Wyrd Sisters: The Unwilling Hero There are many characters in Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters who can be considered the hero of the story. These include Tomjon and the witches. However, the Fool is the character who best exemplifies the hero archetype and the traits pertinent to all heroes. At first glance, it may seem like there wasn’t a character who is specifically chosen to be the hero and bring peace back to Lancre. Upon closer inspection, readers can find this quote “You’d have to be a born fool to be a king,’ said Granny” (Pratchett 66) which directly foreshadows that the Fool was intended to become king since the beginning of the book.
He quickly becomes one of the most influential and key characters in the book all while remaining hidden in the background. One of the most important discrepancies between the Fool and other candidates for the story’s hero is personal growth. The Fool dynamically changes and becomes a braver, more courageous individual as the story progresses. Throughout the entire first half of book, the Fool is always directly referred to as sheepish, nervous and weak. There are six separate accounts for just these three traits.
The narrator commonly uses these adjectives to describe what the Fool is doing, often saying hings such as “The Fool stood up sheepishly, in a carillon of jingles” (Pratchett 117). This also happens anytime a confrontation between the Duke and the Fool take place, most notably when the Duke screams at the Fool saying “Infirm of purpose! Weak! Give me the box! The Fool backed away” (Pratchett 143). Readers discover that even Magrat considers the Fool to be weak from the narrator as they clearly say “She considers the Fool to be weak, badly led and sorely in need of some backbone” (Pratchett 254).
Yet, as the story progresses, these descriptors become much more infrequent and converse traits begin to make appearances showing his evelopment. The same Fool who could hardly mutter a response to the Duke calls out to two large mercenaries, not once, but, twice in an attempt to stand up for Magrat while she was being taken advantage of. Additionally, the Fool even goes as far as standing up to the Duke and confesses witnessing the Duke kill King Verence proclaiming “I saw it alll’ said the Fool, simply. ‘I was in the Great Hall that night.
You killed the king, my lord” (Pratchett 609). The fool decided to act and be brave in order to save Magrat and stand up against his lord, the Duke, in order to stop his reign over Lancre and expose the evil acts he ad committed. The Fool readers see near the beginning of Wyrd Sisters never would have done such brave or courageous acts. By standing up, the Fool saved a witch and the entire kingdom. This illustrates a clear discrepancy between the Fool initial introduction and the Fool now. The Fool is set apart from the other candidates for hero.
None of the other characters experience changes nearly as developing and paramount as his in the story. The Fool is initially cowardly and sheepish, but his loyalty to the kingdom is what saved it. Initially, the fool was loyal to King Verence and consequently the Duke after he takes he throne, saying that “a Fool should be faithful to his master until the very end, after all others have deserted him. Good or bad doesn’t come into it. Every leader needs his Fool. There is only loyalty. That’s the whole thing. Even if he is clearly three- parts bonkers, I’m his Fool until one of us dies [sic]” (Pratchett 171).
The Fool was expecting to serve Felmet until death, regardless of what either of them thought. He was going to stand by the Duke even in the face of fear, the Fool was willing to die for his King. During the climax of the story, the Fool realizes that rather than a specific man he needs to serve the ingdom as a whole and stands up to the Duke. In doing so he willingly sacrifices himself, knowing that his proclamation of the Duke’s actions will not only result in his death but, will also result in the repair of the kingdom.
The Fool’s loyalty to Lancre directly causes the removal of the Duke and Duchess and the reconstitution of a healthy kingdom. The Fool cared about Lancre and the people in it, he acted when no one else could and even went against his honor as a fool to do so. The Fool was one of the most intelligent and influential characters in Wyrd Sisters. The Duke needed to get the people on his side in rder to properly take over Lancre but the witches stood in his way. Any action the Duke took throughout that entire story that had substantial results was the Fool’s, to begin with.
Because the past is what people remember, and memories are words. Who knows how a king behaved a thousand years ago? There is only recollection, and stories. And plays of course [sic]” (Pratchett 353). By suggesting these points, the Fool indirectly furthers the conflict in the story. By instructing the Duke to use words to turn the kingdom against the witches, and then have a play scripted depicting a false history in an attempt o rewrite it, resulting in the public’s view of the witches and the “natural death” of King Verence to change drastically.
Even though the Fool didn’t directly implement these brilliant schemes himself, they were used as some of the major events leading up to the climax of the story. The play essentially is the stage for the climax, the single most important piece of the story. It is what brings Tomjon back to Lancre, ends the reign of the Duke and Duchess, and establishes the truth of what happened to King Verence. The Fool unknowingly orchestrates his own ending and the entire resolution of the story without ven realizing it, making him not only vital to the story, but, its resolution as well.
Thus clearly setting him apart from the other apparent heroes. Without the Fool’s ideas, the Duke and Duchess would never have been able to sway the public opinion to their side as much as they did and the witches would never have had the opportunity to help take back the kingdom. As readers know, one of the most important aspects of being a hero is the aspect of self-sacrifice. The Fool volunteers openly himself for death twice in order to save those around him. The first time to save Magrat and the second time to save Lancre from the Duke and Duchess. No other character displays that level of heroism, certainly not Magrat or Tomjon.
He is able to redefine himself and step up when needed to save the day. The Fool even decides to be king on his own to lead Lancre after Tomjon, the supposed hero, won’t. Even though he doesn’t feel he is qualified “He wasn’t, he felt, a good king” (Pratchett 327), the Fool does what is best for the kingdom despite himself. No other characters went to such great lengths in order to save the kingdom, not even the witches. The Fool grows substantially as a character when no other major characters do so and sets himself apart as the true hero of the story.
The Fool is one of the few characters in Wyrd Sisters who takes constant action throughout the story even though he is afraid to do so making him, by definition, an unwilling hero. Unlike most of the applicable characters who could be the hero, the Fool accurately embodies the hero archetype undergoes by profound character growth, self-sacrifice, and takes critical action. His actions are all integral to the progression and conclusion of the story. He orchestrates the play, keeps the witches informed of the Duke’s plans, and even saves the witches when they are in trouble. Without him, the story would have turned out very differently.
