15 February 2005

Andre Norton's The Witch World: Does it Hold Up for the Harry Potter Crowd?
by P. Andrew Miller

P. Andrew Miller has written in a variety of genres. His fantasy fiction has appeared in Sword & Sorceress #13 and #19, Twice Upon a Time, Dragon Magazine, www.fables.org and in many other venues. He has also had fiction appear in Love Under Foot and the Licking River Review. His has published poetry in The Blue Writer and the MacGuffin, among others. He is assistant professor in the Department of Literature and Language at Northern Kentucky University where he teaches creative writing classes as well as classes on the graphic novel, myth and magic, and supermen and wonder women.

I have been lucky that for the last several years I have been able to create courses for our University Honors Program. One course that I developed and have now taught twice is called "Myth and Magic." In this course, I use mostly contemporary fantasy novels and movies that have myth or mythic themes. One of the troubles with teaching a course like this is that contemporary novels tend to go out of print quickly. So this year, I was forced to find a few new selections for the course. While searching for appropriate texts, I discovered that Andre Norton's Witch World was back in print in a collection called The Gates to the Witch World (Orb Books, 2003.) The collection also includes Web of the Witch World and Year of the Unicorn. Though I only planned on using the first novel, I went ahead and ordered the book for my class.

My rationale was simple. First, I had enjoyed the Witch World when I was younger, reading through most of the novels as well as most of Norton's other works. Second, I knew that Norton was especially influential for many future female authors and fans who grew up in the sixties and seventies. As the first female Grandmaster of Science Fiction and an active writer, Norton would be a good place to start the course. Since I was also using an article by Roger Schlobin ("The Craving for Meaning" Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts 5.1, 1992) about allegory in fantasy that referenced the Witch World, it made sense to make the book the first reading assignment, following the showing of Miyazaki's Spirited Away.

The class was small, only 14 students, mixed between long-time fantasy readers and those who took the class for more pragmatic reasons than the topic. The class was taught seminar-style, sitting around a large table with concentrated discussion among me and the students. The students were also partially responsible for generating class discussion and writing up notes that they turned in for a grade. The notes consisted of questions the students would like to see addressed in that day's class, as well as background for each text. Many students researched each chosen topic on the Internet.

We had a lot of good discussion about a variety of topics concerning Norton. We discussed the fact that the four main characters in the novel were not the standard "beautiful" people often found in fantasy literature and were, in fact, all outcasts (another familiar trope in fantasy). We talked about the idea of whether or not fantasy is inherently anti-technology. One student decided to write a final research paper on that very topic. We looked at the various societies in the Witch World and what they might have represented or been allegorical for here on our planet. We talked about such bits of folklore as the power of a true name, which echoed nicely with a plot element from Spirited Away, and the idea of the king under the hill, in the character of Volt. We had many days of good discussion.

Reaction to Witch World was mixed. Half the students really liked it and thought I should use it again, while half didn't like it and thought I should find a new text for the class. When asked, some of the students who liked it said it was because of its influence on the field. Since more than half the class were women, many liked the strong female characters in the novel. A few liked Norton's writing style.

Those who didn't care for the novel mostly said the same thing: It was slow. One student said it was the longest book she had read, though it was the shortest in length. I think this complaint partly stems from Norton's writing style, which many felt was old-fashioned. Also, I think today's readers are more interested in fast-paced novels with shorter scenes. We ended the semester with Terry Pratchett's Hogfather, which they all liked. They also liked his very short scenes.

More of the non-fantasy readers disliked the novel because they felt they were missing something. They felt that Norton was using a language or assuming an audience that they were not part of. Norton propels Simon Tregarth into Escarp and the readers with him. Those familiar with fantasy conventions were more familiar with this technique. Also, the names of the characters and the more medieval-style of clothing and weapons weren't as familiar to non-fantasy readers.

We also read Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Gaiman saw his audience as a mainstream audience. Students had an easier time with that novel for this reason, plus the fact that it was more contemporary. Even though Wednesday and the other gods of Gaiman's novel were unfamiliar to most of my students, Shadow and the time-frame were, and that helped ground them. Gaiman also uses some humor, which Norton doesn't. Pratchett's completely humorous novel was the biggest hit.

Of course, for most of my students, there was nothing particularly new in Witch World. They were used to strong female characters through either reading Harry Potter or other such novels, or watching such TV shows as Charmed or Buffy. Even the non-fantasy readers had seen or at least heard of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings in the movie version. Some could appreciate the Witch World's significance, though many had little understanding of its historical context. (During the discussion of a different text, I mentioned apartheid. One student wanted to know what that was.)

Overall, I was glad I used the Witch World, especially as the first novel we read. (Besides American Gods and Hogfather, we also read Legends Walking by Jane Lindskold and A Scattering of Jades by Alex Irvine). The Witch World set a nice tone for the class and what the students could expect in terms of class discussion, ideas we were looking at, and the connections I wanted them to make between fantasy literature and our own society. I will probably teach the course again in two years. At this point, I will probably use the book again, though I may provide a stronger introduction to the author prior to beginning. Norton's work is a classic in the field and worthy of our attention. Even if students don't like the book, it can be useful. As I have often said while teaching my Introduction to Literature classes, you don't have to like a story to learn something from it.