Some Liz Thoughts on Discworld

  Definition of angel.  folk belief, mystic belief version.  Sometimes it 's used like that in the bible, but it' s more complex than that. Well actually simpler.  The Greek word angel means a messenger. It can be a heavenly messanger true but in the ancient world, in fact until recently, messengers were a regular and essential part of life.  In the gospels an 'angel' is sent, ie messenger to take a message in Luke 7v22, Luke 9v52, John 13v16. All translated messenger, but the same Greek word is transliterated elsewhere just as angel. Ho hum. Not good translation practice including the religious biases.  In this I really think they should have let people decide because in fact so called angels could be a paid messanger like they had paid scribes in public places to write or read for people, no phones of course. Letters were expensive and slow. In the armed forces they called it sending a runner. Any big employer would have people waiting around to run erran...

  Motivation of the criminals I think TP deliberately portrays the criminals as each different, each with classic motivations, playing with lists like he likes to do, remember Carpe Jugulum where he works through lots of different types of parenting, and so on. Anyway -  Although it’s impossible to diagnose correctly at a distance and of a fictional character I think TP is trying to portray Teatime (not a Johntom thing to my knowledge, just sounds silly, even worse than rude in children’s eyes maybe) as 2, some of the gang as 1. (see below) The locksmith is portrayed as sane and intelligent, calculating, proud of his skills. The wizard Sideney just needs money to pay his debt.  Banjo and Medium Dave are different again as they care about each other and were brought up in crime. They both have loyalty, MD to Banjo, Banjo to his mum, and a sort of morality that goes with it. Classic Maffia. They would be fun to pseudo psychoanalyse.  I thinkTP intends the distinction t...

  Hogfather bathroom scene Another thought from the podcast, the bathroom. I'd wondered about that. I went back to the text a few weeks ago and pondered it through. In conclusion I think TP intended (whether it worked or not is, as usual, another matter of course) it as contributing to 1.Imagery.  Theme of doors, locked ones in particular. Dr Downey has 2 visits in succession without use of the best protected door ever (auditors and Téatimé), and the gold goes into a locked vault. Téatimé appears to enter the "bar" without coming through the door, and he is obsessed about opening the tower door even though he has accomplished his commission of dealing with the HF. Susan inadvertently goes through locked doors at the UU and the YMPA. Death looks out through a locked door at the shack to ask Albert how to open it. The children come through the nursery door, Susan deals with the bogey in the cellar behind a shut door. Inconsequential unless coming and going through doorways ...