Muriel. Is not. Illiterate.
Warning: long post, wizard swears, some talks about racism
Ok. So I've made this mistake before and this is me calling myself and others out. Muriel knows how to read.
First off, he can write you god damn post cards in heart hunters. Jfc of course he's fucking literate!
So let me talk to y'all about literacy. I'm an educator, and I'm sitting with another of my teacher friends (who is not part of this fandom and is unbiased) as I'm writing this, and she has a reading endorsement and is fact checking me.
(Note: I'm speaking from a very western point of view, here. Things vary in different places and every reader is different.)
First off, there's a difference between being "illiterate" and being "functionally illiterate".
Illiteracy is not being able to read or write.
Functional Illiteracy is when you cannot manage tasks in your daily life due to the level of your reading and writing skills. For modern adult in the United States (again, speaking from being an educator here), this includes comprehending leases and other paperwork, writing and reading at an appropriate level.
It is increasingly difficult to learn to read and write as you get older, once you get past a certain age. That's why you learn to read in kindergarten, or even earlier. This has been backed up by a lot of research and is why it's important to read to babies when they're little.
It wasn't until the widespread practice of public schools that literacy was common. Reading and writing were taught by private tutors in wealthy homes. The ability to read and write was what separated the rich from the poor and kept them in these social classes.
(And even then, segregation in the United States kept people of color poorly educated as a form of systematic oppression. Socioeconomic (read: mostly poc) prejudice is still a problem in today's schools here. It's a very big issue that many don't realize exists.)
Now, about my beautiful sweet boy. Muriel grew up homeless and literally is the definition of a street urchin. I can almost guarantee you he was not taught to read as a child. There is no way, unless someone taught him the basics before he left the South (and I think he would have been too young at the time? PLEASE someone correct me if I'm wrong.)
Even today, functional illiteracy in homeless youth is a problem. (Links here and here)
I believe Asra re-taught MC how to read and, like many have said, he would not have let his best friend stay illiterate. HOWEVER, because he was taught at a later age, his reading level was limited. At the very latest, if he was taught to read at the age his is present-day in the story, he would probably be at a 2nd grade reading level (says my teacher friend). If he was taught around the age at which he met Asra? It would be even higher, if they had access to reading material at the proper level (which Asra did, once he started working for the Count and/or had access to the magic shop, though Muriel was kept basically a prisoner for combat, at that time)
So Muriel is not illiterate, though he would probably be considered functionally illiterate by today's standards.
MC is probably functionally illiterate by modern standards, too.
SO IS LUCIO and he's the god damn Count.
The other important thing to note here is how valued these skills would be in the community. How much does the community value reading and writing skills?
Pirates? Historically didn't place reading and writing as high priority. Julian and Portia were most likely not taught until they were adults.
Barbarian tribes? Historically didn't care either. Lucio probably didn't learn to read until he became a mercenary or even until he was the Count. Look at Morga and tell me if she taught her son to read.
Do the people of Vesuvia value literacy? If we're looking at this historically - probably not. And even if they did, they don't have schools to teach people. Like we said earlier, unless you could afford a private tutor, you probably weren't taught much besides what your parents could teach you. People learned what they needed to get by, and that was about it. That was their standards for functional literacy.
(For MC, I would classify "dying and coming back to life and having to re-learn everything" in the same category as having to re-learn things after having a stroke. Strokes often produce reading difficulties. Here is a link for that)
- Basically everyone in Vesuvia is functionally illiterate by today's standards.
- But by Vesuvia's standards, Muriel is functionally literate. He is just fine.
- Can he read scientific articles? Probably not. Half the time I can't either, tbh. Can he order some god damn smoked eel from the salesman or read a map? Yes. He can.
If you think Muriel is the ONLY ONE who is illiterate, you need to check your racial bias.
P.S. Just because someone is functionally illiterate doesn't mean they are not smart. I work with teens who fall into this category all the time, and they're not fucking stupid. Muriel knows his shit and now - so do you.
(I want to thank @apprenticeofcups for bringing this hc to my attention for the first time. This is a topic I feel very strongly about. Obvs.)