Women of Farscape #6 - Noranti

[nymeria_dw]

NORANTI

Mystery, or Enigma, could be further names for Utu Noranti Pralatong: when she appears aboard Moya, in the final episode of Season Three, she looks at ease on the Leviathan as if she had always been there, while no one can explain when or how this happened.

Noranti looks like the proverbial witch of children's tales: she's old, small, wizened, her hair gray and unkempt, her face deeply lined. She's often seen bent over some boiling cauldron, thus reinforcing her witch "mode" in our collective imagination, and the third eye in the middle of her forehead, flashing with different-colored lights, adds to the impression of mysterious and otherworldly powers.

The doubts about her origins - and her goals - are never fully cleared and leave the viewers with many unanswered questions: if she truly came aboard Moya with the other prisoners escaped from Scorpius' exploding carrier, why was she a prisoner in the first place?  It sounds incredible that such a peculiar creature would not come under Scorpius' radar, who clearly doesn't recognize her and looks intrigued by the old woman. And again, why does she stay on the Leviathan and why does she make John Crichton the focus of her attentions? Why does she choose to ply him with the many hallucinogenic substances she seems to possess in unlimited quantities?  We're still looking for these answers…

It would be too easy to label Noranti as "crazy old woman": the nonsensical utterances and the occasional lapses of narcolepsy would point that way, but she always manages to surprise the audience because her meaningless dialogue - like the obscure revelations of archaic oracles - takes on a precise meaning only with time, and also because under the apparent madness lurk both a deep wisdom and a profound respect for every life-form.

This latter comes to the fore in a very intense segment that helps us define Noranti's personality beyond the smoke-screens the writers employ to enhance her mysterious aura: it's a moment of revelation that in a handful of seconds can subvert any negative notion created by Wrinkles' (that's her nickname) ambiguous activities.   In the episode FETAL ATTRACTION, Noranti comments with Rygel her role in Aeryn's rescue from a Scarran prison, rescue that required Noranti to create a dangerous epidemic as a diversion: many have perished because of the contagion and the old woman laments the loss of innocent lives - her pain is genuine this time, not mediated by obscure ramblings or convoluted word-play. For the first time viewers are able to see her true inner self, and in a touching, sadly ironic moment Rygel welcomes her to the Moyan community, to which she has been bound by pain and guilt, the elements common to this mixed group.

Of course Noranti possesses a "fun" side also, because in the best Farscape tradition every character is a mix of drama and comedy in equal parts: so we can see old Wrinkles as she and Chiana, perfect accomplices, try to fool Peacekeepers under the guise of exotic-looking lovers, or we watch - in horrified fascination - her improvised strip-tease in LAVA IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING. In this instance, through the use of some of her strange powders, she manages to distract two mercenaries appearing like a beautiful exotic dancer unveiling before them with alluring moves: the contrast between the drug-induced vision of the mercenaries and the stark reality observed by Crichton and D'Argo - whose disgust is plain - constitutes one of the most exhilarating moments of the season.

Noranti too, like Jool and Sikozu, suffers from the untimely end of Farscape and remains incomplete, although her unusual and controversial nature makes her a fascinating character that draws its strength from its very uncertain nature.

Comments

[nebari-rebel.livejournal.com]

I love Noranti.

I don't like her at all, but I love her...that's really all I have to say LOL I think my brain is running out of energy ;)

I love that scene in FA as well, and the moment shared with Rygel, who has no doubt caused the deaths of innocents in his time as Dominar. I think she has broader plans and goals than we ever got to see, and that her confusion and dementia is genuine - she is not the woman she once was, and doesn't remember all that she knows. Indeed, she might not even always remember what it is she needs from Crichton, or needs him to do.

I find her an excellent foil for Chiana, which is always fun :) And her wisdom in COD is another high point...but yeah, for me Noranti is an example of how you can find a character fascinating and love them as a character, but not as a person.

[nymeria-55.livejournal.com]

Your brain is far from running out of steam! These discussions are getting way beyond fascinating :-) (does it show how much I'm enjoying myself?)

Yes, we all love to hate Noranti, and yet there are those glimpses, those tantalizing glimpses of much more... That way we're too intrigued to give in to our instinct of throwing her off the ship!
Could this be her protective camouflage? LOL