"Some Genetics Are Passed on Via the Soul:" The Curious Case of Susan Sto-Helit

Abstract

While Terry Pratchett created several memorable female characters, this article focuses on Susan Sto-Helit, Deathʼs granddaughter, who, due to the fact that she saves the world in all the three novels she is featured in ("Soul Music", "Hogfather" and "Thief of Time"), definitely qualifies as a heroine. Therefore, I find it quite surprising that Gideon Haberkornʼs article, “Cultural Palimpsests: Terry Pratchettʼs New Fantasy Heroes” (2008) repeatedly excludes her from the discussion as hardly part of the evolution of the barbarian hero, and because of “the complicated way in which Susan and several others of Pratchettʼs female protagonists interact with the hero discourse, especially that of the fantasy hero.” In my view, the figure of Susan definitely deserves attention since her relationship to the hero-discourse and her unique position on Discworld, as mostly human and part immortal, are intertwined with Pratchettʼs refusal to work with gender stereotypes. The article investigates Susanʼs character development and coming to terms with her special skills that partly enable her to become a heroine, her possession of both typically male and female characteristics and the way she uses them in different situations, as well as the question of her humanity and the power that seems to come with being not completely immortal like Death. The question whether her ability to “give life” is linked to her being a woman is also addressed.