Line #39 Fridge/FeetOfClay


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13	!!FridgeBrilliance
14	* After hearing details about Cockbill Street, it suddenly makes a lot more sense that Vimes has always been described as short and skinny. Severe malnutrition in childhood does tend to have that effect.
15	* When Sam Vimes thinks of Stoneface Vimes, he quotes from Stoneface's Journal: "In the fires of struggle let us bake the new men, who will not heed the old lies." This is ''exactly'' what Sam Vimes does in the end, telling Carrot to rebuild Dorfl - Dorfl is destroyed in a fight, baked in fire in a pottery oven, and he does not heed the old lies - he knows he can own himself, doesn't need to have a master, and doesn't believe religion to be important even if gods ''do'' exist.
16	* Dorfl states that when he’s off duty, he’ll debate the existence of Gods with a chosen representative (which gets all the religous leaders arguing over who that representative should be). A few pages earlier, he tells Vimes that because he doesn’t eat, sleep, or [[RunningGag need to bury his granny]] he needs no time off. Meaning, the next time he’ll be off duty will be when he’s dead and can debate with the gods directly.
17	** We later find out in ''Jingo'' that he's become good friends with Constable Visit and even debates theology with him; suggesting that as far as Dorfl's concerned, Visit is the chosen representative.
18	* The effect of Carrot putting his receipt for Dorfl the golem in Dorfl's head is obvious when you look at the ExactWords of the receipt: "I Gerhardt Sock give the barer '''full and totarl ownorship of the Golem Dorfl''' in xchange for One Dolar and '''anythinge it doz now is his responisbility''' and nuthing to doe with me." Dorfl was given new words to obey, words telling him that ''he owned himself'' and that ''he was responsible for his own actions''. This sudden introduction to the concept of philosophical agency is a Disc-shattering revelation to someone who's been unable to do anything but take orders from a master for his entire ''centuries-long'' existence, so it's no wonder [[GoMadFromTheRevelation Dorfl went a little crazy]] and raised a ruckus. Yet it also adds a heartwarming element to his later actions (and sums up TheAntiNihilist trope perfectly): You own yourself, and your only obligation is to take responsibility for all your actions. Therefore, Dorfl chooses to take actions for which he will be ''proud'' to take responsibility - capturing villains, saving lives, freeing his fellow golems, and existing 'To Protect And Serve'.
19	--> '''Dorfl: ''' I Could Take No Notice Of That Command, But I Obey Out Of Earned Respect.
20	* Very minor tidbit of Brilliance: when Angua finds the discarded matchsticks, she notes that they haven't had their inflammable tips applied yet, and wonders if one of the golems worked in a match factory. Later, after Dibbuk's suicide, one of the foundry-workers suggests that a replacement be purchased from the sawmill, which wants to get rid of its golem: reputedly, it'd sawed a valuable trunk into matchsticks. Rebelling-by-working ''and'' acquiring something it needed, all in one go? Golem efficiency at its finest.
21	* The revelation that the golems are morally-culpable individuals rather than clay machines, possessed of real feelings and (as ''Literature/GoingPostal'' would verify) a soul, isn't as much of a surprise if you consider the testimony of the one character who'd know '''for sure''' if they're people or not. In his conversation with the late Mr. Hopkinson, Death himself refers to the bread-expert's attacker as the man's "murderer" rather than his "killer", and soulless machines can't commit murder. Death's surely collected the souls of destroyed golems before.
22	* The four dwarf constables who react to Cheery's skirt are stated to have just come off patrol on King's Way. If you check one of the published maps of Ankh-Morpork, you'll find that King's Way and Park Lane are connected, meaning that the dwarfs who were acting so intolerant of Cheery are the ''same'' dwarfs which Mr. Catterail wrote his bigoted letter to the Watch about. Sexism meets racism.
23	* When Vimes confronts Dragon King of Arms in the book's final pages, Dragon believes Vimes came alone and never detects Dorfl's presence until Vimes calls him in. It's noted repeatedly throughout the book that golems have little to no scent beyond their clay and whatever they've been interacting with. Dorfl in particular smelling like the slaughterhouse he'd worked in. However, Dorfl had ''just'' come back out of the oven. He was fresh clay, a clean slate, and so had no scent that Dragon would find worth remarking on.
24	** Later books also establish that vampires can hear peoples' hearts beating, which is another telltale clue that does not apply to golems.
25	* The golems created Meshugah because they believed a king would set them free. It didn't work, but the actual liberation of the golems is kick-started by Carrot, when he buys Dorfl and gives him to himself. Carrot is the rightful king of Ankh-Morpork. So, technically, a king ''did'' set the golems free -- just not the one they expected.
26	* Readers who've paid close attention to the previous books won't be surprised by Vimes's conclusion that Nobby's "earldom" is just a ploy by Dragon King of Arms. That's because Nobby was established in ''Guards! Guards!'' to have an elder brother, after whom Errol the swamp dragon was named. Therefore, it'd be ''Errol'' Nobbs who would rightly be heir to the title if one actually existed. Dragon only studies and influences the ''noble'' lineages and family trees, not of commoners (let alone the extremely common like the Nobbs); he wouldn't know or care about Nobby's immediate family, just that he could spin a convincing enough story to arrange Nobby as a puppet ruler.
27	* When Constable Visit identifies the paper in Fr Tubelcek's mouth as a religious text, Vimes cynically notes that it isn't anything like "smite thine enemies" or indeed a full confession by the murderer. Vimes supposes it just says "get on with your work and don't make trouble". Because that's exactly what the directions for a Golem would say.
28	* Nobby refuses to be king because "Mr. Vimes would go spare!" At first glance, this is kind of funny, and a testament to Nobby's loyalty to his boss. However, it's worth bearing in mind that as Nobby no doubt knows (due to his theatre group acting out a play involving Stoneface Vimes), there was once another king, and another Vimes who disapproved of him. And we all know what happened then. Nobby is being ''very, very smart'' not to take the job! Admittedly, Sam probably wouldn't have executed him, but still.
29	* Nobby and Colon discuss Noblesse Oblige, which Colon says is giving your old clothes to your gardener if they're not completely worn out, to which Nobby says doesn't apply because he doesn't have a gardener. ''Vimes'' of all people unknowingly echoes this sentiment; he tells Mildred Easy that she's always welcome to the Watch's candle-ends.
30	* Molly, Queen of Beggars sends Vimes a warning that his enemies are moving against him, but then accompanies the group of them who go along to snap their frame shut on him. Her reaction to Vimes' destruction of the frame suggests that, while she didn't know what exactly Vimes would do, she was pretty sure the conspirators were going to wind up with egg on their faces, and she didn't want to miss it.
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32	!!FridgeHorror
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34	* Way back in ''Literature/GuardsGuards'', the dragon king's (actually a dragon queen) demand for maidens to devour specified that they be of the highest social rank: a requirement that Wonse says has something to do with flavor. This makes perfect sense in retrospect, as Dragon King of Arms has been manipulating the upper classes' marital selections for many, many centuries, and he never ''did'' specify '''in what respect''' he was trying to "improve the race". The blood-sucking S.O.B. may well have been breeding the nobility to have ''better flavor'' as victims, and the great dragons had caught onto this before they vanished!
35	* The Rats Chamber in the Patrician's Palace features a painted ceiling, in which rats dance in a ring with their tails intertwined at the center. Go read ''Literature/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents'', and then re-think the implications of ''that'' image being displayed in a room where ruthless conspirators meet to plot domination over the city. Have mind-controlling Rat Kings secretly ruled Ankh-Morpork in the past? Is '''that''' why its previous kings and Patricians kept going insane, and why they always allowed the city to remain such a rats'-paradise hellhole?
36	** Adding to this: During the events of ''Literature/GuardsGuards'', Vetinari’s waited on by rats. He described the relationship as "...payment for services rendered." Specifically, he advised the Rats on how to seize the territory of the cell from the snakes and scorpions that had been tossed in with him. Admittedly, he suspects Skrp and the rest of his people spend a lot of time near the High-Energy Magic Building at the university, but were quite bright before then.

Context Fridge / FeetOfClay