CrysophylaxHas anyone read any of the #scholomance books by Naomi Novik? I'm less than two hours into listening to the first audiobook, and the degree to which I identify with the main character is almost alarming. We aren't *told* that the character is #neurodivergent, unless the ability to do magic counts.
🕯 rEff@crysophylax I read the first, but it was a couple years ago, before I knew much about #neurodivergence. From what I remember, though, that reading makes a lot of sense. I've been meaning to reread it; if I get around to that, I'll keep that reading in mind.
@crysophylax And about being told the character is neurodivergent... alas I've often found the most accurate representation tends to be the type never explicitly named. I often get the impression the artists are drawing on their own experiences and are unaware of their neurodivergence.
@resigned_effulgence Yes. I am resisting the urge to research whether the author is ND and meant it to be somehow representational of autism. Not the magic system, the actual inner world of the character.
@resigned_effulgence I've had to *stop* myself from thinking about this kind of thing. What we need is #neurodivergent literary theory.
@crysophylax While I understand arguments against speculating about public figure's neurotypes, I also think ND-coding and why it's so much more prevalent than good explicit representation is important to discuss. To resolve that, I've been trying to consider this sort of thing to be a trend rather than individual.
I think there is a body of work drawing on specific character archetypes, and authors can write characters of this archetype without realizing that those archetypes are neurodivergence. As I mentioned, I think the reason authors choose to draw on that specific archetype is their own experience, but I'm sure for a sizeable number, they're instead drawing from experiences of their friends or family members, or even just of a general archetype in media.
I think then we can say both that any given author has written deeply ND-coded characters without knowing those traits are neurodivergent and also that frequently that happens due to the author's own neurodivergence without also claiming that that *particular* author is ND.
I think there are parallels here with how to approach the difference between "This art clearly depicts a queer experience" and speculations about that particular author's sexuality.
Fantastic point about ND literary theory.
@resigned_effulgence #neurodivergent literary theory seems like a thing that should exist, but I did a cursory google search and couldn't find anything about it being a 'thing' like marxist or feminist theory. So if it's not a thing yet, I declare... #inventorship of it. I also claim inventorship of the word 'inventorship,' if it's not a thing.
Nos@crysophylax I've read the whole trilogy and El is *extremely* relatable to me as well! I've always read her as another example of probably unknowing/unintentional autism-coding, as that always seems to bring about the best rep from allistic authors. El is genuinely one of my favorite fictional characters because of how relatable she is and how much I understand her.