Peace Talks is a Coming Out Story in Disguise
I know it likely wasnât written with this in mind, but can we discuss for a minute the incredibly cathartic parallels to coming out that Peace Talks has, especially for those coming as from a religious background and those coming out as asexual. (For context, I realized this year that I wasnât straight but instead asexual, and in the process of coming out went from being a very devout Catholic to currently being in the middle of a lot of confusion about faith.)
To start, Mollyâs plot with her family during the Dresden Duology is one big coming out story, and though it may not be exactly the same as a queer coming out story, it is insanely similar.
Molly says things likeâItâs not something you put on like a cloak; itâs all through me now, intermixed⊠I could leave this circle [leaving the mantle behind], I think, but not without leaving the largest part of me behind. Whatever was left wouldnât be right,â and âI donât get a choice about thatâ which is one of the reasons that Mollyâs story is such a strong coming out story because itâs not something she can choose, itâs part of who she is, and she canât separate that from the rest of what makes her, her.
The conversation between Molly and Harry where Molly tells Harry that she hasnât told her parents about the mantle of the winter lady was one of the most cathartic things Iâve read all year. The way James Marsterâs voice shakes as he read âThey donât know⊠I havenât told them.â and âI canât⊠He wouldnât understand⊠I canât face that. I canât,â was SO well done! I have literally had the EXACT same conversation with myself over and over again, and watching this strong female character whom I love so deeply feel just as helpless as I do and get through it is so comforting!
The ways Mollyâs fears interact with her parentsâ religion is so well done! Itâs like she knows they wonât disown her or anything, but she worries that they wonât understand, they will be unhappy with the situation, and it will change their relationship.
And then when Molly comes out to her parents at the end of Battle Ground. This post is mainly focused on Peace Talks, but oh *chefâs kiss* I cried so hard during that scene! That was so therapeutic and comforting, and the perfect ending to that storyâs plotline.
Michaelâs explanation that âfaith isnât all about God, or a god, you know. Mine is. This path is, to me, a very good path. Itâs brought me a very wonderful life, but maybe it isnât the only path. Many children learn things very differently, after all. It seems to me that God should be an excellent teacher enough to take that into account. But faith is about more than that,â is so comforting. To have one of the most religious characters in literature assuring that itâs okay if your faith doesnât look the way it once did, and itâs okay if it never looks that way again, is so great.
Molly isnât the only one who helps this book have parrallels to coming out, though. Harry also has, in his own way, a foil coming out story to Mollyâs. (I donât know if Iâm using foil right. Please donât be mad at me. Iâm a math major, not an English major).
The way Harry keeps being denounced by the magical community, specifically Ebenezer and the White Council, during this book is so similar to coming out and having people not accept you.
Like, while Harry never wanted to be part of the White Council, him getting kicked out by it is much like religious communities who are like âwe want you to be part of us, unless youâre queer. You canât be queer and fully religious.â
And then thereâs the whole conflict between Harry and Ebenezer.
Harryâs experience of learning that someone he deeply cares about is not perfect but instead has human issues and problems and deep, deep flaws, and both having loved someone while being deeply, deeply hurt by them and attempting to reconcile that are two of the biggest things Iâve learned this year. Having these be taught by the prejudice of a mentor has such a strong coming out resonance to it.
And then the scene afterwards where he just holds Karen and cries and all he can say is âit hurts,â is so good. The illustration of one of the things in life that hurts the absolute most being the people you care about telling you that they donât accept you and hurting you was so well written. Iâm not sure if Iâve read anything else that truly shows the longing for those people you were once so close to mixed with the pain of what their rejection truly feels like. Then the promise that the pain of that wonât last forever felt better than a big hug.
And on top of this was one of, if not the first Dresden Book with canonical queer representation among the mortals, and also allowed for a lot more queer HCs between Butters, Murphy, Harry, and some more that I might talk about in a future postâŠ
Finally, the publisher of the Dresden Files is Ace Books, which doesnât make it queer obviously, but I like the fact that this book which had parallels to my ace coming out story is published by Ace Books.