms he expresses could potentially be applied to texts in other

mediums. His arguments are based on the genre’s seemingly ahistorical nature, as

outlined above by Jameson; he claims that this endows fantasy texts with a quality of

apparent ideological neutrality which renders the ideological content all the more

potent. Under this guise of neutrality, ideology can be conveyed without the viewer

or reader becoming aware of its presence, and they are therefore unlikely to directly

challenge or dispute it. Bellin writes that texts “associated with otherworldliness,

innocence or spectacle, are denied a historical genesis or function”, and asserts that

5 Jameson, p. 278.

6 Ibid., p. 280.

7 Joshua David Bellin, Framing Monsters: Fantasy Film and Social Alienation (Southern Illinois

Press, 2005), p. 3.

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this perceived otherworldly innocence “is fundamental to [the texts’] social power”.8

Bellin concludes his book with the assertion that fantasy films are unlikely to

function as purveyors of radical, or even progressive ideology while society itself

remains unjust. Thus, Bellin seems to eliminate the possibility that society and its

artistic output operate in a symbiotic relationship, that both influence one another.

Instead, he views fantasy films as merely reproducing and propagating the dominant

ideology of their contemporary society. Examples he cites include King Kong (1933),

which he claims “manifests the threat of black male sexual predation”, but escapes

critical scrutiny for its racism as “critics emphasize the racial angle’s ephemeral

nature in contrast to the film’s universal […] significance.”9 Likewise, he claims the

trilogy of Sinbad films featuring the work of animator Ray Harryhausen, serve to

support contemporary US foreign policy with regard to the Middle East.10

While Bellin’s view contrasts with Jameson’s, who argues for the possibility of

radical or progressive fantasy texts, it is notable that both share similar views with

regard to fantasy’s potential to purvey reductive ideology. Jameson’s assertion that

the ahistorical contexts of fantasy texts preclude a possible critique of contemporary

society is echoed by Bellin’s claim that fantasy’s perceived lack of historicity

naturalises its ideological content. Likewise, the prevalent good-evil binary which

Jameson laments, functions to make the text’s depiction of morality appear neutral

and essential. This in itself is only possible, if that morality is based on the society

from which the book emerged, and thus, does not jar with the reader’s sensibilities.

Significantly, Jameson argues that heightened awareness of fantasy’s possibilities

8 Bellin, p. 5.

9 Ibid., p. 22.

10 Ibid., p 71-105.

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may lead to the emergence of more radical ideological content in the genre. He cites

Ursula Le Guin’s depiction of magic as an example of this consciousness of

fantasy’s potentials. He claims that in Le Guin’s work “the very nature of magic

itself becomes a whole literary programme for representation” and functions “as a

kind of figurative mapping of the active and productive subjectivity”.11

Le Guin,

according to Jameson, uses fantasy conventions to interrogate readers’ perceptions

rather than bolster them. This interrogative, questioning approach could potentially

decrease the possibility of a text’s ideological content being regarded as natural or

neutral. Both Bellin and Jameson view fantasy’s potential to naturalise its ideology

as the genre’s most significant feature. They lament fantasy’s propensity to conceal

its ideological content and, thus, render it unlikely to be challenged by the reader or

viewer.

The crucial difference between naturalising ideology and merely purveying it is

addressed by Roland Barthes in his Mythologies. Barthes describes the process of

mythologizing, of rendering a text’s ideological content apparently neutral and

essential. He argues that myth depoliticises texts; it “purifies them, it makes them

innocent, it gives them a natural and eternal justification, it gives them a clarity

which is not that of an explanation but that of a statement of fact.”12

Thus, myth at

once disguises and emphasises a text’s ideology, rendering it an inarguable fact

rather than a debatable opinion. The purveyance of mythologised ideology is

therefore a significantly insidious process. Notably, given Jameson and Bellin’s

arguments regarding fantasy’s seemingly ahistorical nature, Barthes asserts that

11

Jameson, p. 279. 12

Roland Barthes, Mythologies (New York: Noonday Press, 1972), p. 143.

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“myth is constituted by the loss of the historical quality of things”.13

This historical

quality provides the context from which the text emerged, and thus, the

contemporary socio-cultural factors which shaped its ideology. With regard to this, it

is evident that the largely ahistorical fantasy genre seems especially suited to

mythologizing the ideology of its texts.

National stereotypes, as outlined in the field of imagology, represent a significant

example of mythologised ideology. Stereotypes function to homogenise the group

they purport to represent; they reduce the perception of them to a relatively small

collection of distinct characteristics. In Imagology: The Cultural Construction and

Literary Representation of National Characters, Manfred Beller argues that

stereotypes arise from our tendency to form selective, rigid perceptions of groups,

and thrive on our unwillingness to acknowledge the subjectivity of these perceptions.

He writes; “Our images of foreign countries, peoples and cultures mainly derive

from selective value judgements (which are in turn derived from selective

observation)”.14

He describes these stereotypes as hetero-images. These selective

representations are strengthened and propagated through reproduction in literary and

artistic mediums; “Once textually codified, the partial representation will represent

the whole.”15

This process is a form of mythologizing; subjective ideology is

perceived as objective truth through textual representation. Beller is anxious to

convey the significance of these stereotypes, asserting that “Stereotyped

13

Barthes, p. 142. 14

Manfred Beller, ‘Introduction’, in Imagology: The Cultural Construction and Literary

Representation of National Characters - A Critical Survey, ed. By Manfred Beller and Joep Leerssen,

(Rodopi, 2007), p. 5. 15

Ibid., p. 5.

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representations are the seedbed of prejudices”.16

The proliferation of these

mythologised subjective perceptions is thus, not merely insidious, but also reductive.

It limits perception of events and cultures and so, undermines the potential for

understanding or even tolerance.

In addition to exploring the stereotypes constructed of foreign cultures and peoples,

imagology also aims to examine how we construct an image of ourselves and our

own culture; our auto-image. It examines the self-other binary, from the context of

specific cultural encounters, as Beller outlines “selective perception results from

suppressed tension between self-image and the image of the other.”17

The perception

of the self-image, or auto-image, can vary significantly depending on context or even

individual author, but this work is mainly concerned with the idealised auto-image.

The auto-image, the national self-perception, is supported by its contrast with the

hetero-image: “self-valorization highlighted by representing other peoples

negatively.”18

Thus, in these circumstances, both auto-image and hetero-image

function within a symbiotic relationship, the perceived negative traits of the latter are

employed to emphasise the imagined strengths of the former. Just as the stereotyped

hetero-image is mythologised; rendered constant and irrefutable, so too is the auto-

image. The perceived positives of the self, and the self’s culture, are constructed as

inherent and inevitable by the same texts which further prejudiced perceptions of

foreign cultures. Within this chapter it will be demonstrated how the fantasy texts

which exoticise or demonise the Orient, also function to valorise the West.

16

Manfred Beller, ‘Introduction’, in Imagology: The Cultural Construction and Literary

Representation of National Characters - A Critical Survey, ed. By Beller and Leerssen, p. 5. 17

Ibid., p. 4. 18

Ibid., p. 6.

18

Peter Hoppenbrauwers describes how the medieval era saw the mythologisation of

the idealised auto-image become reinforced by religion. The rulers of many

European nations claimed that their nation alone represented “God’s chosen people”,

and they reiterated that claim by adopting quasi-religious titles for themselves.19

This

link with the apparently eternal truths of Christianity further endowed the supposed

values of the auto-image with a veneer of truth and naturalness. Accordingly, it was

necessary to denigrate the religions of the cultures which occupied the role of the

hetero-image. The views and practises of these religions which differed from

Christianity, were used to support the perceived cultural gulf between the auto-

images and hetero-images. Within the context of conflicts between European nations,

this manifested itself in efforts to dispute the authenticity of the opposing nation’s

practise of Christianity. In this manner, their claims to the seemingly inherent

positive traits of Christianity were undermined. When the role of hetero-image was

occupied by a non-European, non-Christian culture, their religion itself was

demonised, and thus employed to represent evidence of the inherent negativity of the

hetero-image.

Hoppenbrauwers argues that the values represented by nation and religion were

embodied in the monarch, whose authority and occasional triumphs reiterated the

strengths of the nation. Historical shifts towards republics and constitutional

monarchies diminished the sovereign’s role as the embodiment of the nation’s values.

19

Peter Hoppenbrauwers, ‘Medieval Peoples Imagined’, in Imagology: The Cultural Construction

and Literary Representation of National Characters - A Critical Survey, ed. By Beller and Leerssen, p.

51.

19

It can be argued that this role shifted towards the figure of the hero; a fictional or

mythical character who served as a less problematic icon than a fallible monarch.

Raul Calzoni writes that the hero functions as “an embodiment of a society’s

political and moral ideals.”20

If, as Beller argues, stereotypes are strengthened

through textual reproduction and representation, then the hero’s replacement of the

monarch as national icon is facilitated by historical circumstance. The decline of the

system of absolute monarchies roughly corresponds with the development of

improved printing technologies and the emergence of other forms of media. The hero,

previously a nebulous figure conveyed through oral folk tales, thus becomes subject

to regulation and censorship. The hero therefore becomes a viable vehicle for state-

approved values, and for the propagation of prevalent forms of auto-image.

Calzoni argues that in the contemporary age, “the hero has lost some of its

fascination”21

, but here he writes specifically of semi-mythic, quasi-historical heroes.

The contemporary age has seen the wholly fictional hero continue to thrive as an

ideological tool. Joep Leerssen writes of the “ironic turn” undergone in the depiction

of national characterisation in the postmodern era; he claims that there is now a

“multi-leveled playfulness” about their depiction. However, he warns that “if they

are used half-jokingly, they are also used half-seriously”, and asserts that this has

contributed to “a revival of nationally stereotyped characterisations.”22

The fictional

hero and fictional texts in general, seemingly less significant than real figures or

events, are ideally suited to conveying ideology in the insidiously flippant

20

Raul Calzoni, ‘The Hero’, in Imagology: The Cultural Construction and Literary Representation of

National Characters - A Critical Survey, ed. By Beller and Leerssen, p. 332. 21

Ibid., p. 332. 22

Joep Leerssen, ‘National Character 1500-2000’, in Imagology: The Cultural Construction and

Literary Representation of National Characters - A Critical Survey, ed. By Beller and Leerssen p. 75.

20

postmodern cultural climate. Texts can now present ideology through degrees of

“multi-leveled playfulness”, it is no longer concealed, but apparently too jokingly

presented to warrant any challenge. Interestingly, this situation is similar to Bellin’s

assertions that, when the ideological content of fantasy films is referenced, it is often

considered subordinate to the texts’ aesthetics and supposedly universal elements

and, thus, unworthy of debate. The genre of fantasy, at a further remove from the

real world, would appear to be all the more suited to conveying the idealised auto-

image without arousing argument.

The field of imagology provides a suitable framework from which to examine one of

the central concerns of this work: the depiction of the Orient, the West, and the

relationship between the two, in fantasy literature. In his seminal work, Orientalism,

Edward Said argues that the West’s dominant perception of the Orient is a stereotype

of its own making; “The Orient was almost a European invention […] a place of

romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes, remarkable

experiences.”23

Thus, the textual reproductions of this perception are crucial to its

prominence. It is also significant that the dominant hetero-image of the Orient is a

notably exotic one. Exoticism lends itself readily to depiction in the fantasy genre, in

which the extraordinary and the astounding are focused on. Said himself notices this

correlation between Orientalism and fantasy; he remarks that “The European

imagination was nourished extensively from this repertoire [of Orientalist

representations]” which included “monsters, devils, heroes; terrors, pleasures,

desires”.24

This statement is similar to Jameson’s assertion that fantasy functions as

23

Said, p. 1. 24

Said, p. 63.

21

an exercise and celebration of the imagination.25

Under Orientalism the Orient

functions as a projection of Western fantasies, fuelling the imagination in a manner

the seemingly rational West cannot. Therefore, if exoticism is a key element of

Orientalism, then fantasy is arguably the most suitable vehicle for Orientalist

ideology.

Consequently, it is necessary to examine the traditional depictions of the Orient

within the fantasy genre. The earliest modern examples occur in the Victorian

subgenre of ‘lost world’ fiction. In this subgenre, the expansion of colonial powers is

represented by the explorer protagonist’s attempts to progress through, and

sometimes tame or conquer, the wild, exotic ‘lost worlds’ of Africa and Asia. A

prominent example would be H. Rider Haggard’s She (1887) which depicts the

British duo of Holly and Leo discovering a hitherto unknown city, ruled by an

immortal enchantress, in an unspecified part of Africa. A particularly significant

aspect of this subgenre is that the fantasy elements of the narrative are situated firmly

within the non-European, Orientalised world. The fantastic elements depicted within

the ‘lost world’ often come as a surprise to the European protagonists who generally

hail from a seemingly realistically represented contemporary setting. Said argues that

Orientalist discourse establishes a binary in which the Oriental is irrational, exotic

and violent, while the westerner is logical and coolheaded: “[westerners] are (in no

particular order) rational, peaceful, liberal, logical, capable of holding real values,

without natural suspicion; [Arabs] are none of these things.”26

‘Lost world’ fantasy

reflects in its disparity between the realistic, relatable Westerners and the dangerous,

25

Jameson, p. 278. 26

Said, p. 49.

22

fantastical Oriental culture. The ‘lost world’ concept not only exoticises the Orient,

but also dehistoricises it, representing it as a region completely separated from the

outside world. Madhudaya Sinha notes the implications of She fulfilling this function:

“the Africa of She may be seen not just as complimentary to, but as an integral

component of, the cultural apparatus of British Imperialism”.27

Thus, there is much

significance in this exoticised, ahistorical depiction of the Orient, Ella Shohat argues

as much; claiming the result of this method of representation is that “the Orient,

rendered as devoid of any historical or narrative role, becomes the object of study

and spectacle.”28

The tendency to divorce the Orient from history, and reduce it to a fantastic spectacle

continued after the colonial era. Writing about fantasy cinema’s representations of

the Orient, L. Carl Brown notes how the Orient has often been depicted as having

“little or no impact on what Americans [see] as the ‘real world’”.29

Recent prominent

examples of this school of representation include Indiana Jones and the Temple of

Doom (1984) and The Mummy (1999). In these texts the Orient serves its ‘lost world’

function; providing a springboard into the world of fantasy and danger for the

Western protagonist. These texts may be more self-aware than previous examples,

but they nonetheless propagate the same exoticised depiction of the Orient that

featured in texts from earlier eras. They comply with Leerssen’s assertion that

national stereotypes continue to function in a conscious, “half-joking” form. The

Orient remains largely detached from the protagonist’s realistic world, thus serving

27

Madhudaya Sinha, ‘Triangular Erotics: The Politics of Masculinity, Imperialism and Big Game

Hunting in H. Rider Haggard’s She’, Critical Survey, 3, 20, 2008, p. 29. 28

Ella Shohat, qtd in Bellin, p. 76. 29

L. Carl Brown qtd. In Bellin, p. 76.

23

as a mere exotic diversion to reality. If, as Bellin argues, fantasy’s ideological

strength lies in its quality of otherworldly innocence, then its most significant effect

in the texts discussed is to reduce the Orient to such a state. The Orient is denied

agency in its reduction to fantasy.

However, though the Orient may be rendered ahistorical and fantastical, it is because

of the perceived threat it poses in reality that it is neutered through exoticism in

fiction. The economic and political conflicts between the Orient and the West are

simplified on the ideological field of the fantasy genre. The Orient’s strengths are

depicted as outside the field in which the Western protagonist operates. Leerssen

description of the tropes and characteristics most often associated with Arabs is

significant in this regard; “polygamy, harems and eunuchs, sensuousness and cruelty

[…] pre-modern, suave, dignified, sensuous and ruthless.”30

While the Orient may be

depicted as a place of wealth and power, these traits manifest themselves in ways

which cannot be equated with the liberal, logical West. Polygamy and eunuchs may

offend or titillate Western sensibilities, but, such is their association with the pre-

modern that they do not threaten Western political power. Thus, Orientalist fantasy

functions to ideologically contain or reduce any apparent economic or political threat

posed by the region to the West. This influences the perception of the Orient in the

West, and therefore limits its agency to define its identity and desires.

The depiction of Oriental religion is a notable aspect of this process. Said asserts that

“the European representation of the Muslim, Ottoman, or Arab was always a way of

30

Joep Leerssen, ‘Arabs’, in Imagology: The Cultural Construction and Literary Representation of

National Characters - A Critical Survey, ed. By Beller and Leerssen, p. 95.

24

controlling the redoubtable Orient”,31

and therefore, there were consistent efforts to

“make it clear to Muslims that Islam was just a misguided version of Christianity.”32

The consistency of these efforts infers that Islam has remained a source of frustration

and potential danger for Christian Westerners. Said addresses attempts in the middle-

ages to portray Arabia as a land of decadent heretics, while C.S. Lewis’ The Last

Battle (1956) demonstrates the trend continuing into the fantasy literature of the

twentieth century. The Last Battle is the final book of Lewis’ enduringly popular

Narnia series. It largely focuses on the conflict between the native Narnians and the

invading Calormenes, the latter are depicted similarly to traditional perceptions of

Arabs in dress and appearance. They attempt to convert the Narnians to their religion

– centred around Tash, a multi-armed, bird-headed God – by presenting an imposter

in the guise of the Narnian’s deity figure, Aslan. Critical consensus has long held

that “Lewis’ Narnia stories are Christian allegories” in which Aslan serves to

represent Christ.33

There is therefore much significance in the depiction of a quasi-

Christian religion being suppressed by Arabesque invaders. The climax of the book

sees the real Aslan triumph over the imposters and heretics. The Calormenes worship

of Tash is depicted as insincere and opportunistic; Lewis describes their leader as

losing his courage “when he first began to suspect there might be a real Tash.”34

Notably, while at least one Calormene is depicted in a positive manner, his good

deeds are appropriated by Aslan, and thus Christianity, who claims: “I take to me the

services thou hast done to [Tash] […] if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath

for oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not.”35

31

Said, p. 60 32

Ibid., p. 61 33

Murray Knowles and Kirsten Malmkjaer, Language and Control in Children’s Literature (London:

Routledge, 1996), p. 249-255. 34

C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle (London: Diamond Books, 1996), p. 125. 35

Lewis, p. 155.

25

Through use of the fantasy allegories of Aslan and the Calormenes, The Last Battle

reduces Islam to a “misguided version of Christianity.” Hoppenbrauwers’ arguments

concerning religion’s role in supporting a culture’s mythologised auto-image is

significant in this regard. Aslan’s triumph over Tash and appropriation of his

followers symbolises the legitimacy and authenticity of the Christian West, while

undermining the Muslim Orient.

Similarly Alan Nadel views Disney’s Aladdin (1992) as an attempt to ideologically

contain a region the US regarded as politically incomprehensible. Nadel describes

how “vague and protean the Muslim Middle East is to Americans”, and asserts that

Aladdin is the product of a long running effort to impose a readily understandable

good-evil binary on the region.36

This argument echoes Jameson’s assertion that

fantasy is suited to reiterating the dominant ideology because of its reliance on a

simplistic ‘mythology of good and evil.’ Nadel cites contemporary concerns about

the nuclear capabilities of Arab nations as manifesting themselves in the fantastical

and simplistic conflict between good and evil in the film. By reducing this threat to

an exotic adventure constructed for Western consumption, Aladdin ideologically

simplifies Middle Eastern politics for Western audiences. As Nadel argues; “Aladdin

plays out these problems in a way that asserts the immense destructive potential of a

nuclear-armed Muslim Middle East […] as forms of performance within the

spectacle of Western entertainment”.37

Notably, it is through one of the film’s most

prominent fantasy elements, the power of the genie, that this ‘destructive potential’

36

Alan Nadel, ‘A Whole New (Disney) World Order’, in Visions of The East: Orientalism in Film, ed.

Matthew Bernstein and Gaylyn Studlar (London: I.B. Taurus, 1997), p. 187. 37

Ibid., p. 187-188.

26

can be symbolised. In this case, as in others, fantasy is employed to simplify and

contain the perception of the Orient; to ideologically manage and manipulate it.

Correspondingly, Orientalist fantasy maintains a long tradition of mythologizing the

idealised qualities of the West through contrast with the Orient. During the

emergence of ‘Lost World’ fantasy during the Victorian era, the auto-image of the

colonising British emphasised “physical stalwartness and nimble willpower”.38

This

was depicted in sharp contrast with the ‘savage’ Africans and ‘decadent’ Arabs. The

depictions of the encounters between the West and the Orient in Orientalist fantasy

texts bolster Beller’s assertion that a culture’s auto-image is valorised through

negatively depicting other culture’s negatively. This is clearly the case in She, where,

as Sinha notes, Holly and Leo “establish control over the natural landscape by both

appropriating knowledge and hunting down the wild ‘essence’, thus taming and

humbling the vast African landscape.”39

The protagonists exert control over the land

in a manner the natives cannot. Similarly, Bellin argues that the titular hero of The

Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974) is depicted as a “’Western hero – a partisan, as it

were, of the ‘free’ world rather than a pawn of Eastern superstition or despotism”.40

His exercise of ‘nimble willpower’ contrasts with the resignation of the other

characters to the will of Allah. In both texts, significant points arise with regard to

authority and power. In She, Holly and Leo’s interference leads to the end of

Ayesha’s rule over the Kingdom of Kor, while Golden Voyage ends with Sinbad

rejecting the kingship offered to him through prophecy. The former undermines the

38

Joep Leerssen, ‘England’, Imagology: The Cultural Construction and Literary Representation of

National Characters - A Critical Survey, ed. By Beller and Leerssen, p. 148. 39

Sinha, p. 33. 40

Bellin, p. 97.

27

authority of the Orient, while the latter asserts the West’s ‘natural’ leadership

position. Thus, there continues a long tradition in fantasy of not merely containing

and undermining the Orient, but of asserting the West’s superiority to it.

It is apparent that there exists both the potential for, and tradition of, the fantasy

genre purveying Orientalist stereotypes. The significance of this point should not be

underestimated, as fantasy’s potential to mythologise its ideological content allows

prejudices to flourish and go unchallenged. The following chapter will explore Terry

Pratchett’s Jingo as a response to this Orientalist tradition of the fantasy genre. It

will examine how he responds to the tropes and conventions employed to

mythologise this stereotyped perception of the Orient and the West. It will be argued

that Jingo is an example of fantasy conventions being utilised to undermine

Orientalism, rather than support it, and thus demonstrate the progressive potential of

fantasy.

28

Chapter 2: Jingo, Orientals and Hetero-Images

This chapter will examine Terry Pratchett’s work in detail, focusing on his 1997

novel, Jingo. It will be chiefly concerned with demonstrating how Jingo can be read

as a response to the tradition of Orientalism in fantasy. Jingo’s subversion of notable

Orientalist tropes will be illustrated and expounded upon. The significance of its

awareness of its genre and use of the genre’s conventions and expectations will be

explored. Indeed, Pratchett’s awareness of these conventions and of his own role as a

fantasy writer, will be examined with a view to illustrating their significance. In light

of Jameson’s arguments concerning radically self-aware fantasy and Beller and

Leerssen’s assertions about the reductive nature of cultural stereotypes, Pratchett’s

nuanced critique of Orientalism will be argued to be particularly noteworthy.

To begin with, it is necessary to offer some information regarding Pratchett’s

Discworld novels, some of which will be the primary texts of this work. Pratchett

initially created the Discworld to serve as the setting for his parodies of fantasy

literature clichés. However, as Pratchett’s work progressed from genre parody to

social satire, he constructed elements of the Discworld which functioned as broad

allegories of real life cultures. The city of Ankh-Morpork, the setting of the texts

addressed in this work, serves as Pratchett’s representation of Western, urban

29

society.41

The continent of Klatch reflects elements of Africa and the Arab world in

terms of culture and myth, while the nation of Klatch has a more distinctly Arabian

culture. This quality of ‘Arabian-ness’ is constructed through the depiction of

recognisable parallels between Klatch and the Arab world with regard to

terminology, appearance and fantasy tropes. Jingo depicts a war between Klatch and

Ankh-Morpork breaking out due to both nations’ claims to the recently resurfaced

island of Leshp.

As was outlined in the previous chapter, fantasy is a genre with a history of, and

indeed, a capacity for, furthering Orientalist discourse. Even removing the question

of ideological intent from the matter, it is possible that the genre will continue to

propagate Orientalism indefinitely, through use of its established tropes and

conventions. Joep Leerssen asserts that Aristotle’s dramatic principles, which

stressed consistency and the necessity of making the work easily understandable to

the audience, facilitated the furthering of stereotypes. Under these principles

stereotypes flourish as functional dramatic devices. Thus, with regard to fantasy,

Orientalist tropes continue to be employed because of their dramatic function;

Orientalist ideology is therefore furthered while remaining an ostensibly secondary

concern. Orientalist convention acts as a self-perpetuating literary device; its

previous uses ensuring future use.

41

Terry Pratchett and Paul Kidby, The Art of the Discworld (Victor Gollancz, London, 2004), p. 7-9:

Pratchett claims Ankh-Morpork was initially “just the stock Medieval European City”, but later

developed elements of “eighteenth-century London, nineteenth-century Seattle and twentieth-century

New York”.

30

Indeed, Pratchett’s earlier work can be viewed as an example of this process. In

Sourcery (1988) he makes use of a number of Orientalist clichés, chiefly derived

from Arabian Nights. Although he employs these tropes in a satirical manner, it is

their narrative conventions, rather than the ideology behind them, that he mocks.

Thus, the clichés of the treacherous Grand Vizier and decadent Sultan play upon the

readers’ generic expectation; they are satirised for their apparent ubiquity within

Oriental fantasy settings. One of the characters ponders that “There must be a school

somewhere” for Grand Viziers which instructs them in ruthless ambition, but the

ideology behind this recurring perception is not probed.42

Pratchett mocks the

repetition of ruthless and decadent Oriental ruler figures, but ultimately propagates it

himself, albeit in an overtly humorous manner. His satirising of Orientalist clichés in

Sourcery could be argued to comply with Leerssen’s assertion of cultural stereotypes

flourishing through irony in the modern era.43

Pratchett’s failure to address the

ideology behind the stereotypes he employs “half-jokingly” in Sourcery means that

they also function “half-seriously”; reiterating regressive ideology, albeit in a

parodic fashion. However, Sourcery’s parody of Orientalist clichés does demonstrate

that Pratchett’s fantasy possesses a quality of self-awareness. According to Fredric

Jameson, this quality is crucial to the production of a progressive or radical fantasy

text.

Jameson argues that to break from this cycle of reiterating dominant ideology,

fantasy authors must establish “an awareness of the possibilities and potentialities of

42

Terry Pratchett, Sourcery (London: Corgi, 1989) p. 129. 43

Joep Leerssen, ‘National Character 1500-2000’, in Imagology: The Cultural Construction and

Literary Representation of National Characters - A Critical Survey, ed. By Beller and Leerssen p. 75.

31

the form itself.”44

Fantasy authors must therefore refrain from adhering to dramatic

convention for its own sake, and opt instead to make imaginative use of the genre’s

tropes. It could be argued that what Jameson prescribes is the knowing subversion of

the tradition, rather than the blind following of it. However, while Jameson asserts

that fantasy should be free of any constraints save those of the imagination, there

remains the genre’s tradition of proliferating Orientalism. Jameson’s hypothetical

radical fantasy may ignore all that constrained the genre before, but a more

progressive approach is to confront these constraints in light of the self-awareness

and imaginative capacities he champions. Jingo is particularly significant in this

regard, as is not only subverts Orientalist discourse, but does so in a manner which

references and satirises the ways in which this discourse had previously been

employed within the fantasy genre. Jingo serves as a work of imagination which

does not eschew the largely regressive tradition from which it emerged, but instead,

addresses it in a progressive fashion.

As outlined above, Klatch is broadly Arabic in depiction, and the xenophobia

aroused against it in Jingo bears striking similarities with Orientalist stereotypes

concerning Arab culture. Leerssen’s assertion that Arabs are often viewed as pre-

modern in the West is borne out with regard to the predominant Morporkian view of

Klatch. Sergeant Colon claims that “’You can probably live like a king for a year on

a dollar, in Klatch.’”45

This presumption of economic superiority implies that Colon

believes the Klatchian grasp of economy is particularly primitive. Colon later

reiterates the Orientalist stereotype of the amoral, lustful Arab when he complains of

44

Jameson, p. 280. 45

Terry Pratchett, Jingo (London: Corgi, 1998), p. 110.

32

Klatchians’ polygamy.46

The belief in the inability of Arabs to hold real values,

which Said described, is demonstrated in Jingo by repeated assertions of Klatchians’

propensity for thievery. Elsewhere in the text, the Klatchian envoy Prince Khufurah

tells Commander Vimes that “’some of your fellow citizens feel that just because my

people invented advanced mathematics and all-day camping we are complete

barbarians who’d try to buy their wives at the drop of, shall we say, a turban.’”47

This statement is particularly significant as it implies a humorous awareness of

Orientalist clichés by the subject of the discourse.

Conscious of the Orientalist discourse so often reiterated in his genre, Pratchett

demonstrates a willingness to subvert and satirise the contradictions inherent in this

discourse. This is particularly evident in the The New Discworld Companion, an

encyclopaedia of sorts for his Discworld novels. The Companion outlines the

incongruities regarding Ankh-Morpork’s predominant view of Klatch: "Klatchians

are regarded as being at one and the same time incredibly cunning and irredeemably

stupid, bone-idle and deviously industrious, highly cultured and obstinately

backward…”48

These ideological contradictions are satirised throughout Jingo.

Colon claims that the Klatchians are cowards who will flee once they “taste a bit of

cold steel,” before going on to condemn their bloodthirsty nature. The irony is not

lost on his subordinate Corporal Nobbs, who pointedly asks “You mean, like… they

viciously attack you while running away after tasting cold steel?”49

Similarly, Ankh-

Morpork military leader, Lord Rust, denounces the Klatchians for their supposed

46

Jingo, p. 188. 47

Ibid., p. 77. 48

Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs, The New Discworld Companion (London: Victor Gollancz,

2003), p. 235. 49

Jingo, p. 42.

33

cowardice, but maintains that they are the finest soldiers in the world “when led by

white officers.”50

When claims are made as to the technological or moral superiority

of Ankh-Morpork over Klatch, examples are soon raised which undermine these

assumptions.

This strategy illustrates the irreconcilable disparity between the motivations and

manifestation of Orientalism. As was outlined in the previous chapter, Orientalism

functions to neuter the threat posed by the Orient by rendering it ahistorical,

exoticised and, ultimately, inferior to the practical, capable West. However, this

function arises precisely because of a perceived political or economic threat that the

Orient is seen to pose to the West. Matthew Bernstein argues that Orientalism arouse

from the perceived threat of the Ottoman Empire to the West, and he claims the

discourse “served to control and domesticate such a fearful yet fascinating

prospect.”51

In Jingo it is made abundantly clear that Klatch poses a serious military

threat to Ankh-Morpork, possessing superior weapons and a better trained army, thus

the Morporkians attempt to compensate for this threat by ideologically reducing it.

Pratchett satirises the contradictions apparent in their efforts to illustrate the fallacies

of Orientalism as an ideological strategy.

A notable, but relatively subtle aspect of Jingo’s subversion of Orientalist clichés is

the text’s undermining of perceptions of a homogenous Arab world. In his

assessment of stereotypes concerning Arabs, Joep Leerssen notes the vagueness of

50

Jingo, p. 360. 51

Matthew Bernstein, ‘Introduction’, in Visions of The East: Orientalism in Film, ed. Bernstein and

Studlar, p. 3.

34

the term; how it is applied indiscriminately to many culturally diverse groups within

the Arab world.52

In the Companion, Pratchett describes a similar tendency regarding

Klatch: “It has to be said that the words ‘Klatch’ and ‘Klatchian’ are used by the

people of the Sto Plains as practically interchangeable with ‘foreign’”.53

This

attitude is in evidence in Jingo, when Ankh-Morpork goes to war with the nation of

Klatch, despite the latter consisting of a large and diverse empire, many Morporkians

discuss the ‘Klatchians’ in a very general sense. The comically ignorant Sergeant

Colon tells Corporal Nobbs that “’o’ course, they’re not the same colour as what we

are.’”54

Later, Lord Vetinari will inform them both that “’People within the

Klatchian hegemony come in every shape and colour.’”55

Elsewhere in the novel,

attempts are made to demonstrate the diversity of Klatchian culture; two Klatchian

settlers in Ankh-Morpork argue with each other, because of cultural and religious

differences.56

Likewise, the Klatchian leader, Prince Cadram is described as having

significant difficulty in bringing the D’regs, a nomadic desert people, within the fold

of his empire, a conflict which demonstrates that Klatch is far from culturally or

politically homogenous.57

While Jingo, centring as it does on the Ankh-Morpork

City Watch, does not allow itself the scope to focus on what might be deemed the

Klatchian point of view, it is notable that what it does depict of Klatch is a diverse

and complex empire which undermines perceptions of a homogenous Orient.

52

Joep Leerssen, ‘Arabs’, in Imagology: The Cultural Construction and Literary Representation of

National Characters - A Critical Survey, ed. By Beller and Leerssen, p. 94. 53

The New Discworld Companion, p. 234. 54

Jingo, p. 40. 55

Ibid., p. 278. 56

Ibid., p. 160. 57

Ibid., p. 276.

35

That Jingo primarily focuses on Morporkian characters, rather than Klatchians, is of

particular significance. In doing so, it centres on the West, rather than the Orient. In

previous Discworld novels Pratchett had not been adverse to focusing on characters

beyond the broadly European Sto Plains. Although the City Watch are prominent,

recurring characters within the Discworld novels, there was little beyond generic

convention to prevent him from introducing a Klatchian protagonist to feature with

them in Jingo. Pratchett’s decision not to do so could be read as being influenced by

his consciousness of his position as a Western author attempting to address the issue

of Orientalism. Said argues that: “It is Europe that articulates the Orient.”58

Although

the potentials of fantasy literature allow Pratchett to invent and articulate his own

Orient, he may be wary of indulging in the tradition of Orientalist fantasy.

This anxiety is certainly reflected in the mindset of the text’s protagonist, City Watch

Commander Vimes. Vimes is frustrated by the jingoistic attitude of the city’s

aristocracy and the prejudices it arouses in the populace. As a prominent official, he

is anxious to remain even-handed and not succumb to the Orientalist xenophobia

concerning Klatchians. When Klatchian settler, Mr. Wazir repeatedly accuses Vimes

of imprisoning a fellow Klatchian he had placed under protection, he is unsure of

how to react. He reassures himself that “there is no reason why a Klatchian couldn’t

be a pompous little troublemaker”, but feels “uneasy about it, like a man edging

along the side of a very deep crevasse.”59

After this encounter, Vimes rues his lack

of knowledge of Klatch, a sentiment that is misunderstood by Sergeant Colon: “’I

wish we understood more about Klatch’ […] ‘Know the enemy, eh, sir?’ […] ‘Oh, I

58

Said, p. 57. 59

Jingo, p. 158.

36

know the enemy,’ said Vimes. ‘It’s Klatchians I want to find out about.’”60

The

encounter with Mr. Wazir and the subsequent exchange with Colon demonstrate not

only Vimes’ rejection of Orientalist discourse, but also his wariness of becoming

complicit in it. Michael Richardson articulates an anxiety concerning the seemingly

all-encompassing nature of Said’s definition of Orientalism. He notes that, by Said’s

logic, “the object cannot challenge the subject [Orientalist discourse] by developing

alternative models” of conceptualising the Orient.61

Through Vimes Pratchett depicts

this anxiety and its consequences.

Vimes’ wariness of becoming implicit in Orientalist discourse even leads him to

suspect Morporkians over Klatchians in a conspiracy regarding an attempt to trigger

a war between the two nations. Klatchian policeman 71-Hour Ahmed rebukes him

for the lengths he will go to in order to reject the dominant Orientalist ideology:

“Truly treat all men equally. Allow Klatchians the right to be scheming bastards”.62

This retort is particularly notable as it demonstrates an Oriental responding to

Orientalism, a reaction Richardson deemed particularly difficult if the discourse

functioned as Said described. Pratchett depicts his Oriental characters with the

agency to be aware of, and act against, the discourse which defines Oriental

characters in other fantasy texts.

Vimes’ anxiety and Ahmed’s awareness of Orientalism is articulated in further detail

during a conversation between the two men near the novel’s climax. Vimes has

60

Jingo, p. 161. 61

Michael Richardson, ‘Enough Said’, in Orientalism: A Reader, ed. By A. L. Macfie (Edinburgh:

Edinburgh University Press, 2000), p. 211. 62

Jingo, p. 342.

37

discovered that Ahmed, whom he previously regarded as an inscrutable thug, is a

policeman like himself. Ahmed admits to subterfuge, asserting “Always be a bit

foreign wherever you are, because everyone knows foreigners are a little bit

stupid.”63

Vimes is insulted that Ahmed presumes that he was as prejudiced as other

Ankh-Morpork officials, but despite this lack of prejudice, he still disapproves of

Ahmed’s violent policing methods. This attitude is not lost on Ahmed who

comments: “You think I am an educated barbarian?” He then goes on to outline how

the differences between their respective methods arise from the disparate

environments in which they work.64

This serves to undermine Orientalist claims that

the cultural differences between the West and the Orient are inherent, rather than

arising out of historical and political context. The conversation also makes it

apparent that, although Vimes is the novel’s protagonist, his views are not idealised

or mythologised. He is fallible, subject to being subsumed into the pervasive

ideological climate of Orientalism, despite his consciousness of it. Said notes the

power of myth to further Orientalist discourse, writing that “myth displaces life”, it

denies the Arab agency.65

Pratchett does not use his protagonist to mythologise

ideology, to present problems “already analysed and solved”,66

instead he depicts

him in a continuous learning process which subverts Orientalism’s essentialist

claims.

63

Jingo, p. 339. 64

Ibid., p. 344. 65

Said, p. 312. 66

Ibid., p. 312.

38

Said referred to Orientalism as the product of “imaginative geography”,67

that a

response to it should utilise a literal ‘imaginative geography’; a fantasy world, is

notable. As was outlined in the previous chapter, fantasy may be a particularly

suitable vehicle for Orientalism, but Jingo serves to illustrate its potential to refute

and subvert this ideology. It is of particular significance that the subversion of

Orientalist discourse in Jingo is facilitated by the fantasy elements of the text.

Fantasy, the “celebration of human creative power”68

allows Pratchett to construct

his own fictional world onto which he can project a conflict between the ‘Orient’ and

the ‘West.’ The freedom of being able to construct his own cultural and political

circumstances gives Pratchett the ability to critique Orientalism in a notably nuanced

manner. Pratchett can depict Orientalist discourse in many different forms, rather

than be confined to a variant of the discourse specific to a particular cultural or

historical context.

Significantly, the effectiveness of Jingo’s critique of Orientalism arises from how the

text transcends the limitations Jameson claims fantasy function under. While

undoubtedly influenced by its author’s own view of morality, Jingo possesses no

central “mythology of good and evil.”69

Myles Balfe notes the significance of

fantasy’s moral binary, he argued that it was often imposed onto international

conflicts within fantasy texts: “These evil nations are usually ‘Other’, and located in

realms where the Evil inhabitants are swarthily vile, unlike the good guys who tend

67

Said, p. 59. 68

Jameson, p. 278. 69

Ibid., p. 274.

39

to be white in appearance.”70

The war between Ankh-Morpork and Klatch is

depicted as a political power struggle over ownership of a newly resurfaced island.

The conflict is motivated by greed and nationalism; neither side is portrayed as being

inherently ‘right’ or ‘good.’ As a consequence, the world depicted in Jingo, and

indeed, in the other Discworld novels, is not completely “incompatible with history.”

The Discworld is not the “moralised neo-medieval Europe”71

which Balfe claims is

the predominant setting for fantasy literature. Pratchett’s own sense of morality

certainly plays a part in his texts, but it does not have a direct relationship with the

Discworld’s culture or geography. After a city council meeting in which Ankh-

Morpork nobles urge war with Klatch, Vimes tells Lord Vetinari “’You see sir’, […]

‘I can’t help but think over there in Klatch a bunch of idiots are doing the same

thing’”.72

His assessment articulates the view that the conflict between Ankh-

Morpork and Klatch arises from a cultural climate of jingoistic nationalism. Their

conflict is the clash of an emerging empire, Klatch, and a diminishing but self-

important military power, Ankh-Morpork. It is a clash arising from the Discworld’s

fictional historical context, rather than an ahistorical moral crusade.

Jameson claims that fantasy texts are often mired in their own ahistorical, quasi-

medieval setting and thus “the pre-modern world alone exists, and therefore it cannot

be defined as pre-modern.”73

Jingo subverts this apparent limitation, it references the

fictional history of the Discworld to support its own narrative. Several references are

made throughout the text to General Tacitus, a Morporkian general who conquered

70

Myles Balfe, ‘Incredible Geographies? Orientalism and Genre Fantasy’, in Social & Cultural

Geography, 1, 5, 2004, p. 78. 71

Ibid., p. 78. 72

Jingo, p. 35. 73

Jameson, p. 274.

40

most of Klatch hundreds of years before the text’s main narrative.74

Tactitus’ deeds

enrich Discworld’s fictional history and, thus, support the notion that the conflict in

Jingo has arisen from historical and cultural context.

Indeed, throughout Jingo, there are several references to the social and technological

upheaval and advancements that Klatch is undergoing, an element of the text which

further illustrates its aversion of fantasy’s ahistorical conventions. Inventor Leonard

of Quirm praises Klatchian technological innovation of the recent past before

exclaiming: “I would be astonished if they hadn’t made considerable progress!”75

The afore-mentioned attempt by Prince Cadram to extend his dominion over the

D’Regs is part of his plans to modernise Klatch, which are discussed by different

characters at various points in the text. It is evident that Klatch has progressed

significantly from being the mere exoticised setting for Arabian Nights motifs that

was depicted in Sourcery. This portrayal of historical advancement also acts to refute

the stereotype of the ahistorical Orient. Said argues that “Arabs are presented in the

imagery of the stoic, almost ideal types, and neither as creatures with a potential in

process of being realised nor as history being made.”76

Jingo depicts an Oriental

culture in the process of significant social change, rather than a stagnant or

ahistorical nation.

A further aspect of the text which rejects the perception of the ‘stoic Arab’ is its

depiction of Klatchian emigrants living in Ankh-Morpork. The Klatchians’ position

74

Jingo, p. 204. 75

Ibid., p. 100. 76

Said, p. 321.

41

in the city as an ethnic minority earning money through sale of their own local wares

and cuisine parallels that of the Asian community in Britain. The parallel is

particularly emphasised through references to Klatchian curry, korma and vindaloo.

Pratchett depicts the immigrant community as conflicted; caught between

attachments to both Klatch and Ankh-Morpork. Their confliction is personified in

the figure of Janil, the adolescent son of Mr Goriff, the owner of a Klatchian

restaurant in Ankh-Morpork. Janil’s family are forced to return to Klatch after

suffering xenophobic attacks due to the outbreak of the war. Janil has no desire to

return to Klatch77

, but his anger over the racism his family suffers means he cannot

truly consider himself part of Ankh-Morpork either. That Jingo can depict both

colonial, militaristic Orientalism espoused by Rust and Colon, and the more modern

problems of the Oriental settler in the West is due to its own nebulous historical

setting. The creative freedom afforded to Pratchett by writing within the fantasy

genre allows him to portray a cultural context in which he can depict varied and

nuanced examples of Orientalism.

Although Jingo may not be the most overtly fantastic of Pratchett’s Discworld

novels, it nonetheless utilises its fantasy elements to subvert and parody Orientalist

discourse. In doing so, it functions as a progressive response to the tradition of

Orientalist fantasy detailed in the previous chapter. The imaginative freedom

afforded by the fantasy genre allows Pratchett to construct a nuanced critique of

Orientalism which can transcend temporal and social settings. Jingo subverts the

Orientalist discourse of the colonial era and the newer discourses which have

emerged in the modern era of multi-cultural and multi-ethnic communities. The next

77

Jingo, p. 182.

42

chapter of this work will examine how Pratchett employs similar techniques in his

subversion of the idealised auto-image which forms the other half of the Orientalist

binary.

43

Chapter 3: The City Watch Trilogy, Heroes and Auto-Images

This chapter will examine the other aspect of the Orientalist binary; the idealised

Western auto-image. It will focus on how this auto-image is subverted in three of

Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels, Guards! Guards!, Men At Arms and Feet Of

Clay.78

These three novels precede Jingo in Pratchett’s City Watch series, and while

they do not present as direct a critique of Orientalism as Jingo does, they nonetheless

undermine a key element of Orientalist ideology. This chapter will explore how all

three texts depict the perceived role of the monarch as a culture’s idealised auto-

image, and how they demonstrate the fallacies of this perception. It will outline how

this constructed ideal works in conjunction with such binary ideologies as

Orientalism, bolstered by the discourses it forms around its supposed opposite. The

three primary texts analysed in this chapter may not set this ideal in opposition to the

hetero-image of the Oriental, but they present it as similar to the auto-image which

recurs in Orientalist texts; the rational, intelligent Westerner. It will be argued that

their subversion of the idealised Western auto-image functions as a key element in

the critique of Orientalism.

Firstly, it is necessary to examine the role of the monarch regarding a culture’s

perception of itself. As has been previously discussed in the first chapter of this work,

in pre-Renaissance Europe, the monarch was viewed as the embodiment of the ideals

78

Collectively referred to in this work as the City Watch Trilogy. Footnoted references are to an

omnibus text of the same name which contains all three novels.

44

which supposedly characterised the nation. The monarch’s role as idealised auto-

image was then succeeded by the fictional hero. Notably, all three texts in the City

Watch Trilogy depict a situation in which perceptions of the two have overlapped,

re-enforcing the ideological potency of the idealised monarch figure.

Technologically and socially, Ankh-Morpork, the setting of all three texts, is

somewhat similar to pre-modern European societies, albeit with many fantasy

elements. However, it is described as having gone without a monarchy for several

centuries. Thus, the monarchy has taken on a semi-mythic quality among many

characters in the text and the figure of the monarch has been conflated with that of

the folk hero.

This is evident at the beginning of Guards! Guards! in which the text’s antagonist

attempts to convince his cohorts to join him in a plot to restore the monarchy. The

group discuss the possibility of a lost heir to the throne revealing himself in a manner

similar to the events of a folk tale. Rising from apparently humble origins, marrying

a princess and saving the kingdom are viewed as essential elements of his rise to

power. The link to fiction is made almost explicit when one of the characters asserts

that such things “Happen all the time. You read about it.”79

This discussion

demonstrates how the ideological potency of the ideal of the monarchy is magnified

because of its links to fiction. It has become mythologised because of its absence.

Barthes addresses this process, noting the tendency to perceive notions considered

romantic or artistic as being divorced from the ideologies which permeate mundane

79

Terry Pratchett, City Watch Trilogy (London: Victor Gollancz, 1999), p. 9.

45

reality.80

The Ankh-Morpork monarchy is regarded in this manner, it is perceived as

a romantic ideal, rather than a subjective political ideology.

As has been previously outlined, Barthes claims that the process of mythologizing is

“constituted by the loss of the historical quality of things”.81

Guards! Guards!

depicts a scenario in which the monarchy has become detached from its historical

and political context, and has been elevated to the status of a mythic ideal. Barthes

asserts that “Mythical speech is made of a material which has already been worked

on so as to make it suitable for communication”.82

Thus, the folk tale conventions

with which perception of the monarchy has become synonymous within the text

renders it an all the more effective vessel for Ankh-Morpork’s idealised auto-image.

The hero and the king have become conflated, history has been subsumed into myth,

a circumstance which bolsters the potency of the idealised auto-image.

Joep Leerssen emphasises the role of the hero in a culture’s perception of itself, he

asserts that heroes display “superhuman traits which elevated him close to divinity

and made him an embodiment of a society’s political and moral ideals.”83

The

function of the hero is therefore significant with regard to Orientalism. Orientalism is

a binary ideology; its depictions of an exotic, pre-modern Orient exist in a symbiotic

relationship with perceptions of a rational, civilised West. Said outlines this binary at

the beginning of Orientalism: “the Orient has helped define Europe (or the West) as

80

Barthes, p. 81. 81

Barthes, p. 142. 82

Ibid., p. 144. 83

Joep Leerssen, ‘Heroes’, in Imagology: The Cultural Construction and Literary Representation of

National Characters - A Critical Survey, ed. By Beller and Leerssen, p. 332.

46

its contrasting image, idea personality, experience.”84

The hero thus functions to

mythologise this binary; to render the positive attributes of the West, or a particular

Western culture, inherent and unchangeable. In an essay addressing Pratchett’s

depiction of heroes, Gideon Haberkorn elaborates on the ideological significance of

the hero-king figure:

He steps into a rank he was meant for, was in fact born for. This is, very importantly, not a

democratic tale of hard work being rewarded by social mobility. Instead, it is the tale of the

misplaced monarch being found and reinstalled. The hero is no self-made man. He is a born

king.85

The conflation of hero and king depicted in the City Watch trilogy bolsters

Orientalist ideology by idealising the traits of the Western culture which is framed in

opposition to the Orient.

Guards! Guards! depicts this ideology at work through the antagonist’s attempts to

enthuse his fellow conspirators about restoring the monarchy. After they have voiced

their dissatisfaction with various, petty elements of their lives, he assures them that a

king would remedy their grievances. Notably, he frames this in terms of a ‘natural

order’:

’I think,’ said the Supreme Grand Master, tweaking things a little, ‘that a wise king would

only, as it were, outlaw showy coaches for the undeserving.’

There was a thoughtful pause in the conversation as the assembled Brethren mentally

divided the universe into the deserving and the undeserving, and put themselves on the

appropriate side.86

84

Said, p. 1-2. 85

Gideon Haberkorn, ‘Cultural Palimpsests: Terry Pratchett’s New Fantasy Heroes,’ in Wilson Web,

Journal of Fantastic in the Arts, 3, 18, (2008).

Unfortunately the only copy of this article I could access, on the H.W. Wilson online database, could

not provide me with page numbers. 86

Terry Pratchett, City Watch Trilogy (London: Victor Gollancz, 1999), p. 11.

47

Men At Arms further demonstrates the ideological role of the hero-king idealised

auto-image. Deranged aristocrat Edward D’Eath is obsessed with restoring the

monarchy, feeling that it will halt the decline he feels Ankh-Morpork is suffering

from. His assertion that “It was never meant to be like this […]. It shouldn’t have

been like this”87

infers that he feels a perceived ‘natural order’ has been subverted by

the dissolution of the monarchy. The recurring perception that the return of the

monarchy will restore a natural order or impose objective justice serves to

demonstrate how the figure of the king-hero can so effectively mythologise ideology.

It effectively increases consciousness of Ankh-Morpork’s idealised auto-image,

while disguising its subjectivity. Characters see their own aspirations reflected in the

hero-king, but perceive them as fixed, objective ideals.

The City Watch Trilogy also depicts how reductive these perceived ideals are by

demonstrating how they function purely in opposition to a perceived other. While the

binary depicted is not strictly of an Orientalist nature, the Trilogy’s subversion

centres around undermining the notion of an idealised cultural auto-image

continually under threat from, and yet defined by its contrast with, outside forces. In

doing so, it functions to efface the binary which supports Orientalist ideology. As

Said himself attests, Orientalism is as much concerned with “express[ing] the

strength of the West” as it is “the weakness of the Orient.”88

The Trilogy depicts a

perception of this ‘strength’ which is based on notions of purity and opposition. It

portrays a binary ideal defined by that which it considers itself simultaneously

superior to and threatened by. Said argues that Orientalism is supported by such a

87

City Watch Trilogy, p. 256. 88

Said, p. 45.

48

binary, which stresses “the importance of the distinction between some men and

some other men, usually not towards especially admirable ends.”89

These undesirable

ends are depicted in Men At Arms, which sees a party of nobles equate Ankh-

Morpork’s auto-image of hero-king with xenophobia, asserting that the city

“certainly didn’t open the gates to whatever riff-raff was capable of walking through”

during the halcyon era of the monarchy.90

Similarly, the antagonist of Feet of Clay expresses his distaste at the prospect of the

heir to the throne, believed to be the Watch’s Captain Carrot, siring children with a

Werewolf. Commander Vimes sarcastically compares his attitude to that of an

animal breeder: “All the wrong people are getting to the top […] it really messes up

the breeding program.”91

In this manner it becomes apparent that Ankh-Morpork’s

idealised auto-image is based on exclusion, and thus, is prone to be employed to

such negative ends as propagating Orientalist ideology, as demonstrated in Jingo.

As has been outlined above, despite their subversion of the Western idealised auto-

image, the books comprising the City Watch Trilogy are not direct critiques of

Orientalism. There is therefore particular significance in the manner in which the

auto-image is subverted. Its ideologically narrow and xenophobic nature is

highlighted through reaction to the increasing number of fantasy races living in

Ankh-Morpork. The influx of Dwarves, Trolls and various varieties of undead

creatures into the city is, similarly to the Klatchian community in Jingo, depicted in

89

Said., p. 45. 90

City Watch Trilogy, p. 329. 91

Ibid., p. 743.

49

the manner of modern immigration. The various fantasy races establish their own

respective communities within the city and thrive by providing services which arise

from their specific cultures. Despite this, their presence in the city is regarded with

hostility by certain characters, and a significant element of the Trilogy concerns the

Watch’s efforts to promote peaceful coexistence and equality. This is particularly

evident in Men At Arms when Carrot exclaims “’We’re the City Watch […]. That

doesn’t mean just that part of the city who happens to be over four feet tall and made

out of flesh!’”92

The Trilogy refrains from either idealising or demonising these non-human races, but

it certainly champions equality through its protagonists, which include Dwarves,

Trolls and Werewolves. The ability of these non-human races to coexist and thrive

within the city serves to undermine an auto-image which relies on “the importance of

the distinction between some men and some other men”.93

Jameson claims that

radical fantasy must be aware “of the possibilities and potentialities of the form

itself.”94

Pratchett demonstrates this awareness employing fantasy tropes to

emphasise the fallacy of binary ideologies such as Orientalism.

With regard to Jameson, it is also notable that the integration of these fantasy races

into the social milieu of Ankh-Morpork serves to illustrate historical progression

within the Discworld. As has been previously detailed in Chapter 1, Jameson cited

the ahistorical nature of most fantasy texts as a key factor in inhibiting the genre’s

92

City Watch Trilogy, p. 317. 93

Said, p. 87. 94

Jameson, p. 280.

50

potential for presenting radical or progressive ideologies. In Men At Arms the

immigration of substantial numbers of various fantasy races to the city is portrayed

as a relatively recent development; as the Watch must recruit one Troll, Dwarf and

Werewolf as part of an affirmative action initiative. Set an unspecified amount of

months afterwards, Feet of Clay portrays the Watch as a large, multi-species

organisation. The book focuses on the discrimination suffered by Golems, and to a

lesser extent, the undead, while Dwarves and Trolls have been largely accepted by

most of the city’s populace. The Trilogy’s depiction of the changing perception of

fantasy races within the city displays how the limitations of fantasy lamented by

Jameson can be transcended. The fantasy elements of the Trilogy bolster its

subversion of the idealised auto-image, illustrating its negative qualities in a

particularly vivid manner.

Feet of Clay features a particularly notable example of how fantasy tropes can

function to subvert reductive ideology. The text depicts Golems, automatons derived

from Jewish mythology, attempting to liberate themselves from their state of slavery

by creating a king Golem from their own clay. The king Golem is described as

looking “like humans wished they could look” and wears a crown as part of its “very

design”.95

It is evident from his idealised design and the Golems’ aspirations for him

that the king Golem represents the hero-king auto-image. The Golems create him to

personify their aspirations and ideals, but the text demonstrates the fallacies of

rendering a culture’s values rigid by investing them within a single figure. The king

Golem is driven mad by his inability to match his creators’ manifold expectations.

By the end of the novel, the Golem Dorfl is freed and resolves to buy the freedom of

95

City Watch Trilogy, p. 723.

51

his fellow Golems with his earnings from his new job in the Watch. Rather than

submitting his will to the king, Dorfl actively encourages debate by the end of the

novel.96

Thus, the text contrasts liberty with the hero-king auto-image. This idealised

figure is depicted as reductive and ultimately harmful; Dorfl’s state of enlightened

self-reliance is endorsed as a viable alternative.

This viable alternative functions to refute myth. It represents the championing of

debate over unquestioning acceptance. The significance of myth with regard to the

hero-king auto-image was discussed above, however it is pertinent to explore the

implications of the universalising qualities of myth, and how they are subverted in

the Trilogy. Barthes argues that myth functions to universalise ideology, to conceal

its emergence from a particular socio-political context. Gideon Haberkorn asserts

that the process of mythologizing is evident in the discursive construction of heroes.

He writes that heroes “embody and defend a society's most important values”, but

later notes how hero narratives suggest “global problems can be solved by the right

person singlehandedly”.97

Thus, myth functions to elevate a society’s heroic auto-

image to a universal ideal. Writing broadly within the conventions of the fantasy

genre, the City Watch Trilogy features hero protagonists, but Pratchett manages to

depict them in such a manner that they do not compromise his subversion of the

idealised, mythic auto-image.

Sam Vimes, the most prominent of the Trilogy’s protagonists, is a pertinent example

of how Pratchett’s heroes resist mythologizing. Vimes is depicted as being notably

96

City Watch Trilogy, p. 751: “I Would Like To Discuss […] I Would Enjoy Disputation.” 97

Haberkorn.

52

suspicious of attempts to conceal subjectivity through myth. His conversation with

Corporal Littlebottom underlines this in a humorous manner:

’Well… they say…’

‘Who say?’

‘They, sir. You know, they.’

‘The same people who’re the ‘everyone’ in ‘everyone knows’? The same people who live in

‘the community’?

‘Yes, sir. I suppose so, sir.’

He is particularly cynical with regard to the monarchy, offended by the idea that a

man can be deemed naturally superior to others. Despite this belief, he becomes a

member of the aristocracy through his marriage to Lady Sybil Ramkin. His

continued ill feeling towards nobility despite his own position is repeatedly

referenced throughout the Trilogy. This can be read as an acknowledgement of the

complexities of his function as a fantasy hero in texts which work to subvert the

homogeneity and mythologizing such heroes traditionally represent. The most

evident acknowledgement of Vimes’ unusual role occurs during a conversation with

Lord Vetinari who tells him; “Commander, I always used to consider that you had a

definite anti-authoritarian streak in you […]. It seems you have managed to retain

this even though you are authority […]. That’s practically Zen.”98

This anti-

authoritarianism comes to the fore when he converses with fellow nobles at a society

party, ostensibly agreeing with their prejudices against Trolls and Dwarves, while

actually pointing out its contradictions.99

Vimes thus occupies a nebulous role both

within the narrative, as a noble who undermines the auto-image the nobility models

its identity on, and on a meta-fictional level, as a fantasy protagonist who subverts

the conventions of fantasy heroism. The complexities of his role demonstrate how

98

City Watch Trilogy p. 748. 99

Ibid., p. 331: “that’s what’s so damn annoying, isn’t it? The way they can be so incapable of

rational thought and so bloody shrewd at the same time.”

53

Pratchett negotiates fantasy conventions to his own end, employing them to subvert

reductive ideology, despite their previous ideological connotations.

Pratchett’s awareness of the ideological consequences of the hero narrative is in

evidence in the conclusion of Guards! Guards! which features Lord Vetinari

offering a surprised Vimes a reward for the Watch’s part in saving the city from a

dragon. Vetinari rebuffs Vimes’ surprise by telling him that “After every triumphant

victory there must be heroes […]. It’s all part of the natural order of things”.100

Significantly, the dragon had been summoned by conspirators hoping to manufacture

its defeat at the hands of their pawn, rendering him a hero to the public and, thus, a

viable candidate for kingship. When this plan fails, the dragon itself assumes power.

Though the beast’s ascension to the throne is initially greeted with fear by the

citizens of Ankh-Morpork, they quickly attempt to convince themselves of the

positive aspects of having a dragon as monarch.101

Guards! Guards! demonstrates

Pratchett’s understanding of the constructed nature and ideological potency of the

hero, or hero-king, figure. The text emphasises that, although heroes may seem a

narrative inevitability, they are nonetheless a subjective social construct, rather than

a universal phenomenon.

The character of Captain Carrot is a particularly complex case with regard to the

Trilogy’s subversion of fantasy hero conventions. It is strongly hinted throughout the

Trilogy that he is the true heir to the throne of Ankh-Morpork. He appears to embody

ideal values; courage, charisma, kindness and moral strength. He is described as

100

City Watch Trilogy, p. 240. 101

Ibid., p. 171: “a dragon as king mightn’t be a bad idea’ […]. It definitely looked very gracious”.

54

“genuinely, almost supernaturally likeable.”102

Featuring as a prominent protagonist

in all three texts, particularly Men at Arms, it would appear that Carrot functions as

Pratchett’s idealised auto-image. However, Carrot ultimately serves to subvert the

conventions of the auto-image, undermining the notion that it should function as an

apparently universal, mythic ideal. Gideon Haberkorn argues along these lines, he

claims that “Carrot, who is the heir apparent, is constantly involved in narratives

which negotiate questions of kingship, and he constantly subverts the tradition,

simply by remaining hidden.”103

This is particularly evident at the end of Men at

Arms when Carrot refuses commandership of the Watch in favour of Vimes:

Because… people should do things because an officer tells them. They shouldn’t do

it just because Corporal Carrot says so. Just because Corporal Carrot is… good at

being obeyed.’ Carrot’s face was carefully blank.104

Here, Carrot demonstrates an awareness of his potential to serve as the city’s hero-

king auto-image, but rejects it in favour of championing the law. Theoretically, the

law serves, rather than subjugates the people. The law is created by society, whereas

“the hero embodies part of the social unconscious to tell society what's on its

mind.”105

By opting to function as part of a society, rather than defining that society, Carrot

indirectly acknowledges the subjectivity of that society’s ideals and his own role in

promoting them. The Orientalist binary, as has been detailed above, serves to

discursively divide the world into the positive West and the negative Orient. The

binary functions to universalise Western ideals, it renders any alternative or variety

apparently undesirable and inferior. The role of a watchman limits Carrot’s

102

City Watch Trilogy, p 263. 103

Haberkorn. 104

City Watch Trilogy, p. 506. 105

Haberkorn.

55

authorities and responsibilities to Ankh-Morpork. Whereas a king operates on the

international stage, a watchman is concerned with upholding the law of his

jurisdiction. Indeed, in Men at Arms Carrot points out that the word policeman

derives from a term meaning ‘man of the city.’ The Watch’s afore-mentioned

burgeoning multi-species staff is also significant in this regard. By operating within

an organisation which advocates cultural plurality, rather than serving as a fixed

ideal himself, Carrot subverts the perception that a culture’s auto-image can embody

or define objective positive traits. Haberkorn argues that this attitude recurs

throughout Pratchett’s Discworld series. Pratchett’s work, he claims, demonstrates

the belief that:

heroes can no longer be organs of society and embody part of the collective social

unconscious and tell society what is on its mind, nor can they serve as models for the

development of individuality. They can only be relevant to a section of society.106

Ultimately, Pratchett’s City Watch Trilogy can be read as a nuanced and vivid

subversion of the concept of the idealised auto-image which supports the Orientalist

binary. The Trilogy manages to use its fantasy elements to further this subversion,

while also transcending the perceived limits of the genre. The freedom afforded by a

fantasy setting such as Ankh-Morpork allows the Trilogy to explore the how the

hero-king discourse is constructed and propagated. Similarly, the fantasy genre

grants the scope to depict a variety of different sentient species living within the city,

the very presence of which demonstrates the fallacies of the discourse. The Trilogy

manages to be uninhibited by the genre’s convention of hero protagonists, it utilises

them in a manner which undermines the notion of a homogenous heroic auto-image.

Regarded together in this light, the three texts act as a refutation of attempts to

106

Haberkorn.

56

naturalise and universalise subjective values within a single figure. Thus, they

undermine the Orientalist binary which relies on the notion of inherent Western

superiority and affirm the ideologically progressive potential of fantasy.

57

Conclusion

It becomes evident through contrast of the first chapter of this work with the latter

two, that fantasy texts can transcend their limitations to purvey progressive ideology.

Despite the genre’s suitability for, and history of, conveying mythologised ideology,

it can serve to undermine myth and the regressive ideologies it supports. The binary

established by Orientalist ideology is a particularly significant example of a

regressive ideology which has been furthered by fantasy texts partly because of their

unquestioning adherence to their own conventions. Exotic foreign settings and hero-

kings help further the hetero-images and auto-images constructed by Orientalist

ideology while concealing this consequence. They appear to be merely operating

within the genre’s perceived natural parameters.

Pratchett’s work vindicates Jameson’s belief that radical fantasy can flourish when

the genre becomes aware of its own possibilities. The four core texts of this

dissertation demonstrate this awareness, they are fantasy-literate fantasy. The satire

of Orientalist clichés in Jingo and the subversion of expectations concerning Carrot

in the Trilogy display an awareness of the potentially ideologically problematic

nature of some of the genre’s conventions. Haberkorn claims that “By activating

patterns and connections we already possess, fiction may help us deepen our

understanding of our beliefs. It may also encourage us to create new connections

between beliefs that seemed unrelated before, and we may be led to consider or

58

reconsider our ways of categorizing experience.”107

Through its awareness of the

fantasy tropes so familiar to its readers, Pratchett’s writing demonstrates an

awareness of their ideological ramifications. It is through such awareness that the

connections Haberkorn mentions are forged and myth is thus subverted.

Barthes aligns myth with the propagation of regressive and negative ideology, he

claims it is the language of “the oppressor”.108

Myth supports reductive cultural

stereotypes, such as Orientalism. Thus, to undermine myth is to be progressive, to

advocate pluralism and therefore subvert homogenous ideologies such as

Orientalism. The most significant point emerging from this dissertation is the

assertion that popular fantasy texts can achieve this. To achieve this refutation of

regressive ideology ultimately becomes a matter of awareness of the genre’s

possibilities and perceived limitations. Regarded together, the core texts of this

dissertation eschew the limitations of the fantasy genre lamented by Bellin and

Jameson. They demonstrate the progress of history within Pratchett’s fictional milieu,

thus subverting myth’s tendency to de-historicise its subjects. They avoid depicting

innate forces of good and evil, therefore avoiding naturalising the ideology of its

protagonists and antagonists. They utilise the exotic and the unfamiliar to illustrate

the fallacies of homogenous ideology rather than to support it.

In this subversion of the homogenous and the reductive, Pratchett’s work

demonstrates the potential for fantasy texts to further progressive ideology. It

illustrates the possibility for Jameson’s ‘radical fantasy’, “a fantasy narrative

107

Haberkorn. 108

Barthes, p. 149.

59

apparatus capable of registering systematic change and of relating superstructural

symptoms to infrastructural shifts and modifications.” In other words, fantasy texts

which do not purvey mythologised ideology or homogenous viewpoints, but instead

acknowledges that it “can only speak for one section of society” and highlights its

own subjectivity. In doing so, fantasy can subvert the truth claims of regressive

ideology.

60

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