Dragonsong

McCaffrey examines the struggle against oppressive societal norms through Menolly’s personal battle against her community’s misogynistic and limiting beliefs. The protagonist is a musical prodigy, but she has been taught from a young age that “[w]omen can’t be harpers” (4), and this unfair restriction saps her self-confidence and deeply wounds her spirit. Her parents, Yanus and Mavi, uphold this sexist tradition and discourage their daughter from pursuing her dream, using cruel and abusive tactics such as fear-mongering, intimidation, and even physical violence. The author emphasizes how arbitrary and unjust these norms are by having Menolly’s parents insist that “the Sea Hold [is] disgraced to have a girl taking the place of a Harper” (108)—even after she receives positive recognition from other members of her community and from established professionals within her desired field. 

To fulfill her potential and follow her passion, Menolly must escape her parents’ control by fleeing from Half-Circle Sea Hold, even though doing so places her life in peril. However, removing herself from Half-Circle proves easier than uprooting the damaging lessons that her parents instilled in her. Yanus and Mavi’s oppressive messages are so deeply ingrained in her that she echoes them herself in the final chapter as though she is trying to talk Masterharper Robinton out of granting her the opportunity to pursue her dreams. She is so immersed in her parents’ restrictive worldview that it is only when Robinton asks, “Don’t you want to be a harper?” (188) that she finally realizes the extent to which her upbringing has limited her. Although the sexism that the protagonist endures does erode her self-confidence, she nonetheless finds creative ways to resist her parents’ abuse, and she also befriends more open-minded people who appreciate her abilities. Menolly’s eventual success offers McCaffrey’s audience the affirming message that oppressive norms can be overcome.

The debacle over Half-Circle’s musical prodigy is only one example of the broader struggle to shift Pern’s culture. The foreword offers a reminder that all traditions have to begin at some point, stating, “The dragons and their riders in their weyrs, and the people in the cave holdings, went about their separate tasks and each developed habits that became custom, which solidified into tradition as incontrovertible as law” (iii). This aside helps to explain why Holds and Weyrs have separate customs, and the author also suggests that these customs can and should change when they are no longer helpful. For example, Robinton entrusts Harpers like Elgion with the mission of making the Holds less stagnant and isolationist, impressing upon his colleagues that “Harpers were not simply tellers of tales and singers of songs; they were arbiters of justice, confidants of Holders and Craftmasters, and molders of the young” (48).

The fire lizards play a role in the Harpers and dragonriders’ goals for reform by helping “narrow-minded, hidebound, insensitive Lord Holders” (120) like Yanus to better understand the needs and values of weyrpeople. Fire lizards therefore serve as motifs of healthy community dynamics, illustrating that the aim of these society-wide changes is to make all of Pern a closer, more inclusive community. Menolly’s struggles against sexist norms and the Harpers’ broader efforts to shift Pernese culture away from restrictive traditions collectively demonstrate the importance of art and music as forces for social progress.