Dragonsong

Originally published in 1976, Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonsong is a young-adult fantasy novella that marks the first installment of the Harper Hall of Pern trilogy, which is set within the larger series called Dragonriders of Pern. The novel follows a teenage girl named Menolly: a talented musician who longs to become a professional Harper despite her community’s restrictions against it. After being forbidden to make music in the wake of her mentor’s death, Menolly flees into the perilous world of Pern, where she befriends nine fire lizards and ultimately finds a place where her musical abilities can be celebrated. The novella explores themes of Empowerment Through Self-Expression, The Struggle Against Oppressive Societal Norms, and The Role of Mentorship and Community in Personal Development.

This study guide refers to the eBook edition released by Simon & Schuster in 2016.

Content Warning: Both the source material and guide feature depictions of animal death, bullying, mental illness, gender discrimination, child abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and death.

Plot Summary

The story is set on Pern, a planet where dragonriders protect humans from deadly alien spores called Thread, which fall from the sky at various intervals and devour all that they touch. Fourteen-year-old Menolly is the youngest child of Yanus, the leader of Half-Circle Sea Hold. Because of her natural musical talents, she longs to become a Harper like her mentor, Petiron, but women are not allowed to pursue this profession at Half-Circle. Shortly before Petiron dies, he sends two of Menolly’s songs to the head of the Harpers, Masterharper Robinton. However, Petiron does not name his apprentice in the letter or even reveal that she is a girl.

While Half-Circle Sea Hold awaits the arrival of a new Harper, Menolly is allowed to perform some of a Harper’s duties, such as instructing children and performing at celebrations. However, when she accidentally performs part of her own song for her pupils rather than the approved teaching songs, her father viciously beats her and withdraws these responsibilities from her. Later that day, Menolly wanders outside the Hold alone and sees a group of fire lizards: tiny creatures that resemble dragons and are so elusive that some humans believe them to be mythical. That evening, Petiron’s replacement, a young man named Elgion, arrives to take over the Harper duties in the sea hold.

A few days after the new Harper’s arrival, Menolly cuts her left hand while cleaning a poisonous fish, and her mother tells her that she will never be able to play an instrument again due to the injury. Weeks later, Menolly sees the fire lizards again while she is out foraging. She carries the fire lizard queen’s eggs into a cliffside cave to protect them from the rising tide, and the exercise increases her injured hand’s strength and dexterity. Menolly is thrilled by her encounters with the fire lizards, and she grows increasingly dissatisfied with her life at Half-Circle Sea Hold when her parents discourage her from singing.

Early one morning, Menolly sneaks out of the hold. When Thread begins to fall, she takes refuge in the fire lizards’ cave. The eggs that she rescued suddenly hatch. Ravenous with hunger, some of the infants fly outside and are killed by the spores. However, Menolly is able to save many of the hatchlings. Nine of the baby fire lizards imprint on her, bonding with her for life. Over the next several days, she spends much of her time feeding the fledglings and singing to them. Menolly also crafts a set of reed pipes, and the fire lizards learn to sing along when she plays. She resolves not to return to Half-Circle Sea Hold.

One day, Elgion hears Menolly’s piping while he is out sailing with her older brother, Alemi. Elgion realizes that Menolly is the one who taught the Hold’s children before his arrival. Alemi confirms this but asks him to keep it a secret because Yanus thinks that having a girl perform the work of a Harper is a disgrace to the Hold. Elgion resolves to find the mysterious musician.

During the next Threadfall, both Menolly and Elgion are caught outside and are rescued by dragonriders and taken to Benden Weyr, where the dragonriders are housed. Elgion sees Menolly briefly in Benden Weyr, but he doesn’t realize who she is and soon returns to Half-Circle Sea Hold. Menolly’s stay in the Weyr is longer because she injured her feet while trying to outrun the Thread. During her time in the infirmary, Menolly befriends a young nurse named Mirrim, who examines the scar on Menolly’s hand and determines that her injury has not compromised her ability to play musical instruments. This revelation prompts Menolly to realize that her mother lied to her in an attempt to stop her from pursuing her passion.

When Menolly is well enough to walk again, she learns that the dragonriders are urgently searching for fire lizard eggs. The riders hope that caring for the vivacious creatures will draw residents of the Holds out of their staid ways and make them more sympathetic to the needs of dragonriders. Together, Menolly and a rider named T’gellan find a clutch of fire lizard eggs and bring them to Benden Weyr. All of the weyrpeople are greatly impressed with Menolly. They offer to let her stay with them as long as she wants, and their acceptance moves her to tears.

The following day, a clutch of dragon eggs hatches. This is a momentous event, and many distinguished guests from across Pern attend, including Masterharper Robinton. As Menolly witnesses, a dragonrider named Brekke, who recently lost her dragon, regains her will to live with the help of a fire lizard. She also sees a white baby dragon imprint on a boy who helps it to hatch after it is unable to break out of its shell on its own. After the Hatching, Menolly distributes the fire lizard eggs to the individuals chosen to receive them. She also offers advice about how to treat fire lizards with kindness and affection so that they will bond with humans.

By this point of the novel, Menolly has given up on her dreams of becoming a Harper and intends to make a new life for herself at Benden Weyr instead. With Elgion and T’gellan’s help, Robinton learns that Menolly is Petiron’s apprentice and convinces her to take her rightful place in the Harperhall. As the girl joyfully accepts his invitation, her nine fire lizards burst into song.