Re: The Glorantha Digest V6 #238

From: bjm10_at_cornell.edu
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1998 11:00:05 -0400 (EDT)

> Is it just me, or is the idea of a Orlanthi hunter coming home from a
> hard day at the office, having his missus ready with a nice hot meal
> prepared on her Ernalda 1 magic point / hour hearth a bit naff? Are we
> reducing Ernalda to the level of a 1950s appliance salesman? Extra
> things to make the "little woman's" life a bit easier while hubby's out
> earning the cash to pay for such fripperies.

Where on earth did you get *THIS* idea? Furthermore, the typical Orlanthi would be a farmer, not a hunter. Also, what do you think the divisions of labor were in preindustrial societies? It would depend upon the locale, but in Europe, the men farmed and the women kept the hearth--both were full-time jobs, and there none of this "off to the office" nonsense. That was an invention of the industrial era. During times of intense labor need, men and women would work together, but there was still general division of labor.

That's a well established fact in both history and anthropology.

Furthermore, let us not forget that there is a long history of hearth magic--one would invoke gods and/or spirits to protect the hearth, to make sure the bread rises, to keep the beer from souring (cf my "Burrruphti" spirit).

In Glorantha, the spiritual is grossly manifest.

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