I should start by saying that I hadn't intended Cheery Littlebottom to be part of this series of posts. I thought that I was already a bit Watchman heavy. But I couldn't resist. She's one of the most important dwarfs in all the Discworld.
Cheery Littlebottom
Cheery is a dwarf from Überwald (basically the Discworld's version of Transylvania) who moves to Ankh-Morpork as many dwarfs do. A trained alchemist, Cheery is forced to leave the Alchemists' Guild of Ankh-Morpork after causing an explosion. That's not unusual for guild members, but Cheery is so far the only one to have also blown up the Guild Council.
She then applies to the Ankh-Morpork Watch and becomes their first forensics officer, operating her lab out of the downstairs privy.
Yes, to the human population in the Discworld, the name is as hilarious as it sounds. But for a dwarf, it's simply the traditional naming convention. Cheery Littlebottom, son of Jolly Littlebottom, son of Beaky Littlebottom.
Quit laughing at the back, you lot.
Feet of Clay
Unlike most dwarfs, when she's introduced in Feet of Clay, she doesn't seem to have any immediate prejudices against trolls (an ancient rivalry between the two races). Her real prejudices mostly revolve around werewolves, which is funny as her first friend in the Watch is Angua who is, in fact, a werewolf.
She wears a silver mail vest, given to her by her family, to protect herself from werewolves. But as soon as she learns of Angua's true nature, she stops wearing it. She's one of the more open characters of the Watch and accepts people for who they are. Probably in the hope they will accept her for who she is.
When you’ve made up your mind to shout out who you are to the world, it’s a relief to know you can do it in a whisper. Feet of Clay, Terry Pratchett
Dwarf Culture
Then Cheery Littlebottom had arrived in Ankh-Morpork and had seen that there were men out there who did not wear chain mail or leather underwear, but did wear interesting colours and exciting makeup, and these men were called "women." And in the little bullet head, the thought had arisen: "Why not me?" Now she was being denounced in cellars and dwarf bars across the city as the first dwarf in Ankh-Morpork to wear a skirt. It was hard-wearing brown leather and as objectively erotic as a piece of wood but, as some older dwarfs would point out, somewhere under there were his knees* *They couldn't bring themselves to utter the word "her.” The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
I've already discussed this in my post about Dee, but in the Discworld, all dwarfs are male. With no exception. They are all short, stocky, bearded men who wield axes, quaff beer and sing songs about gold. When dwarfs got married, you simply trusted that somewhere beneath all that armour, one was female and both knew which one that was.
Therefore, Cheery's embracing of the pronouns 'she' and 'her' is so outside of what her people understand, she's viewed as dangerous. Particularly when she travels back to Überwald, the homeland of the dwarfs, as openly female.
Cheery goes through a lot changes through the books as she grapples with her identity. Her last appearance is in Thud and by then, she's changed the pronunciation of her name of Cheri.
A cultural test balloon
"You're free to wear whatever you want, you know that." "Yes, sir. And then I thought about Dee. And I watched the king when he was talking to you and... well, I can wear what I like, sir. That's the point. I don't have to wear that dress. I can wear what I like. I don't have to wear something just because other people don't want me to. Anyway, it made me look like a rather stupid lettuce." The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
Cheery is a massively important character in the Discworld as she's basically a cultural test balloon. After coming out as female, she drives the change for a lot of Ankh-Morpork dwarfs. It's not a simple case of female dwarfs becoming female humans. Female dwarfs retain their beards, their affinity for armour. But they begin to explore how to feminise dwarfish culture.
This comes to a peek in Unseen Academicals were we see the Discworld's first dwarf fashion shop, Shatta, run by Madame Sharn and Pepe. Also in Raising Steam, where the Low King of the Dwarfs comes out as, not only female but also pregnant. She subsequently takes the title Queen Blodwen.
Final Thoughts
“It’s about Koom Valley again. He wants you back at the Yard.” “But we were stood down!” Sally complained. “Sorry,” said Visit cheerfully, “I reckon you’ve been stood up again.” “The story of my life,” said Cheery. Thud, Terry Pratchett
I genuinely just adore Cheery. She's a smart and independent woman and there's a lot about her I can relate to. She's awkward and uncomfortable in her own skin, until she finds her space to grow in the city. And as I say, she's an incredibly important character in the Discworld purely because she's the first to strike out on a path which many will end up following, even if she had to do it through an onslaught of criticism.
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