Coincidences? Confusion? Fact or Fiction?

[desrose.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't know about many here, but one thing that first drew me to the Young Wizards series and kept me coming back was the absolute depth of Diane Duane's writing.

I'm often confused on how this series is supposedley directed at "preteens" when some--or indeed, most--of the concepts discussed in the canon were ones I couldn't recognize, understand, or fully appreciate until recently.

And I'm only starting college.

Honestly, Duane's mixture of Sci-Fi/Fantasy astounds me to know end, but more of what amazes me are the little hints she drops at worldy "facts" or "superstitions".



What I refer to is the often use and/or reference to actual historical events, theories, hypotheses, etc.

Upon closer inspection I've found hints of everything from Quantum Physics/Quantum Mechanics to Calculus and Geometry to Mysticism, Mythology, Symbolic Art, and even Cryptology to citations directly from different religions and urban legends and myths.

Now, we all know of the blatant examples: the Irish mythology used in AWA or the quasi-science conjectures loosely based whenever a Gating is involved to the actual formulas of basic algebra II trig whenever Nita and Kit blast off to the moon.

What I'm talking about (or trying to) are the subtler, "hidden" aspects or inclusions that may, or may not, be purposefully intended by the author.

For example, one of the first things Nita reads of in her new Manual (SYWTBAW) is the "Masonic's Word". I wonder many Freemasons out there are nodding their heads at the thinly veiled reference?

For those of us not belonging to any Lodges:

"...the Freemasons' central myth, which stars Hiram Abiff, mythical builder of Jerusalem's Temple of Solomon. During construction, Hiram was killed by three workers who believed his "secret" would impart magical powers--representing the three evils against which Freemasons believe they're still struggling: ignorance, fanaticism, and tyranny. Today, the world's 2.5 million Freemasons meet to reenact the ritual of Hiram's murder as the initiation ceremony for the main rank of Master Mason." -History Channel, Mysteries of the Freemason: The Beginning

The "secret" referred to was actually one word, which has long been lost (Hiram did not reveal it before his death, he was supposed to once the construction was finished). It was supposedley Hiram's direct connection to God and/or how he knew to build the Temple of Solomon.

("According to the author David Allen Hulse, in Masonic lore, the lost word is in the rituals of the third degree concerning the assassination of Hiram, King Solomon's chief architect, and after the murder his body is found and is raised from the grave by uttering this lost word. Hulse also states that a substitute word is now used, and serves as a password until the true lost word is recovered." -Wikipedia)

(And before I continue any further, this is simply the legend by how I understand it. There are many scholars out there who would say I got parts wrong, but I believe I am fairly correct in the essence of it. My great-grandfather was a Master Mason and my great-grandmother a Daughter of the Revolution. So the history is family tradition more than historical fact, however there are many resources available for further study of this phenomenon.)



So, how much am I reading into these stories and how much is really there?

I could look up others that had struck me as purposefully and masterfully placed, but I'm interested as to what everyone else has noticed...

...or maybe I'm just one of those dreamers who look for connections in everything. (*shrugs*) Either way, it'll be interesting nonetheless.

(This is probably just a way my brain is distracting me from the challenge I'm supposed to be working on anyways for Myriadwords... it's almost there! Really!)

Comments

[seldearslj.livejournal.com]

I doubt that it's a coincidence. Duane seems quite conversant with the various aspects of mythology, from the Mason's Word to the Hesper.

And, yes, her books are a rich, deep read, with a great deal that will probably pass over the heads of a lot of preteens.

[desrose.livejournal.com]

*icon love*

See, I knew others would agree! Okay, whew, I'm not just seeing things...

And the Hesper, yes, very good point. Greek mythology, right? I had forgotten that one, though I suppose it was rather blatantly obvious...

Le sigh. That's what happens when I post at 2 am.

And, do you know the exact legend for that one? I admit, I'm not sure I do...

[sylviamaris.livejournal.com]

Many of the things she presents will pass over the heads of some preteens, or even some adults - but there will be a few exceptional kids who'll read it and appreciate the way it opens their minds. I'm sure you'd rather she didn't dumb them down.

[desrose.livejournal.com]

Of course not! I couldn't stand it if she dumbed it down! The point of this post was to try and see what others found and what I missed!

And I just question whether or not her target audience really was preteens because when I read it in the sixth grade, I freely admit, I didn't get much. Rereading it lately, in the past year or so, I understand so much more so much better!

Am I the only one?

[ateji.livejournal.com]

No, you are most certainly not the only one. Even though the math still makes my head whirl, every once in a while I pick up on something unexpected on a re-read.

[fiveforsilver]

I think her target audience, like many ostensibly YA or juvinile authors, is "people who read the books". There are plenty of things that are marketed for kids - Shrek, for example, Monsters, Inc, The Princess Bride - that are as enjoyably for adults as they are for kids. Just because YA or J audiences are less likely to get the subtleties doesn't make the books less enjoyable, just differently.

I say this as someone who has been reading these books for about 10 years - I graduated from college a couple of years ago. There was a lot I didn't understand when I first started (but then, I started with High Wizardry, and there was a lot I didn't understand, since it took me a while to figure out that it was part of a series...).

One of the things I find interesting was something I noticed in a reread of the most recent book, Wizards at War (I think it was in that - I've reread them all recently, so I'm not certain). They were talking about the name of the One and how it couldn't be all together in time and space or bad things would happen. That made me think of the Jewish beliefs about the name of god, and how it's purposefully misspelled in the Torah and so on, so that nobody knows the true name anymore, because it was the true name that could do things like part the waters and create golems and all those other myths, and that was too much power for humans to have.

[desrose.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm not saying I'd want her to change her target audience either... Lord knows it's the kids who get the most these days anyways... I'm just saying, wouldn't it be interesting?

I mean, I wonder what her books would be like if they were targeted at adults instead of young adults?

I probably wouldn't understand a word...

And good point! Another Jewish Mysticism reference I found was in her third book, "High Wizardry." Remember how Dairine named one of her computer wizards "Logo"... and it turned out to be the one inhabited by the Lone Power? And tried to dissuade the others from following her:

"We're to be her slaves, and when we've finished the task for her, she'll find another and another..."

And Dairine tells him, "You're so full of it that if you had eyes, they'd be brown."

Well, let's take a quick look into the origin of "Logos"... and it means: The divine word of God; the second person in the Trinity (incarnate in Jesus)

Um, oops... maybe that wasn't Duane's intentions...

... or was it?

*backs down* wasn't me! i didn't say it!

[fiveforsilver]

I don't think I suggested she should change her target audience..? Well, if it came across that way, I didn't mean it. What I meant was more like even though her publishers market them as YA books, she writes for a much broader audience.

If you're interested in, you know, asking her if she meant to do these things you're picking up on, you could always join the YW forums at http://youngwizards.net/groupee/forums.

[dorfird.livejournal.com]

Three early books that Duane wrote were The Door into Fire, The Door into Shadow, and The Door into Sunset. Their target audience is adults. They are set in a different world than the Young Wizards books, so you could keep wondering what they would be like as adult fiction, but I do recommend the three books listed above if you want to see what she's like when writing for adults.

[desrose.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip! I will check those out...

[dancinguniverse.livejournal.com]

Strangely enough, I think the Wizard books are sometimes more mature than her Door books. I think her writing has matured over the years, in subtle ways, and I think in doing so, her audience maturity has necessarily risen as well.

I think a large part of why these books get targeted at young adults is because there's nothing in there to offend younger audiences, which often seems to be the most obvious reason for books to be classified YA, and also because the hero and heroine are young themselves.

That said, I'm 19 years old, and I still adore everything DD's written, and re-read regularly, as does the fifty-something mother of a friend of mine. I still read L'Engle too, and Diana Wynne Jones, and Tamora Pierce, and I think it's dumb to ever stop reading YA books just because the target audience is younger than you are. Let's hear it for us, still reading "kids' books" and proud of it!

[desrose.livejournal.com]

sorry, that came out wrong... what I WANTED to say was "icon <3" as in I LOVE YOUR ICON!!!