Angua von Überwald

infobox Discworld character|

name=Delphine Angua von Überwald
description=Female werewolf
associations=Ankh-Morpork City Watch
location=Ankh-Morpork
firstseen="Men at Arms"
alsoin="Feet of Clay" "Jingo" "The Fifth Elephant" "The Truth" "Night Watch" "Monstrous Regiment" "Thud!
notes=Daughter of a Baron and Baroness in Überwald and girlfriend to Carrot Ironfoundersson

Delphine Angua von Überwald is a character from the "Discworld" novels of Terry Pratchett. She first appeared in "Men at Arms". Angua is a member of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, originally hired as part of an affirmative action plan by Havelock Vetinari. Her physical beauty led coworkers to predict that criminals would be lining up to be arrested by her, but Angua's surprising strength and tough attitude soon made her one of the most feared officers on the Watch.

In the 1999 computer game "Discworld Noir", and the 2001 books-on-tape version of "Men at Arms", her name is pronounced "An-gyoo-uh" with a hard "g".

Fictional character biography

Angua comes from a family of werewolves. She is the daughter of a Baron and Baroness of Überwald, and has two brothers, Wolfgang and Andrei. Her sister, Elsa, is deceased, killed by Wolfgang who disguised it as an accident. Both Andrei and Elsa were "Yennorks", werewolves that are stuck in one form (Andrei always appeared to be a wolf, and Elsa a human). Angua and Wolfgang are the only children in their family with shapeshifting ability. Wolfgang is extremely violent and enjoys killing, even eating, "inferior" humans. Angua rebels against the traditional werewolf lifestyle of her parents and brother and leaves Überwald. Andrei manages to slip away as well and enjoys a career as a talented sheepherder.

After moving to Ankh-Morpork, Angua soon became both the first woman and the first undead creature to join the ranks of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. She met Corporal Carrot Ironfoundersson in the Watch, and the two soon fell in love. Since recovering from his initial surprise (which involved drawing his sword), Carrot has not seemed bothered by the fact that Angua is a werewolf. However, Angua often worries that their different backgrounds and needs will eventually doom the relationship.

One of Angua's closest friends in the Watch is Cheery Littlebottom the dwarf. In "Feet of Clay", Angua helps encourage Cheery to "come out" as a woman (dwarf society expects both male and female dwarves to behave in an indistinguishable way), even lending her dresses and make-up. At the same time, Angua conceals her true nature as a werewolf from Cheery because she knows her new friend hates and fears werewolves. Throughout the book Angua debates with herself over whether it would be best to just return to Überwald and live among other werewolves. In the end, she decides to stay in Ankh-Morpork.

Angua has also made friends with Gaspode, a matty, hairy canine who gained and lost the talent of human speech in "Moving Pictures". He then regains it by the time of "Men at Arms" by sleeping too near the Unseen University's High-Energy Magic building. Gaspode flirts with Angua constantly and has helped her out on missions many times.

In "The Fifth Elephant", Watch Commander Sam Vimes is sent to Überwald on a diplomatic mission. Lord Vetinari chooses Angua to be a member of the Watch team that will accompany him, but Angua has already left for Überwald on business of her own. Carrot, assisted by Gaspode the dog, sets out after her. This is the first Discworld book to reveal much about Angua's background, and her parents and brother Wolfgang all figure in the story. Angua's relationship with actual wolves also provides much tension. Wolfgang plays a significant role as the leader of a violent werewolf movement in Überwald. Ultimately, Vimes kills Wolfgang in a violent confrontation in the city square. Angua makes her peace with this.

The fact that the Watch now has a werewolf has become common knowledge throughout Ankh-Morpork, but that hasn't affected Angua's privacy substantially, as, for obvious reasons, everyone assumes it to be Nobby Nobbs; Carrot, Vimes, Vetinari and Angua herself all play along, mostly rather amused. As of "Making Money", the only person in Anhk-Morpork outside of the Watch to have figured out the secret is Moist von Lipwig, seeing Angua in her werewolf form with Nobby standing beside her and recognizing her hair.

Though the widespread recognition of the werewolf presence in the Watch has not inconvenienced Angua on a human level, it has led to a growing sophistication within the city's criminal underworld in evading capture. In "Night Watch", the psychopathic murderer Carcer Dun employs a bomb made from concentrated aniseed to confuse her sense of smell. William de Worde employes a similar tactic in "The Truth", but includes oil of scallatine, making Angua quite ill.

Angua assists Vimes in another diplomatic mission in "Monstrous Regiment", and is mentioned in "Going Postal" as being difficult for criminals in Ankh-Morpork to avoid. Angua also appears in a supporting role in "Thud!", where she gains a rival in the form of the Watch's first vampire officer, Sally.

Angua is an extremely practical and level-headed person. While not as cynical as Commander Samuel Vimes, she balances out Carrot's naïveté (although she occasionally wonders if he's really as innocent as he appears). In human form, Angua is a strict vegetarian. In wolf form, she has a tendency to go after chickens, but she is always careful to go back and slip some money under the door the next day.

Though she is deeply committed to Carrot, even likening herself to being his dog (or as she puts it in "Jingo", a wolf that lives with humans) it hasn't stopped others with romantic interest; there is tension with a wolf named Gavin in "The Fifth Elephant", and she receives a marriage proposal from the small mutt Mr. Fusspot in "Making Money".

See also

*All Ankh-Morpork City Watch members

External links

* [http://wiki.lspace.org/ Discworld & Pratchett Wiki]