Susan Sto Helit in Thief of Time

[cimorene]

'It makes you wonder if there is anything to astrology, after all.'

'Oh, there is,' said Susan. 'Delusion, wishful thinking and gullibility.'

Which, as Wax points out, is rather ironic considering Susan's own supernatural powers, but still quite pithy.

Comments

[flamebyrd]

Given that magic is known to exist in the Discworld, it certainly gives her statement a different spin. Is her implication that people want to believe magic is more powerful than it actually is?

Perhaps it's her contempt for wizards showing.

[cimorene]

As far as I remember from my recent rereads astrology doesn't have anything to do with wizards in Discworld, but Susan's antipathy isn't special to wizards - it's just an allover sensibleness from her early life that makes her knee-jerk reaction anti-supernatural frequently.

[jamjar]

Pithy, yes, but as Granny Weatherwax would probably tell you, delusion, wishful thinking and gullibility is some of the most powerful magic around.

It kind of makes sense for Susan, too-- she spends so much time messed around by supernatural forces and mystic presences that are actually right there, in her face and at her back and asking her round for tea, that claimining you're effected by twinkly bits of light in the sky is probably personally insulting.

[cimorene]

Yes, and if she's never seen personally that it works, it's easy to see that her default could be no. She likes things to make sense! On the other hand, it's funny if astrology really isn't real in the Discworld, rather. I mean, practically everything else is.