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                                       Drudges

Drudges on Pern at first appear to be almost a slave race, doomed to carry out the menial tasks in Hold, Hall and Weyr with no possible chance for advancement. But the more we see of them, it becomes clear that drudges are not 'slaves' at all. They have the same rights of all other Pernese, including the right for advancement through industry and skill. In fact those which spend their lives as drudges tend to be those who cannot advance themselves through lack of mental capacity, lack of ambition, or possibly just plain bad luck which somehow prevents them from improving their lot.

Drudges do do the menial jobs - fetching and carrying, washing dishes, washing clothes, waiting at tables etc - but they do not appear to be a hereditary social class all to themselves, but those who fall into it for any of the reasons mentioned above. However, it is likely that there are families who tend to be drudges rather than anything else, but this would not be because they could not be anything else in their societies rules - which is basically a meritocracy, meaning that those who deserve or can show a particular skill can get 'promoted'.

Drudges only appear to exist in major Holds, Weyrs, and major Crafthalls, and only in the Holds do we see them as the sole menial workers. In the Weyrs and Crafthalls, then there appears to be a wider section of society who do those jobs - the Candidates and Apprentices, for example, as well as the Headwoman of the Weyr or Crafthall. But this can be explained simply through the fact that the vast majority of the people of Pern live in Holds, and so there will be a higher number of the mentally handicapped present. Also, the heirarchical nature of the Holds means that the Lady Holder, whilst holding pretty much the same position as a Headwoman, cannot 'stoop' to do an almost mevial job, such as cooking - which both Manora (Headwoman of Benden Weyr) and Silvina (Headwoman of the Harper Crafthall) do.

Anne on Drudges:

"The 'drudges' are not simple. They are people--and you have met them in your life, particularly in cities--who do not care to use any initiative and better their conditions. But they most definitely want to have shelter during Threadfall and are willing to do the less appealing tasks for that shelter, food, and a place to sleep. They constitute a very small portion of the population. Don't be a bleedy heart--it's their choice. Ciao, Anne"1

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Notes:

1 DragonRiders of Pern Fantasy-Fiction Writing Club: http://www.dragonridersclub.com/drmain/ammsg.html#drudge

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