Post by Cass on Apr 9, 2012 6:49:58 GMT 10
Rogues in Tamora Pierce's Novels
by Rachy
All of Tamora Pierce’s universes feature the “criminal world” in some way and give us some of our favourite, colourful characters from the Courts of the Rogue in Tortall and the street gangs of Emelan. While all three series have some differences in how they treat the Court of the Rogue, the grey world of thievery is showcased beautifully in all three series and each series show that even among the traditionally shady, there are both good and bad people.
In Tortall and Provost’s Dog, we find our rogues in the Court of the Rogue, in their headquarters at the Dancing Dove. The two King of Rogues we know, Rosto the Piper from Provost’s Dog and George Cooper from Song of the Lioness, are treated as being more of a king to the common people then the king in the palace is to the kingdom, and so are treated as royalty. Both Rosto and George achieved their thrones by a form of almost regicide in the world of thievery, by killing their predecessor and taking control, though the power and control varies between the two times, with Rosto only being Rogue of Corus and George appearing to be the King of the Rogues for all of Tortall, with possible deputies around the kingdom, as shown by his connections with Tusaine and his visiting Port Caynn. The King of the Rogues is the head of the ‘underworld’, master of the thieves, flower sellers, gamblers and prostitutes and all other of the common people who are occupied in shadier pursuits and is given a claim in the haul that results. In Rosto’s time, a ‘Happy Bag’ is paid to the Provost’s Guard in recognition of the protection given and as a tax on the haul the rogues make, but no mention of this is made in George’s time. Both George and Rosto are portrayed as being ‘good’, while not being on the ‘straight and narrow’, and are juxtaposed against people like Claw and Pearl to emphasise the shades of grey and morality that exist in the Court of the Rogue. Other members of the Court of the Rogue support George and Rosto and continue the appearance of the Court of the Rogue as a happy place of debauchery with their own colourful personalities, like Kora, Aniki, Rispah and Marek.
In Emelan, we’re introduced to the world of thievery through the boy Roach, who becomes Briar Moss. While our introduction to Roach’s world is brief, there doesn’t appear to be any Court of the Rogue, though Thief-Lords operate on a similar basis. The Thief-Lords control a small gang of thieves and teach them how to thieve successfully, but the Thief-Lords have the highest share in any haul obtained. After Briar arrives in Winding Circle, the window to the roguish world in Emelan is closed until a brief appearance in Summersea with Flick’s little gang, although not much is mentioned besides a thief presence in the dens and sewers of Summersea and the Mire. Briar’s visit to Chammur gives us our greatest view into the criminal world in Emelan, with the street gangs that cover the streets of Chammur. Street Magic introduces three specific street gangs of Chammur, the Vipers, the Camelguts and the Gate Lords, and Briar is ensnared in the gang war that results between the Gate Lords and the Vipers. From what we see in Chammur, the gangs have their own territories and encroachment on those territories by other gangs quickly becomes violent. Unlike in Tortall, the gangs operate mostly on thievery, and also have a far more violent and grimmer presence in Street Magic in comparison. While the thieving world in Emelan is far less prevalent then in Song of the Lioness or Provost’s Dog, Briar, being one of four main characters, gives us wonderful little snippets into his past life and his skills that remain from his life as a thief enable him to teach the rest of the Circle the art of lockpicking and eavesdropping.
Both Tortall, Emelan and Provost’s Dog all give an introduction to the world of thieves and rogues. While there is variation in the portrayal of the rogue world, portraying characters and fandom favourites like Rosto, George and Briar gives a wonderfully ‘Robin Hood’ slant towards Tamora Pierce’s novels that much other YA fantasy lacks.