We Are [Not Just] What We Are: Monstrosity, Modernity, and Multiculturalism in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld

This dissertation analyses Pratchett’s sophisticated, but ultimately limited, use of monsters as a vehicle for social commentary and moral exploration in his hugely popular Discworld series. Through close reading of four iconic Discworld monsters, I examine how Pratchett deploys these reimagined figures in his narratives and what he uses each monster to say about the real world beyond the page.

All four monstrous species I analyse in depth in this dissertation—the ore, the golem, the vampire, and the werewolf—are unified under Pratchett’s ongoing interest in the fundamental challenges of existing in society with others, particularly in light of the need to maintain one’s freedom and authentic self without compromising the prosocial contract of living in community. In each chapter, I discuss each type of non-human citizen to illustrate how he utilises these monsters with a metaphoric tilt to explore complicated issues relating to how to live well alongside difference in a modem, multicultural world, including considerations into the limits of tolerance, the relation to the Other, and the complex and often fraught interaction between tradition and modernity.

On the surface, Pratchett’s writing presents a positive view of diversity and difference in society, while championing moral regard for others and the self, individual freedom, liberal values, and entrepreneurialism. At the same time, his writing questions the cost of coercive assimilation for the Other, even in a supposedly heterogeneous society; and reveals an inclination towards paternalistic leadership, an unwillingness to closely examine structures and institutions of privilege, and a belief that the limiting factors of class and wealth can be overcome by hard work and determination. In this regard, the Discworld’s largest city, Ankh-Morpork, represents both the best and worst of Pratchett’s imagined modernity.

I argue Pratchett’s vision of a modem, multicultural world and future is built upon such ambivalent ground as this and his work grapples with great unanswered questions—sometimes successfully, and sometimes not. The popularity of his work speaks to the resonance these themes have for his broad readership, and I suggest his use of monsters to this end both illuminate Pratchett’s own challenges with these ideas as well as reflecting on the greater societal anxiety of his era.