Dragonsinger - Chapter Four

[kalinara]

So last time, I was kind of unfair to poor Menolly. I shouldn't take out my frustration at Ms. McCaffrey's general lack of willingness to write any kind of nuance on the character herself. She has no choice but to react to the situation that she's put in. And it isn't her fault that her triumph beats are too predictable.

So I'm going to try to be fairer to Menolly in this review. I hope that McCaffrey makes that easier for me.

Don't worry, I'm going to redirect my ire to a far more deserving target.



So now that Menolly's left the voice teacher, whose name I promptly forgot (A quick glance tells me its Shonagar. Okay. I realize my lack of attention span isn't really Ms. McCaffrey's fault, but I generally don't have quite as much trouble retaining character names. Perhaps this might have been easier if last chapter weren't such a repetitive slog of "Menolly meets teacher" "Menolly wows teacher" "Teacher is kind of a dick but not in a way that implies institutional sexism because that would make Robinton look bad". But I digress), she's also feeling like she could use some rest.

I don't blame her for this. This is what, her second day here? She's still injured and she's basically been left to fend for herself. I'd be exhausted too. Anyway, Beauty starts fussing, so Menolly heads over to the kitchen. Camo sees her and immediately gets fixated on the idea of feeding the lizards.

Menolly feels guilty about this, but the cook, Abuna, is only mildly disgruntled about it. I've mentioned before that I sincerely dislike how the book, and the characters in it, treat Camo, right? I mean yes, Pern is a less enlightened society, but even in medieval times there are examples of disabled people who were treated with some compassion and respect. Obviously a lot weren't, but Camo is the son of the fucking Masterharper here. If Robinton were half the man McCaffrey wants to make me think he is, then he could make sure his son was treated like a human being.

Sorry, I generally try not to pre-react to things that I vaguely remember, but that bit stands out. Because fucking hell, Robinton.

Okay, so Menolly coaxes Camo back to his duties by reassuring him that the lizards are going to sleep in the sun. I like that. I do not like the gentle shove she gives him. I'm not blaming her specifically, because she's only treating him like she's seen others do. But I am blaming McCaffrey. And Robinton.

After he leaves, Piemur appears and asks wistfully if he can help feed them. Menolly catches a gleam in his eye, and asks if this is part of a bet. Piemur agrees, he'd bet Ranly that she'd let him feed them because they like him. Menolly comments that Camo is "falling over himself" to feed them, and Piemur is a dickwad who mimics Camo's "thick voice" and says that he and Camo are friends and Camo won't mind him helping.

Hm. I'm going to withhold judgment until we see them interact, but it's a dick move to mock your friends, kid. That said, I rather like Piemur. He's neither meant to be a wise paragon or a hostile dick. He's got multiple facets for Menolly to respond to. But he does also hit that "author's pet who is never quite as amusing as his creator believes" vibe. (See, for example, Crash in Jordan Castillo Price's Psycop series.) That sort of character can get old really fast for me.

Anyway, Piemur starts leading her to the dining hall, when Robinton himself interrupts. He asks how her day has gone, notes that he has to introduce her to Sebell, the person who'll be getting the other egg and someone we've heard namedropped a few times since Dragonquest, and is amused to see that she and Piemur have made friends. He then goes off to talk to Brudegan, without really waiting for an answer.

I also see no mention of him bothering to greet his son. Dick.

Piemur sidles Menolly away in a way that makes her think that he (and Robinton) doesn't want her to meet Brudegan, but she thinks she's imagining things when Piemur starts filling her in on Sebell. Who apparently has troubles that dwarf Menolly's.

We don't get to hear about Sebell's troubles though, because they begin with the explanation that he's "only just walked the tables" and that segues into a discussion of Harper ranks/advancement. It actually feels like a natural conversation train, so I'm not going to complain too much. Though I am rather curious about Sebell.

So we learn that people are promoted at supper. For an apprentice: a journeyman stands at their seat and walks them from their seats at the long table to the seats at the oval table. A master would escort a journeyman from oval table to round table. Apparently not all apprentices become journeymen: some get sent home, some get dull jobs, or get sent to a smaller crafthall.

Menolly wonders if that's what Robinton has in mind for her, and I'm back to rolling my eyes just a little. I know it's not her fault, but I wish McCaffrey wouldn't write her as quite this disingenuous. She KNOWS she does well on these exams, she resents when her performance isn't recognized. That's natural. It's also okay. And it would annoy me less if McCaffrey would let her own it.

I also think that Robinton should maybe stop babbling about fire lizards and songs and actually sit this poor girl down and explain what he expects from her in clear language. And also maybe talk about the obstacles she's going to face, beyond vague statements about conservative elements. Come on man, do your fucking job.

So she asks how long Piemur's been around, because he looks like a "poorly grown" nine or ten year old. This is apparently the age where boys are customarily apprenticed, but she's thrown by his voice of experience. Piemur's been around for two years as he got taken in early because of his voice. Menolly notes that he said it without the least bit of conceit. He leads her over to the girls, but tells her not to worry, she ranks them.

But if she's an apprentice, and advancement is based on seat placement, then she really SHOULD be sitting with the boys. It's not a "not all girls" thing here (except for the irritating fact that none of these other girls are Harper material). Which raises the question of why the hell didn't Robinton call some sort of Assembly and tell everyone, or at least the senior staff, how Menolly's placement was going to work.

We're not supposed to see Harper Hall as sexist, even institutionally. But there are clearly no accommodations for women established here. And that's the sort of thing I've wanted to see, so I'm not complaining about that. I'm complaining that apparently Robinton has no problem with women students or women Harpers and has even wanted women students and women Harpers (supposedly), but hasn't bothered to plan ahead for them.

Robinton is a terrible teacher, that's what I'm saying. As a Harper he may be the best in the world, but as a Headmaster, he's fucking shit.

I suppose I've redirected all of the hostility I felt toward Menolly last chapter to Robinton instead. I'm okay with that. He deserves it far more than she does.

So Menolly's going to hobble to the girls' table and I can already tell you how this is going to go. There will be a number of girls...probably three or four. There'll be one alpha bitch. A follower or two. There'll be one girl who is friendly and/or sympathetic to Menolly, though she won't share her ambition.

I remember when Patricia Wrede did this set up in Dealing with Dragons, and when it comes to YA craft, McCaffrey is no Patricia Wrede. (To be fair, this book predates Wrede's. They're just two examples of the same pattern.)

So anyway, this isn't subtle:

The seats evidently reserved for the girls were marked by flaps of cushion on the hard wood. She took the end position, away from the fiercest heat of the hearth fire and stood politely waiting.

The girls entered the dining hall together. Together in more than one sense, for all regarded her steadily as they crossed to the table. Their unity was also maintained in their blank expressions. Menolly swallowed against the dryness in her throat, glanced around her, anywhere but at the fast approaching girls. She caught Piemur’s eyes, saw him grin impishly, and she had to smile back.

Here we go.

So the leader of the group is Pona, granddaughter of the Lord Holder of Boll. She makes a formal gesture of greeting that Menolly's never had to make before. Menolly remembers what Piemur said about rank and says that her father is Yanus, Sea Holder of Half-Circle Sea Hold.

I'd thought Piemur meant rank as in Harper rank, but that was actually giving this too much credit, because immediately "someone, rebellious and astonished" (but not worthy of a name or description) blurts out that she ranked them.

Pona, who is described as "dark-complexioned" because of course the queen bitch is darker than our pale heroine, notes that Tillek is actually the oldest seahold. Daughter outranks niece and granddaughter though.
Apparently. The rebellious girl introduces herself, naming her father first and then giving her own name: Audiva.

Oh, I made a mistake, apparently the dark-complexioned girl is not Pona, but someone else who is about to introduce herself when everyone has to take their seats. I apologize for jumping to conclusions, Ms. McCaffrey.

So meal time: thick, meaty, hot soup and yellow cheese. Menolly realizes that meals are reversed in Harper Hall: heaviest meal in the middle of the day. She's famished, but realizes the other girls are OF COURSE taking half spoonsful and breaking their bread and cheese into dainty portions. Of course they are. They're all etiquette masters who never get their gowns dirty.

I like Menolly here though, she realizes Pona and Audiva are watching her, but decides not to change her table manners because it would be admitting fault. Yes! She slows down a little but continues to eat heartily and even asks for more. Good girl! I just wish this conflict weren't so fucking contrived!

So Pona starts making conversation, noting that Menolly was privileged to attend the Hatching at Benden Weyr. Menolly thinks Pona's tone has the air of one conferring a favor by such conversation.

Menolly says she was, privately supposing that it would be considered a privilege, which is more maturity than I would have expected from her. Menolly is able to fill in the pertinent gossip, namely that Talina of Ruatha got the queen, which makes Audiva happy. (Apparently there were three candidates from Pona's hold.)

Interestingly the announcement that someone from Master Nicat's craft hall impressed a brown makes Pona happy, which leads Menolly to mention that Nicat received two fire lizard eggs.

Pona asks her, in as bitchy a way possible of course, how she got nine fire lizard eggs. Audiva speaks up on her behalf: she was at the right place at the right time, and luck doesn't recognize rank and privilege. Audiva also knows that Menolly's the reason that there were fire lizard eggs for the craft masters at all. There's some catty sniping about "flipping skirts".

So Audiva's the good one, Pona's the alpha bitch, the as yet unnamed "dark complexioned one" is an equally bitchy underling. Her uncle is Tillek and has apparently said that fire lizards are nothing more than pets. She thought pets weren't allowed in the colleges. She finally gets a name too: Briala.

She's not entirely wrong, to be honest. Fire lizards are adorable, but they don't DO anything significant.

There's more discussion, this time about the possibility of a Red Star voyage. Briala, being the clueless beta bitch, gets the position that the dragonriders should go after Thread on the Red Star and stop wasting time on fire lizards. (...again, not sure she's wrong about the last part, as adorable as they are.) While Audiva, the good one, gets to point out that dragons can't go between blind. Briala thinks they ought to flame the Red Star clean of Thread.

It's interesting to see this perspective on things. Audiva points out that the first dragonmen may have tried to go to the Red Star, while Pona and Briala ask why there isn't a Record or song about any such attempt. And all three girls have good points. It's hard to believe that in thousands of years, they HAVEN'T gone. But they apparently were too damn careless to write that shit down.

The talk then goes over to their musical lessons. Briala is of course a whiner, who washed her hair and had Dunca let out the seams of her gown (because bitchy = fat) instead of practicing her lessons.

Menolly's energy starts flagging and, understandably, she stops paying attention to her vacant company. I'm not judging you here, Menolly. I want you to have female friends, but there's not much to work with here. McCaffrey can write good female characters, I know that. Why can't we have a Mirrim here? Or a younger Silvina?

Menolly starts longing for her cave, or even her cubicle back home, because she could slip away. She's overwhelmed by the amount of people, her injured feet, her exhaustion. As they all get up, she apparently moves out of turn, pissing off the other girls. What the fuck ever.

Piemur eventually comes to help her, skipping out on his rehearsal to do it. He gets her back to the cottage and gives her some well wishes. There's no sign of Dunca, happily, so Menolly gets herself up the steep steps and lays down. We end the chapter here.

I liked this chapter a bit better than the last one because there were points of actual challenge. I wish however the girls got to be more than pointless stereotypes. I don't like "not like other girl" plots in general, and I don't really see why that's necessary here. Especially when they're clearly not any real threat to Menolly's status. It would have been far more interesting to me if they were apprentices too. Legitimate rivals. It's not like the book is going to give Menolly's status as first female Harper the weight it deserves, so why not let Pona be one too?

Comments

[copperfyre]

Urgh Robinton.

I too miss your cave, Menolly!

This ‘not like other girls’ plot is so annoying, and as ever the status of women as Harpers continues to make no sense.

[kalinara]

The cave was much more fun!