Susan Sto Helit
Encyclopedia
Susan Sto Helit once referred to as Susan Death, is a fictional character
in Terry Pratchett
's Discworld
series of fantasy novels. She is the "granddaughter" of Death
, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and, as such, has "inherited" a number of his abilities. She has appeared in three Discworld novels to date: Soul Music, Hogfather
, and Thief of Time
. She is also referred to (though not by name) at the end of Mort
, when her father invites Death to her christening
. She is one of the Discworld series' principal protagonist
s. Being both human and supernatural, Susan is frequently (and reluctantly) forced away from her "normal" life to do battle with various malign supernatural forces or, barring that, to take on her grandfather's job in his absence. Death tends to employ her in his battles against the Auditors of Reality
, particularly in situations where he has no power or influence. As the series progresses, she also begins to take on roles educating children, so that, as Pratchett mentions in The Art of Discworld, she has "ended up, via that unconscious evolution that dogs characters, a kind of Goth
Mary Poppins
".
daughter (introduced in The Light Fantastic
), and Mort, who was briefly Death's apprentice
in the Book Mort. At the end of Mort they leave Death's domain and become Duke and Duchess of Sto Helit. Susan is their only child.
She is first introduced as a sixteen-year-old pupil at the Quirm College for Young Ladies in Soul Music, shortly after the death of her parents. (Death could not save them, only grant them an eternal moment in his domain, which they refused.) After graduating—and despite technically being the current Duchess of Sto Helit—she begins a teaching career, first as a governess
(in Hogfather) and then as a schoolteacher (in Thief of Time). She insists on being addressed as "Miss Susan". She was 16 when first encountered in Soul Music and, since the novels take place roughly in real time, was roughly 21 during her final appearance to date in Thief of Time.
At the beginning of Soul Music, Susan is studying at Quirm College. When Death takes a holiday from his work in an attempt to forget his more troubling memories, a metaphysical
vacancy is created in the post, and Susan is 'sucked in', as Death's butler Albert puts it, forcing her to temporarily assume the role. At first, she desires to use her power to help humanity, but as the book progresses, she comes to realise that she is powerless to interfere, and discovers the inevitability of death and destiny
. Much to her relief, she is released from the position following the return of her grandfather, who breaks the rules to save the rock star Imp Y Celyn and his band.
In Hogfather, the Auditors employ Mr Teatime, an assassin
who attempts to destroy the Hogfather using teeth found at the Tooth Fairy's castle to control children. Death cannot enter the Tooth Fairy's castle because it is constructed from the imaginations of children, who have no concept of death, and therefore sends Susan to foil their plan instead. After removing all of the Auditors' human agents from the Tooth Fairy's country, Susan saves the Hogfather from being destroyed by a group of Auditors who have taken the forms of dog
s. She later kills Mr. Teatime, by impaling him with the poker she uses to threaten monsters.
Thief of Time sees Susan once again in conflict with the Auditors, who are now attempting to stop time, so they can catch up with the paperwork. She is forced to find the son of Time, whom Death cannot influence or even see, because—being only "mostly human"—the boy is not subject to death (though it turns out he is also "mostly not" human). She is aided in her mission to stop the Auditors by Lu-Tze (a philosopher/James Bond-parody) and Myria LeJean/Unity (a former Auditor who has become human). During this book, Susan is described by Time's husband, Wen the Eternally Surprised, as "Helpfulness Personified."
while she is working. In The Art of Discworld
, Paul Kidby
draws Susan in Edwardian clothing, which he feels fits well with her job as a nanny in Hogfather.
Susan has a very striking physical presence, which both Lu-Tze and Lobsang Ludd have remarked upon, and despite her relative youth, she projects a sense of great age. She possesses a birthmark on her cheek that shows itself only when she blushes
; it consists of three finger-like lines that were left on her father when Death slapped him in Mort, and which glow when she is angry. In Soul Music, she complains that, as Death's granddaughter, she should have been born with better cheekbones
. She also has a Look (always capitalised) which can be rather disconcerting, even to those in authority, such as her grandfather and the headmistress
of the school in which she teaches.
and be a little bit immortal
." As well as being able to find any living creature, Susan can sense whether or not an entity
is human. She can understand the intentions of the Death of Rats even though she cannot directly interpret its speech, and has the ability to use her grandfather's voice to command or intimidate others. This speech is indicated, similar to Death's, ""; however, unlike those of her grandfather, the words which Susan speaks in this voice are often (if not always) enclosed within quotation marks, particularly in Hogfather.
Susan has inherited Death's perfect memory
, which includes the ability to "remember the future
," and an instinct
ive knowledge of the nature of Death's work, which gives her considerable assistance during her brief time doing her grandfather's job in Soul Music. In order to keep her from going insane, her mind represses much of the knowledge provided by this memory, but even so, parts of it occasionally permeate her consciousness
, generally manifesting as premonitions or intuitive
insights into forthcoming events. In Hogfather, she states that the fragmented nature of such foresight makes the power largely unhelpful.
Like Death or experienced witches
, Susan can make herself completely unnoticeable to humans if she so chooses, though some people, such as Albert or Mustrum Ridcully, who are used to such things, are still able to see her if they concentrate and she is not actively trying to avoid their specific notice. During her time at Quirm College, she unconsciously used this power to avoid being asked questions in subjects in which she had no interest, such as Literature
and History. Unfortunately, this caused the teachers of these subjects to believe that Susan was not attending their classes, and she was reported to the headmistress on several occasions. However, this did not pose much of a problem, since she would merely use her power to erase the headmistress' memory of her supposed misconduct.
She possesses a unique perspective on life, in that she lacks the normal human ability to ignore things which do not fit in with a logical world-view: in Soul Music, she is able to acknowledge the enormous size of the rooms in Death's Domain, whereas most humans can only deal with the incomprehensible vastness by pretending it is not there; Hogfather reveals that she shares the ability of witches, wizards and young children to see things which are invisible to most people, such as the tooth fairy
, monsters and bogeymen; in Thief of Time, she is able to identify the historical anomalies created by the History Monks
' reconstruction of the shattered timeline. The latter novel also reveals that Susan possesses a sort of hyperawareness of the world around her, in that she is "aware of every step of the rocks beneath [her] feet and the star
s overhead."
On various occasions, unusual circumstances have rendered some or all of Susan's powers useless: In Hogfather, she becomes completely human and finds herself bereft of her inherited gifts upon entering the Tooth Fairy's castle. This is because the laws of reality within the castle are based on the beliefs of children, which do not include a concept of death; hence the part of Susan which is derived from Death does not exist there. In Thief of Time, Susan finds herself unable to walk through walls whilst time is being held in stasis. She speculates that the energy of the glass clock which is holding time static is in some way interfering with her power.
Due in part to her education at Quirm College for Young Ladies, Susan possesses various practical skills, some of which contribute to her success as a governess and later a teacher: she is accomplished in the fields of Mathematics
and Logic
(priding herself on her ability to mentally calculate the square root
of 27.4), is multilingual
, and has considerable knowledge of Discworld
culture
. She is also a competent swimmer, being versed in four swimming strokes and several lifesaving
techniques.
Despite coming from a technically purely human background, Susan has inherited abilities from her adoptive Grandfather through a way that is more than conventional means: Into Death's family Ysabell was merely adopted
, into Death's family Mort merely married
, but, into Death's family, Susan was conceived and born
; "some things were inherited through more than genetics
...some things were inherited through the soul
...some things were in the bone
s."
side of the world (beyond basic magic) even existed. This is not surprising, given the fact that her parents had informed her from a very early age that there were no such things as the Soul Cake Duck, the Hogfather or the Tooth Fairy. It has even been suggested that her parents chose to name her Susan specifically because of the sensible and conventional connotations of the name. This upbringing has instilled in her a certain lack of romanticism; her personal appraisal of "a poem about daffodils
" is, "Apparently the poet had liked them very much." She can be relied upon to keep her head in a crisis, something she tends to view as a character flaw.
Latterly, she accepts that she is part of the same world as the Hogfather and the Tooth Fairy—she just wishes she wasn't. Indeed, in Hogfather, she is seen to be making an immense effort to remain 'normal', carefully limiting her use of her inherited powers and forcing herself to act in as 'human' a way as possible. She mentions having great difficulty in remembering things which other humans take for granted, such as the purpose of doorknobs, the way to fall asleep
and how to forget things, but argues that if she were to abandon this struggle and give herself fully to her supernatural side she would lose her humanity. However, in Thief of Time, though still resentful of having been born Death's granddaughter and attempting to avoid too much contact with the supernatural world, she appears to have accepted and even embraced her heritage: she admits, albeit grudgingly, that she is not completely human, frequently uses her powers to provide teaching aids, and views herself as an exception to the rules of normal human society, as evidenced by her willingness to investigate the personal papers of her employer, Madame Frout, without her knowledge.
In following with her practical outlook on life, Susan does not have a great deal of patience with people who behave in an inefficient or unfocussed fashion. She also has a certain distrust for philosophy
, disliking its attempts to oversimplify an inherently complicated world.
She appears to have a preference for the colour black
, in that most of her childhood drawings were done in this colour (mentioned in Soul Music). This fixation is not as extreme as that which her mother possessed for the colour pink
, and may in fact be a characteristic inherited from Death, who made most of the decorations for his Domain black. She does, however, possess an intense fixation on chocolate
(provided there is no nougat
in it), one about which she is very defensive.
Another aspect of her personality
which may stem from her relationship with Death is the fact that she is, by her own admission, "not very music
al" (her grandfather also possessed a distinct lack of talent in the field of music, making several unsuccessful attempts to learn how to play the violin
). However, this may be the result of her aforementioned upbringing in which imagination
and creativity
were not encouraged to any degree, making it more of an environmentally instilled trait than an inherited one.
Susan has, on several occasions, demonstrated rather unusual attitudes toward school and education
in general: In Soul Music, she cites school as one of the greatest obstacles to education, and in Hogfather, she compares being educated to having a communicable sexual disease
, in that "It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on".
She has expressed a fondness for children, as long as they are "not raw", (hopefully) meaning that although the idea of having children herself does not appeal to her, she enjoys spending time with those of other people. She also demonstrates an insight into the more disturbing aspects of childhood
nature, as she enjoys listening to the sound of children playing while she is reading, but always positions herself at such a distance that she is unable to hear what the children are saying, lest she find it unsettling. Because of this insight, she has a knack for putting problem children (such as those who try to get around her rules) in their place.
in the cupboard
or under the bed
, most parents would go to great lengths to carefully explain to the child that there is no monster. Susan, on the other hand, simply hands the child a suitable weapon
with which to assault the monster, or goes and does it herself. Monsters from a wide area have come to dread the fireplace poker she uses for this task, although as word of Susan has quickly spread among the city's resident monsters, she lately has only needed to deal with newcomers. Her practical nature is very similar to Granny Weatherwax
's headology, though the two are used in different fashions.
Her approach in other areas is also unusual. For example, in her role as a governess she has found that her charges' reading progress has been greatly enhanced by using interesting books which are slightly too difficult for them, and which therefore present something of a challenge. Parents may, however, have reservations about her choice of General Tacticus' Campaigns as a reader, since it may be argued that the ability to spell 'disembowelled
' is not necessarily needed by children under ten. When other adults point out that children should find these exercises too hard to do, Susan acknowledges this but points out that she hasn't told the children this and so far they seem to not be bothered about it.
Using her powers as a teaching aid in her career
as a schoolteacher, Susan is sufficiently successful as to have parents clamouring in large numbers to have their child included in her class. Her approach to history
and geography
, often subjects which children find rather dull, has particularly captured her class's attention. The occasional need to remove from their children's clothing dried-in blood
stains or ground-in swamp mud is generally seen by parents as more than compensated for by the broad education being received—a child's description of one of the classic battles from Ankh-Morpork
's long history, for example, might be sufficiently vivid and detailed to make the parent think that the description could not have been improved upon if the child had actually seen the battle at first hand, (which in fact he has, given the flexibility of time and space Susan has inherited from her grandfather.)
Susan's role as a caregiver
to children, combined with her no-nonsense style and almost magical flair for stick-like weaponry (e.g. her grandfather's scythe
, field hockey stick
s, a fireplace poker), could be seen as a parody of Mary Poppins
. Mary Poppins also had a very similar attitude while actively encouraging positive imagination (Susan tends to say things like "Real children don't go hoppity-skip unless they're on drugs"), took children on magical adventures (Susan does so to teach geography), introduced children to supernatural creatures (Susan employs such beings as guest speakers, including her own grandfather), and had a magic umbrella
(which, while not used as a blunt object, was magical much like Death's scythe). Neither character openly acknowledges their magical powers. In fact, both tend toward being actively insulted when reminded of their use. The link between Susan and Mary Poppins is explicitly alluded to in Hogfather, when Susan states that "She'd sworn that if she did indeed ever find herself dancing on roof
tops with chimney sweep
s, she'd beat herself to death with her own umbrella."
, Pratchett describes Susan as "rather chilly", and Susan herself admits in Thief of Time that she finds it difficult to relate to other humans on a personal level because the supernatural parts of her mind tend to view mortal creatures as nothing more than "a temporary collection of atom
s that [will] not be around in another few decades". She has yet to demonstrate much affection for others, though her relationship with her grandfather, once strained, improves over the course of the series. Despite this, she finds herself unable to trust him completely because of the way he occasionally manipulates her into helping him.
of Soul Music
, Susan was voiced by Debra Gillett
.
live-action adaptation of Hogfather the character was played by Michelle Dockery
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
's Discworld
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
series of fantasy novels. She is the "granddaughter" of Death
Death (Discworld)
Death is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and a parody of several other personifications of death. Like most Grim Reapers, he is a black-robed skeleton usually carrying a scythe...
, the Disc's Grim Reaper, and, as such, has "inherited" a number of his abilities. She has appeared in three Discworld novels to date: Soul Music, Hogfather
Hogfather
Hogfather is the 20th Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, and a 1997 British Fantasy Award nominee.The Hogfather is also a character in the book, representing something akin to Father Christmas. He grants children's wishes on Hogswatchnight and brings them presents...
, and Thief of Time
Thief of Time
Thief of Time is the 26th Discworld novel written by Terry Pratchett, a 2002 Locus Award nominee.-Plot summary:The Auditors are upset because the human race are living their lives in - what the Auditors consider to be - an unpredictable way...
. She is also referred to (though not by name) at the end of Mort
Mort
Mort is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1987, it is the fourth Discworld novel and the first to focus on the Death of the Discworld, who only appeared as a side character in the previous novels...
, when her father invites Death to her christening
Infant baptism
Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. In theological discussions, the practice is sometimes referred to as paedobaptism or pedobaptism from the Greek pais meaning "child." The practice is sometimes contrasted with what is called "believer's baptism", or...
. She is one of the Discworld series' principal protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s. Being both human and supernatural, Susan is frequently (and reluctantly) forced away from her "normal" life to do battle with various malign supernatural forces or, barring that, to take on her grandfather's job in his absence. Death tends to employ her in his battles against the Auditors of Reality
Auditors of Reality
The Auditors of Reality are fictional godlike beings in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. They are one of the major recurring villains in the series, although they lack the necessary imagination to be truly evil....
, particularly in situations where he has no power or influence. As the series progresses, she also begins to take on roles educating children, so that, as Pratchett mentions in The Art of Discworld, she has "ended up, via that unconscious evolution that dogs characters, a kind of Goth
Goth subculture
The goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in England during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins is a series of children's books written by P. L. Travers and originally illustrated by Mary Shepard. The books centre on a magical English nanny, Mary Poppins. She is blown by the East wind to Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London and into the Banks' household to care for their...
".
Character
Susan is the daughter of Ysabell, Death's adoptedAdoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
daughter (introduced in The Light Fantastic
The Light Fantastic
The Light Fantastic is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the second of the Discworld series. It was published in 1986. The title is a quote from a poem by John Milton and in the original context referred to dancing lightly with extravagance....
), and Mort, who was briefly Death's apprentice
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
in the Book Mort. At the end of Mort they leave Death's domain and become Duke and Duchess of Sto Helit. Susan is their only child.
She is first introduced as a sixteen-year-old pupil at the Quirm College for Young Ladies in Soul Music, shortly after the death of her parents. (Death could not save them, only grant them an eternal moment in his domain, which they refused.) After graduating—and despite technically being the current Duchess of Sto Helit—she begins a teaching career, first as a governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
(in Hogfather) and then as a schoolteacher (in Thief of Time). She insists on being addressed as "Miss Susan". She was 16 when first encountered in Soul Music and, since the novels take place roughly in real time, was roughly 21 during her final appearance to date in Thief of Time.
At the beginning of Soul Music, Susan is studying at Quirm College. When Death takes a holiday from his work in an attempt to forget his more troubling memories, a metaphysical
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
vacancy is created in the post, and Susan is 'sucked in', as Death's butler Albert puts it, forcing her to temporarily assume the role. At first, she desires to use her power to help humanity, but as the book progresses, she comes to realise that she is powerless to interfere, and discovers the inevitability of death and destiny
Destiny
Destiny or fate refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual...
. Much to her relief, she is released from the position following the return of her grandfather, who breaks the rules to save the rock star Imp Y Celyn and his band.
In Hogfather, the Auditors employ Mr Teatime, an assassin
Ankh-Morpork Assassins' Guild
The Ankh-Morpork Assassins' Guild is a fictional school for professional killers in Terry Pratchett's long-running Discworld series of fantasy novels...
who attempts to destroy the Hogfather using teeth found at the Tooth Fairy's castle to control children. Death cannot enter the Tooth Fairy's castle because it is constructed from the imaginations of children, who have no concept of death, and therefore sends Susan to foil their plan instead. After removing all of the Auditors' human agents from the Tooth Fairy's country, Susan saves the Hogfather from being destroyed by a group of Auditors who have taken the forms of dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s. She later kills Mr. Teatime, by impaling him with the poker she uses to threaten monsters.
Thief of Time sees Susan once again in conflict with the Auditors, who are now attempting to stop time, so they can catch up with the paperwork. She is forced to find the son of Time, whom Death cannot influence or even see, because—being only "mostly human"—the boy is not subject to death (though it turns out he is also "mostly not" human). She is aided in her mission to stop the Auditors by Lu-Tze (a philosopher/James Bond-parody) and Myria LeJean/Unity (a former Auditor who has become human). During this book, Susan is described by Time's husband, Wen the Eternally Surprised, as "Helpfulness Personified."
Physical appearance
Susan is a "slightly built young woman"; both Mustrum Ridcully and Terry Pratchett himself have described her as being "attractive in a skinny way". Her hair is pure white, but with a streak of black running through it from end to end. Although its natural state is a frizzy mass reminiscent of a dandelion, it rearranges its style of its own accord depending on Susan's mood; it tends to form a tight bunBun (hairstyle)
A bun is a type of hairstyle, typically worn by women, where the hair is pulled back from the face, twisted or plaited, and wrapped in a circular coil around itself, typically on the back of the head or neck. They can either be secured with a hairpiece, a hairnet and bobby pins. They may be...
while she is working. In The Art of Discworld
The Art of Discworld
The Art of Discworld is a descriptive book of the world of the Discworld as portrayed in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. It showcases the art of Paul Kidby with descriptions of characters and locations by Pratchett and some details of the development of the art by Kidby himself.The book...
, Paul Kidby
Paul Kidby
Paul Kidby is an English artist. He was born in Northolt and is currently living and working in Fordingbridge, New Forest. Many people know him best for his art based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld, which has been included as the sleeve covers since Josh Kirby died in 2001.He drew a lot during...
draws Susan in Edwardian clothing, which he feels fits well with her job as a nanny in Hogfather.
Susan has a very striking physical presence, which both Lu-Tze and Lobsang Ludd have remarked upon, and despite her relative youth, she projects a sense of great age. She possesses a birthmark on her cheek that shows itself only when she blushes
Blushing
Blushing refers to the involuntary reddening of a person's face due to embarrassment or emotional stress, though it has been known to come from being lovestruck, or from some kind of romantic stimulation. It is thought that blushing is the result of an overactive sympathetic nervous system...
; it consists of three finger-like lines that were left on her father when Death slapped him in Mort, and which glow when she is angry. In Soul Music, she complains that, as Death's granddaughter, she should have been born with better cheekbones
Zygomatic bone
The zygomatic bone is a paired bone of the human skull. It articulates with the maxilla, the temporal bone, the sphenoid bone and the frontal bone. The zygomatic is homologous to the jugal bone of other tetrapods...
. She also has a Look (always capitalised) which can be rather disconcerting, even to those in authority, such as her grandfather and the headmistress
Head teacher
A head teacher or school principal is the most senior teacher, leader and manager of a school....
of the school in which she teaches.
Powers and abilities
Despite only being Death's adoptive granddaughter, Susan has inherited certain of his abilities: She can "walk through walls and live outside timeTime
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
and be a little bit immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
." As well as being able to find any living creature, Susan can sense whether or not an entity
Entity
An entity is something that has a distinct, separate existence, although it need not be a material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually regarded as entities. In general, there is also no presumption that an entity is animate.An entity could be viewed as a set...
is human. She can understand the intentions of the Death of Rats even though she cannot directly interpret its speech, and has the ability to use her grandfather's voice to command or intimidate others. This speech is indicated, similar to Death's, ""; however, unlike those of her grandfather, the words which Susan speaks in this voice are often (if not always) enclosed within quotation marks, particularly in Hogfather.
Susan has inherited Death's perfect memory
Eidetic memory
Eidetic , commonly referred to as photographic memory, is a medical term, popularly defined as the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme precision and in abundant volume. The word eidetic, referring to extraordinarily detailed and vivid recall not limited to, but...
, which includes the ability to "remember the future
Future
The future is the indefinite time period after the present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the nature of the reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist is temporary and will come...
," and an instinct
Instinct
Instinct or innate behavior is the inherent inclination of a living organism toward a particular behavior.The simplest example of an instinctive behavior is a fixed action pattern, in which a very short to medium length sequence of actions, without variation, are carried out in response to a...
ive knowledge of the nature of Death's work, which gives her considerable assistance during her brief time doing her grandfather's job in Soul Music. In order to keep her from going insane, her mind represses much of the knowledge provided by this memory, but even so, parts of it occasionally permeate her consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
, generally manifesting as premonitions or intuitive
Intuition (knowledge)
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
insights into forthcoming events. In Hogfather, she states that the fragmented nature of such foresight makes the power largely unhelpful.
Like Death or experienced witches
Witches (Discworld)
A major subset of the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett involves the witches of Lancre. They are closely based on witches in British folklore and a slightly tongue-in-cheek reinterpretation of the Triple Goddess....
, Susan can make herself completely unnoticeable to humans if she so chooses, though some people, such as Albert or Mustrum Ridcully, who are used to such things, are still able to see her if they concentrate and she is not actively trying to avoid their specific notice. During her time at Quirm College, she unconsciously used this power to avoid being asked questions in subjects in which she had no interest, such as Literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and History. Unfortunately, this caused the teachers of these subjects to believe that Susan was not attending their classes, and she was reported to the headmistress on several occasions. However, this did not pose much of a problem, since she would merely use her power to erase the headmistress' memory of her supposed misconduct.
She possesses a unique perspective on life, in that she lacks the normal human ability to ignore things which do not fit in with a logical world-view: in Soul Music, she is able to acknowledge the enormous size of the rooms in Death's Domain, whereas most humans can only deal with the incomprehensible vastness by pretending it is not there; Hogfather reveals that she shares the ability of witches, wizards and young children to see things which are invisible to most people, such as the tooth fairy
Tooth fairy
The tooth fairy is a fantasy figure of early childhood. The folklore states that when a child loses a baby tooth, if he or she places it beneath the bed pillow, the tooth fairy will visit while the child sleeps, replacing the lost tooth with a small payment....
, monsters and bogeymen; in Thief of Time, she is able to identify the historical anomalies created by the History Monks
History Monks
The Order of Wen the Eternally Surprised, better known as the History Monks, and also sometimes referred to as THE Fighting Order of Wen, the Men In Saffron and No Such Monastery , is a highly secretive religious organisation in the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett, based in the Monastery of...
' reconstruction of the shattered timeline. The latter novel also reveals that Susan possesses a sort of hyperawareness of the world around her, in that she is "aware of every step of the rocks beneath [her] feet and the star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
s overhead."
On various occasions, unusual circumstances have rendered some or all of Susan's powers useless: In Hogfather, she becomes completely human and finds herself bereft of her inherited gifts upon entering the Tooth Fairy's castle. This is because the laws of reality within the castle are based on the beliefs of children, which do not include a concept of death; hence the part of Susan which is derived from Death does not exist there. In Thief of Time, Susan finds herself unable to walk through walls whilst time is being held in stasis. She speculates that the energy of the glass clock which is holding time static is in some way interfering with her power.
Due in part to her education at Quirm College for Young Ladies, Susan possesses various practical skills, some of which contribute to her success as a governess and later a teacher: she is accomplished in the fields of Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
(priding herself on her ability to mentally calculate the square root
Square root
In mathematics, a square root of a number x is a number r such that r2 = x, or, in other words, a number r whose square is x...
of 27.4), is multilingual
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
, and has considerable knowledge of Discworld
Discworld (world)
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc resting on the backs of four huge elephants which are in turn standing on the back of an enormous turtle, named Great A'Tuin as it slowly swims...
culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
. She is also a competent swimmer, being versed in four swimming strokes and several lifesaving
Lifesaving
Lifesaving is the act involving rescue, resuscitation and first aid. It often refers to water safety and aquatic rescue however it could include ice rescue, flood and river rescue, swimming pool rescue and other emergency medical services. Lifesaving also refers to sport where lifesavers compete...
techniques.
Despite coming from a technically purely human background, Susan has inherited abilities from her adoptive Grandfather through a way that is more than conventional means: Into Death's family Ysabell was merely adopted
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, into Death's family Mort merely married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, but, into Death's family, Susan was conceived and born
Born
Born may refer to:* Childbirth* Born , a limited series comic book featuring the Punisher* Born Feinkost GmbH, a German food company* Born , a lunar crater-Places:* Born, Netherlands, a town in the Netherlands...
; "some things were inherited through more than genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
...some things were inherited through the soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
...some things were in the bone
Bone
Bones are rigid organs that constitute part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. They support, and protect the various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bone tissue is a type of dense connective tissue...
s."
Personality and traits
Susan's most obvious character trait is being sensible, an attribute carefully cultivated by her parents as a counterbalance to the influence of her grandfather. Initially, this manifested itself as a refusal to admit the supernaturalSupernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
side of the world (beyond basic magic) even existed. This is not surprising, given the fact that her parents had informed her from a very early age that there were no such things as the Soul Cake Duck, the Hogfather or the Tooth Fairy. It has even been suggested that her parents chose to name her Susan specifically because of the sensible and conventional connotations of the name. This upbringing has instilled in her a certain lack of romanticism; her personal appraisal of "a poem about daffodils
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" is a poem by William Wordsworth.It was inspired by an April 15, 1802 event in which Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, came across a "long belt" of daffodils...
" is, "Apparently the poet had liked them very much." She can be relied upon to keep her head in a crisis, something she tends to view as a character flaw.
Latterly, she accepts that she is part of the same world as the Hogfather and the Tooth Fairy—she just wishes she wasn't. Indeed, in Hogfather, she is seen to be making an immense effort to remain 'normal', carefully limiting her use of her inherited powers and forcing herself to act in as 'human' a way as possible. She mentions having great difficulty in remembering things which other humans take for granted, such as the purpose of doorknobs, the way to fall asleep
Sleep
Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than...
and how to forget things, but argues that if she were to abandon this struggle and give herself fully to her supernatural side she would lose her humanity. However, in Thief of Time, though still resentful of having been born Death's granddaughter and attempting to avoid too much contact with the supernatural world, she appears to have accepted and even embraced her heritage: she admits, albeit grudgingly, that she is not completely human, frequently uses her powers to provide teaching aids, and views herself as an exception to the rules of normal human society, as evidenced by her willingness to investigate the personal papers of her employer, Madame Frout, without her knowledge.
In following with her practical outlook on life, Susan does not have a great deal of patience with people who behave in an inefficient or unfocussed fashion. She also has a certain distrust for philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, disliking its attempts to oversimplify an inherently complicated world.
She appears to have a preference for the colour black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
, in that most of her childhood drawings were done in this colour (mentioned in Soul Music). This fixation is not as extreme as that which her mother possessed for the colour pink
Pink
Pink is a mixture of red and white. Commonly used for Valentine's Day and Easter, pink is sometimes referred to as "the color of love." The use of the word for the color known today as pink was first recorded in the late 17th century....
, and may in fact be a characteristic inherited from Death, who made most of the decorations for his Domain black. She does, however, possess an intense fixation on chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
(provided there is no nougat
Nougat
Nougat is a variety of similar traditional confectioneries made with sugar and/or honey, roasted nuts , and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The consistency of nougat can range from soft and chewy to hard and crunchy depending on its composition, and it is used in a variety of candy bars and...
in it), one about which she is very defensive.
Another aspect of her personality
Personality psychology
Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and individual differences. Its areas of focus include:* Constructing a coherent picture of the individual and his or her major psychological processes...
which may stem from her relationship with Death is the fact that she is, by her own admission, "not very music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
al" (her grandfather also possessed a distinct lack of talent in the field of music, making several unsuccessful attempts to learn how to play the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
). However, this may be the result of her aforementioned upbringing in which imagination
Imagination
Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
and creativity
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
were not encouraged to any degree, making it more of an environmentally instilled trait than an inherited one.
Susan has, on several occasions, demonstrated rather unusual attitudes toward school and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
in general: In Soul Music, she cites school as one of the greatest obstacles to education, and in Hogfather, she compares being educated to having a communicable sexual disease
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
, in that "It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on".
She has expressed a fondness for children, as long as they are "not raw", (hopefully) meaning that although the idea of having children herself does not appeal to her, she enjoys spending time with those of other people. She also demonstrates an insight into the more disturbing aspects of childhood
Childhood
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
nature, as she enjoys listening to the sound of children playing while she is reading, but always positions herself at such a distance that she is unable to hear what the children are saying, lest she find it unsettling. Because of this insight, she has a knack for putting problem children (such as those who try to get around her rules) in their place.
Teaching methods
As the novels progress, Susan proves to be quite good at handling small children, a skill that is attributed to her sensible and practical nature. This is reflected in her novel approach to children's problems. When a child complains about a monsterMonster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
in the cupboard
Cupboard
A cupboard or press is a type of cabinet, often made of wood, used indoors to store household objects such as food, crockery, textiles and liquor, and protect them from dust,vermin and dirt....
or under the bed
Bed
A bed is a large piece of furniture used as a place to sleep, relax, or engage in sexual relations.Most modern beds consist of a mattress on a bed frame, with the mattress resting either on a solid base, often wooden slats, or a sprung base...
, most parents would go to great lengths to carefully explain to the child that there is no monster. Susan, on the other hand, simply hands the child a suitable weapon
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
with which to assault the monster, or goes and does it herself. Monsters from a wide area have come to dread the fireplace poker she uses for this task, although as word of Susan has quickly spread among the city's resident monsters, she lately has only needed to deal with newcomers. Her practical nature is very similar to Granny Weatherwax
Granny Weatherwax
Esmerelda "Esme" Weatherwax is a fictional character from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. She is a witch and member of the Lancre coven. She is the self-appointed guardian of her small country, and frequently defends it against supernatural powers...
's headology, though the two are used in different fashions.
Her approach in other areas is also unusual. For example, in her role as a governess she has found that her charges' reading progress has been greatly enhanced by using interesting books which are slightly too difficult for them, and which therefore present something of a challenge. Parents may, however, have reservations about her choice of General Tacticus' Campaigns as a reader, since it may be argued that the ability to spell 'disembowelled
Disembowelment
Disembowelment is the removal of some or all of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract , usually through a horizontal incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment may result from an accident, but has also been used as a method of torture and execution...
' is not necessarily needed by children under ten. When other adults point out that children should find these exercises too hard to do, Susan acknowledges this but points out that she hasn't told the children this and so far they seem to not be bothered about it.
Using her powers as a teaching aid in her career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
as a schoolteacher, Susan is sufficiently successful as to have parents clamouring in large numbers to have their child included in her class. Her approach to history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, often subjects which children find rather dull, has particularly captured her class's attention. The occasional need to remove from their children's clothing dried-in blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
stains or ground-in swamp mud is generally seen by parents as more than compensated for by the broad education being received—a child's description of one of the classic battles from Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork
Ankh-Morpork is a fictional city-state which prominently features in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. As cities go, it is on the far side of corrupt and polluted, and is subject to outbreaks of comedic violence and brouhaha on a fairly regular basis...
's long history, for example, might be sufficiently vivid and detailed to make the parent think that the description could not have been improved upon if the child had actually seen the battle at first hand, (which in fact he has, given the flexibility of time and space Susan has inherited from her grandfather.)
Susan's role as a caregiver
Caregiver
Caregiver may refer to:* Caregiver or carer - an unpaid person who cares for someone requiring support due to a disability, frailty, mental health problem, learning disability or old age...
to children, combined with her no-nonsense style and almost magical flair for stick-like weaponry (e.g. her grandfather's scythe
Scythe
A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
, field hockey stick
Field hockey stick
In field hockey, each player carries a stick and cannot take part in the game without it. The stick is usually between 36" and 38" long and traditionally made of wood but now almost all the more expensive sticks are composite, that is made of a number of materials...
s, a fireplace poker), could be seen as a parody of Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (character)
Mary Poppins is a fictional character and the protagonist of P. L. Travers' Mary Poppins books and all of its adaptations. She is a magical nanny of unknown origins who arrives at the Banks home in Cherry Tree Lane where she is given charge of the Banks children and teaches them valuable lessons...
. Mary Poppins also had a very similar attitude while actively encouraging positive imagination (Susan tends to say things like "Real children don't go hoppity-skip unless they're on drugs"), took children on magical adventures (Susan does so to teach geography), introduced children to supernatural creatures (Susan employs such beings as guest speakers, including her own grandfather), and had a magic umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
(which, while not used as a blunt object, was magical much like Death's scythe). Neither character openly acknowledges their magical powers. In fact, both tend toward being actively insulted when reminded of their use. The link between Susan and Mary Poppins is explicitly alluded to in Hogfather, when Susan states that "She'd sworn that if she did indeed ever find herself dancing on roof
Roof
A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a building. A roof protects the building and its contents from the effects of weather. Structures that require roofs range from a letter box to a cathedral or stadium, dwellings being the most numerous....
tops with chimney sweep
Chimney sweep
A chimney sweep is a worker who clears ash and soot from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys may be straight or contain many changes of direction. During...
s, she'd beat herself to death with her own umbrella."
Relationships
In The Art of DiscworldThe Art of Discworld
The Art of Discworld is a descriptive book of the world of the Discworld as portrayed in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. It showcases the art of Paul Kidby with descriptions of characters and locations by Pratchett and some details of the development of the art by Kidby himself.The book...
, Pratchett describes Susan as "rather chilly", and Susan herself admits in Thief of Time that she finds it difficult to relate to other humans on a personal level because the supernatural parts of her mind tend to view mortal creatures as nothing more than "a temporary collection of atom
Atom
The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
s that [will] not be around in another few decades". She has yet to demonstrate much affection for others, though her relationship with her grandfather, once strained, improves over the course of the series. Despite this, she finds herself unable to trust him completely because of the way he occasionally manipulates her into helping him.
Romantic relationships
Though Susan was previously infatuated with rocker Imp Y Celyn (Soul Music), Thief of Time ended with an unspecified "perfect moment" between Susan and Lobsang Ludd, the new anthropomorphic personification of Time. Though the moment itself was not described, Ludd caught her attention by levitating metallic silver and gold stars and setting them spinning about near the ceiling of the Stationery Cupboard, and dimming the lighting to velvety darkness, both rather romantic gestures. Also, Myria (later known as Unity) bluntly questioned Susan as to whether or not she had romantic intentions in regard to the boy, to which Susan responded with the defensive attitude she usually reserves for her fondness of chocolates.Animation
In the Cosgrove Hall animationAnimation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
of Soul Music
Soul Music (TV series)
Soul Music is a seven-part animated television adaptation of the book of the same name by Terry Pratchett, produced by Cosgrove Hall, and first broadcast on 12 May 1997. It was the first film adaptation of an entire Discworld novel...
, Susan was voiced by Debra Gillett
Debra Gillett
Debra Gillett is a British actress who has been active since 1990 and appeared in productions including The Witches, Chimera, Truckers, Casualty, Just William, Dalziel and Pascoe, Spooks, Doctor Who, Wyrd Sisters and Cranford....
.
Live action
In the Sky OneSky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
live-action adaptation of Hogfather the character was played by Michelle Dockery
Michelle Dockery
Michelle Dockery is an English actress of stage and screen. She has become best known for her role as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV drama series Downton Abbey...
.