Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
"Dragonsong" is a science fiction novel by Anne McCaffrey, set on the planet Pern, a colony established by Earth settlers over two millennia prior. The narrative follows Menolly, a talented young musician who faces significant challenges in expressing her passion for music in a society that undervalues her abilities, particularly because she is a girl. As the story unfolds, Menolly experiences personal trauma, including the death of her mentor and strict parental expectations that stifle her creativity.
In her quest for self-identity, Menolly encounters fire lizards, small telepathic creatures that bond with her and support her artistic spirit. This bond illustrates the emotional dynamics between humans and dragons, which serve as a metaphor for the imaginative and emotional aspects of human nature. The themes of coming of age and self-discovery are prominent, as Menolly ultimately finds acceptance and recognition in the Harperhall, where she can embrace her musical talent.
"Dragonsong" is part of a larger series exploring the interplay between individuals and dragonkind, with subsequent novels like "Dragonsinger" and "Dragondrums" continuing the journey of characters navigating their own challenges and growth within this richly constructed universe.
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Subject Terms
Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey
First published: 1976
Type of work: Science fiction
Themes: Coming-of-age, gender roles, and the arts
Time of work: Sometime in the distant future
Recommended Ages: 13-15
Locale: Half-Circle Sea Hold and Benden Weyr, both on the planet Pern
Principal Characters:
Menolly , a tall, strong adolescent girl with a gift for musicYanus , her father, the leader of Half-Circle Sea Hold, a practical and unimaginative manMavi , her mother, who wishes that her youngest child would be more like other girlsMasterharper Robinton , the head of the Harper Craft on Pern
The Story
Like many other science-fiction books, Dragonsong is set light-years from Earth in the distant future, but the young people struggle with the same questions they always have: Who am I, and what should I do with my life?
People from Earth established an agricultural colony on the planet Pern some twenty-four hundred years before this story begins. The colonists discovered that thread, a deadly type of spore, could travel through space from a nearby planet, fall on Pern, and kill everything on which it lands. They genetically engineered fire lizards, small, flying reptiles native to Pern, into enormous, telepathic creatures able to carry people through the air and breathe fire that kills thread in midair. A medievaltype society emerged with landholders and dragonriders who protect the other two groups from thread. The Harper Craftsmen are musicians, teachers, and conveyers of news.
When the book opens, Menolly is an unhappy young woman. Petiron, the Harper who had been her friend and mentor, has just died. She is a talented musician, but Yanus and Mavi, her practical and hardworking parents, place little value on her skill, especially since girls cannot be Harpers. No one else is qualified to teach the children, so Yanus temporarily assigns these duties to Menolly, but he gives her strict orders not to play any songs of her own composing. Menolly cannot stop herself; Yanus overhears and beats her.
A new Harper arrives, and Yanus and Mavi keep Menolly busy with other work, hoping that she will come to see music as a childish pastime. As she cleans fish one day, her knife slips and seriously injures her left hand. Menolly thinks that she will never be able to play the gitar again. One evening everyone gathers for an evening of singing. When Menolly starts to join in, her mother admonishes her to sing softly as is appropriate for a girl—or not to sing at all. With music completely denied her at home, Menolly decides to run away.
In one of her lonely wanderings by the sea, Menolly has witnessed the mating flight of the legendary fire lizards. Another time she helped move their eggs into a cave when higher than usual tides threatened to swamp them. Now, far from the protection of her Hold as thread begins to fall, Menolly seeks shelter in that cave just as the eggs are hatching. She feeds the fledglings, and nine bond with her. Although not as intelligent as dragons, the fire lizards convey telepathic images of love and admiration. They also like to sing along when Menolly plays her homemade reed pipes. Menolly spends the next several weeks living in the cave, taking care of the fledglings, and learning how to manage on her own.
One day, Menolly must run desperately for the protection of her cave when thread begins to fall. A dragonrider rescues her and takes her to Benden Weyr, where her badly injured feet are treated. Menolly has no desire to return home. She learns that the injury to her hand is not as severe as her mother had led her to believe. The Benden Weyr people are willing to let her stay with them, especially since she has such rapport with the smaller version of dragonkind.
Menolly keeps her musical talents a secret, but when the Weyr Harper performs, she cannot resist quietly joining in. The next day, all the notables on Pern, including Robinton, the Masterharper, arrive to watch a clutch of dragon eggs hatch. He has been searching for Menolly since Petiron sent some of her songs to the Harperhall, but did not realize that he was looking for a girl. The mystery is solved, and Robinton announces that Menolly is to go to the Harperhall to be trained as a Harper.
Context
Although traditional Western mythology generally associates dragons with evil, in Dragonsong and other books about Pern, McCaffrey uses them and their small cousins the fire lizards to represent the emotional side of human nature. Both dragons and fire lizards form lifelong bonds with humans when they hatch. The human partner must be the logical, controlling part, but the dragon or fire lizard is the emotional, imaginative part. Together they can accomplish more than any individual. For example, dragons and riders can travel great distances almost instantaneously by going “between”: The rider imagines a visual picture of where and when he or she wants to go, and the dragon is able to transport him or her there in a few seconds. A fire lizard cannot carry its human friend, but it can go where that person wishes them to by telepathically picking up the image of the place.
Other modern writers have used dragons in a similar way. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952) by C. S. Lewis, the characters are able to travel to the very edge of the world in a ship fashioned like a dragon. In Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea books, the dragons can be fierce and cruel, but they are important because their very essence is magic. In The Farthest Shore (1972), it is said that magic is necessary to make even everyday things function properly, and it is delightful like music. The loss of magic almost results in disaster for the whole world, but dragons help restore the proper balance, and the most ancient dragon carries the Archmage and the boy who is to become the high king back from the land of the dead.
Several of Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books deal with the theme of coming of age. Dragonsinger (1977) continues Menolly’s story; it tells of her struggle to find a place in the Harperhall. Dragondrums (1979) focuses on Piemur, the best boy soprano in the Harperhall until his voice changes; as he grows up, he must find a new role for himself. The White Dragon (1978) is the story of Jaxom, a holder boy who accidentally impresses a unique white dragon. In each of these stories, the young person passes from unsure adolescence into confident young adulthood, and in each case the bonding with dragonkind helps that transition.