This week we are discussing The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner, Ch. 6-10.
Spoiler Warning!!! This post is full of spoilers for The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner.
Trigger/Content Warning!!! This book has scenes and discussion of such themes as: drug addiction, alcoholism, blood, vomit, violence, gore elements, and death.
Discussion:
Michaela: Hello friends and welcome to our second discussion of The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner. The story has definitely picked up. Attempted murder, actual murder, an undead mouse. I was stressed! I think I’ve gotten used to the writing style enough now that it doesn’t bother me as much as when I first started the book. But I will say that I still think it’s a very wordy read for me, doesn’t make it unlikeable but it does get to be annoying occasionally when I would just rather get to the point.
Also, I’m still finding Delly to be fairly unlikeable. At times she can be likable but then she has these moments where she’s just rude and insincere. In particular she was thinking about Winn and how her eyes were ‘unexceptional’ and she still views Winn as a prospect for her own gain rather than for romance. It appears to be switching to actual feelings for Delly slowly but it just rubs me the wrong way. Obviously we know her background and she has a hard time accepting love or thinking she’s capable of it but she still bugs me. She is growing as a character which I’m glad for, I want her to see that she can be happy without playing a game.
Jacilyn: I’m going back and forth with Delly. Something tells me that a lot of Delly’s behaviors act as shields, in her attempt to survive. She was born into a rough existence, and it seems to me that her mind is stuck in “survival” mode the majority of the time, but being around this cadre of women (and undead mice) has seemed to be loosening the gates - we get little glimpses of sincere fondness for certain people like Mrs. Totham and Winn. Two good examples in this section would be Delly encouraging Mrs. Totham’s conversation about birds along their excursion, and what she thinks in response to Winn’s compassion for others “Like a light so bright it forced you to look at the shape of your own ragged shadow.” She recognizes and is drawn to the good in these people I think.
Plus, it doesn’t seem like Delly really had much of a solid group of companions before, and I think that’s what these “gulls” have become - the trauma of Ainette’s desperate murder attempt and Ermintrude’s violent murder have brought them all together. They’re all going after Ainette for their own personal reasons… some money, some revenge, some compassion, but they have a shared goal and Delly took on a leadership role fairly easily. I really enjoyed the lessons they taught each other, and the eagerness with which they approached it.
I do worry for Winn’s heart in the long run, though. That Delly will let slip that her intentions aren’t or weren’t explicitly based on fondness but on stability. She wants to court Delly in the proper fashion. She’s always looking out for the best in people. But I also think she’s a little naive to the ways of those in Delly’s world, in spite of her acceptance and compassion.
Michaela: I have really come to enjoy this little group. They have really bonded and while they may not all want to be best friends they do all understand their strengths and want to work together. They all wanted Delly to lead, which I was a little surprised at mostly with Miss Dox. But she seems to be chilling out some.
I also am worried about Winn. It will have to come to a head at some point. Though if it does I feel Winn will be more understanding than we think. Winn does seem naive to Delly’s world but at the same time she has this deep understanding of how to be compassionate and kind which can be just as important in some situations. Winn tries to help everyone as best she can whether the moment calls for brute force or comfort. I think in the long run, if they stay together, Delly and Winn would compliment each other's strengths and weaknesses when it comes to street smarts and compassion.
Mrs. Totham is also incredibly kind, even when she’s just lost a daughter she’s still so patient and calm. I wonder if Buttons has anything to do with that. Mrs. Totham mentioned that body scientists can create something like Buttons out of pain and on accident, just as she had. So this isn’t necessarily uncommon. I wonder if the creation of Buttons has transferred some of her immediate pain into creating him, therefore giving her the mental space to be calm and kind when others would be falling apart. Mrs. Totham is definitely on a mission to get Ainette, and probably to kill her rather than capture, but she isn’t on a rampage. Her daughters also seem to trust her with no hesitation, which is wonderful. She must be a truly good mother for them to trust her and her body scientist abilities. Everyone is basically revolted by Buttons but Mrs. Totham’s daughters just accept him and whatever their mother needs him for. Personally, I like Buttons a lot. He’s creepy and cute all at once and those are my favorite qualities!
Jacilyn: I think Winn and Delly would complement each other also. I think they already do. They make such a good team together, but as a whole it seems like the group is working well together. They all have their strengths, just like you said, and they’re off doing their own thing gathering information in their own ways. I find it really cool that these people are from a variety of backgrounds. Mrs. Totham seems to have been a bit overbearing with Ermintrude, but I wonder if that comes from the discrimination and misrepresentation that cloved women received in their society. Maybe Mrs. Totham just wanted to protect her from that. It’s interesting how differently the older daughters act towards her, but I agree - they seem used to Mrs. Totham’s eccentricities. I love the contrast between cute little old lady and a literal necromancer that has a (previously) rotting mouse as a companion.
Ainette’s lock box led them in the direction of red drip coming from the slummy area where Delly grew up. Unfortunately, it also led to Delly’s mother, who landed in the hospital seamingly unresponsive. This was a hard part of the book for me - my own mother died from drug intoxication, alone in an unstable environment. I can relate to the way that Delly felt seeing her mother in the hospital like that. And, much like in our society, Delly’s mom will be put out on the streets if the hospital doesn’t get the payment they require. It’s awful and inhumane. I’m not surprised that Squint Jok didn’t give a single shit about Delly’s mom being hospitalized, either - but at least he was able to lead them in the direction of the so-called Kind Companions.
Michaela: It’s interesting to me that this book has gone in a drug/crime direction after magical assassination attempts. I don’t expect that from books in the fantasy genre, typically. I like learning about the ‘red drip’ and the Kind Companions. The plot, plus the ‘time period’ gives me a Sherlock-ian feel which I am always here for. Delly finding her mother with Winn, who encourages her to feel her emotions, has started to give Delly a new understanding of her mother. I’ll be interested to see the character developments for both Delly and hopefully her mother if Delly can get her the help she needs. The money from this job will be essential in that though. Even in this world, money is what can bring you health and happiness just from providing stability and opportunity. I’m nervous about Delly’s plan and worried that she might not be thinking things all the way through because of her personal stake in the outcome. Even Buttons is concerned about it by booming his ‘beware’.
Winn has taken to Delly’s world in such a non judgmental way. Delly doctored up her room so Winn didn’t see how she used to live and I don’t think Delly ever realized she could just have these nice creature comforts. Delly truly did not see her own potential or a life better than the one she thought she deserved. I really want this whole journey to bring her a new sense of self and show her her true worth more than anything.
Jacilyn: I liked the direct reference to the World’s Fair with the “World’s Exposition” that Delly mentions - it definitely gives that Sherlock-ian time period, old-London-ey feel. I’m intrigued by the drug/crime direction. I have a feeling that there’s going to be some more major players entering the scene soon, especially with Delly’s plan to try to create Red Drip for the Kind Companions.I agree with Buttons and Winn with their concerns about the plan, too. I don’t think it’s safe, and the potential risks to people’s lives with the Red Drip isn’t worth it. I’ll be curious to see where the story goes from here. That’s it for today, readers, we’ll see you again next week!
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