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Tiffany Aching
Discworld character

Tiffany Aching is a fictional character in Terry Pratchet's Discworld book series, first appearing in 2003's The Wee Free Men. Tiffany is the star of five novels, which follow her training and development as a Discworld witch. Initially presented as a nine-year-old girl who wants to be a witch, Tiffany ages over the course of the novels, making her final appearance as roughly nineteen <check?> in Pratchett's last published book, 2015's The Shepherd's Crown. The character is <personality traits>... Throughout the novels she is assisted by the Nac Mac Feegle, a small blue race of...

Creation[edit]

It sounds amateurish to say that characters invent themselves, and in truth they don't. That's just a short-hand phrase. Of course the author invents them. But while the creative channel is being held open, all sorts of memories and thoughts creep out, somewhat to the owner's surprise.

— Terry Pratchett on Tiffany's creation[1]

Pratchett has said Tiffany Aching "...started with a girl lying down by a river, on the first page of The Wee Free Men". In his youth, Pratchett was "fascinated" by nearby chalk pit, and like Tiffany knew how to read words before being able to pronounce them. The Wee Free Men features "a lot of [his] past" in its descriptions.[1] A lot of Tiffany's understanding of the world is based on Pratchett's own experiences.[2]

With Tiffany, Pratchett wanted to "restate" the purpose of magic on the Discworld and the relationship between wizards, witches and others.[1] He included ideas of responsibility and "guarding your society" as he felt it drew closer to the reality of witches – that is, "the village herbalist, the midwife, the person who knew things".[2] Pratchett found a young protagonist useful, because when you're young "you have to learn".[3] The name "Tiffany" was chosen for deliberately being poorly evocative of a witch.[4]

Appearances[edit]

Release timeline
2003The Wee Free Men
2004A Hat Full of Sky
2005
2006Wintersmith
2007
2008
2009
2010I Shall Wear Midnight
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015The Shepherd's Crown

The character first appeared in The Wee Free Men (2003). After having decided to become a witch in memory of her dead Granny Aching, she encounters a monster in the lake, which she baits with her brother and then hits with a frying pan. When her brother later goes missing, she enlists the help of the Nac Mac Feegle to rescue him from the realm of the Queen the Fairies. Tiffany eventually manages to defeat the queen and rescues her brother along with the Baron's missing son, Roland.

Tiffany appeared again the next year, in A Hat Full of Sky (2004).

Wintersmith (2006)

I Shall Wear Midnight (2010)

Tiffany Aching in The Shepherd's Crown, as drawn by Paul Kidby.

The Shepherd's Crown (2015) was Pratchett's final novel, released posthumously.

Character[edit]

...She's almost distressingly level-headed throughout most of the book, but I quite like that - I quite like heroes and heroines who think like we do, you know what I mean? We watch the movies and we start shouting at the screen: 'Don't split up! Don't start looking for the damn cat!' And you just know they're going to do it. Tiffany, generally speaking, tries to work things out.

— Terry Pratchett on her appearance in Wintersmith[3]

In Caroline Webb's view, Pratchett has Tiffany redefine "selfishness" as "responsibility".[5] Janet Brennan Croft felt her name, and its Land Under Wave meaning, linked the character to the "living power" of the fossils which make up the chalk downs. Croft recognises Tiffany as having "an incredible thirst for knowledge".[6] By Wintersmith, Tiffany has become "older in many respects" in Pratchett's view.[3]

Abilities[edit]

Caroline Webb considers her "First Sight" to allow her to see clearly and resist the negative influences of stories.[5]

Supporting characters[edit]

In each novel, Tiffany is assisted by the Nac Mac Feegle... Throughout the series, she has a budding relationship with Roland(?)... She interacts with several other witches, including Discworld mainstays Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg. Weatherwax becomes something of a mentor to Tiffany.[citation needed] Other recurring characters include Petulia...

Themes[edit]

Webb believes the Aching novels to "reconsider" the role of the witch in children's novels, critiquing stories' ability to "constrain and confine". Tiffany identifies with the witches in fairy tales rather than the princes or princesses, and her responsibility becomes characteristic of a witch in Pratchett's work. By A Hat Full of Sky, Webb believes the idea of the witch as "outsider" has been rejected, with Tiffany being accepted by her community and Prattchett focusing on "the positive value of the witch".[5]

Reception[edit]

Tim Martin of The Telegraph called Tiffany one of Pratchett's ten best Discworld characters, criticising I Shall Wear Midnight but calling the first three Aching novels "some of the best Discworld stuff in years".[7] The Southern Daily Echo listed Tiffany as Pratchett's seventh most greatest character, highlighting her relationship with the Nac Mac Feegle.[8] According to Pratchett, his portrayal of Tiffany led to him being made an honorary Brownie.[1][9] Prathett has called the Tiffany Aching books "very close to my heart",[10] and has said they are the books he would like to "remembered for".[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Pratchett, Terry (2005) [First published 2004]. The Art of Discworld. Illustrated by Paul Kidby. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd. ISBN 0-575-07712-3.
  2. ^ a b Pratchett, Terry. "Talking with Terry Pratchett". Interviewed by Interview. Archived from the original on 19 November 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Terry Pratchett interview". SFX Magazine. 17 October 2006. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Pratchett, Terry (January 2002). "Terry Pratchett". January Magazine (Interview). Interviewed by Linda Richards. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  5. ^ a b c Webb, Caroline (December 2006). "'Change the Story, Change the World': Witches/Crones as Heroes in Novels by Terry Pratchett and Diana Wynne Jones" (PDF). Papers: Explorations into Children's Literature. 16 (2): 156–161. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  6. ^ Croft, Janet Brennan (April 2009). "The Education of a Witch: Tiffany Aching, Hermione Grannger, and Gendered Magic in Discworld and Potterworld". Mythlore. 27 (3/4): 129–142. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  7. ^ Martin, Tim (27 August 2015). "Terry Pratchett: his 10 best Discworld characters". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  8. ^ "The top 10 greatest characters Sir Terry Pratchett ever penned for his Discworld novels". Southern Daily Echo. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  9. ^ Pratchett, Terry (n.d.). ""Sweet Fantasy - 25 years of Terry Pratchett's Discworld"" (Interview). Interviewed by Neil Gaiman. Waterstones. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2016. {{cite interview}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Terry Pratchett: I started writing my new book when I was 17-years-old". The Guardian. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  11. ^ Pratchett, Terry (5 November 2013). ""A conversation with Terry Pratchett, author of The Carpet People"" (Interview). Interviewed by Cory Doctorow. Boing Boing. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
The actual books
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