Von Pinn
From Girl Genius
This article is about a servant of House Mongfish. For other uses, see Mongfish (disambiguation).
| Von Pinn | |
 | |
| Name | Von Pinn |
| Age | |
| Occupation | Erstwhile Nanny and Teacher aboard the Castle Wulfenbach; currently none known |
| Residence | Castle Wulfenbach |
| First Appearance | Strangling Agatha |
| Death | |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | |
| Children | |
| Marital Status | Single; much pursued by Jägermonsters |
- "I am Von Pinn. I am in charge here. You are Agatha Clay. I have not heard good things about you. I take the safety of these children very seriously."[1]
Von Pinn is a somewhat mysterious, terrifying construct in Wulfenbach service. Earlier evidence suggested that she was created by Lucrezia Mongfish, with whom she shares a more than passing resemblance, but a recent monologue revealed that she was created long before. Her creator is thus currently, tantalizingly unknown.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Aboard Castle Wulfenbach
Von Pinn's job aboard Castle Wulfenbach, at the time of Agatha's arrival, is to protect the hostage-students from harm and to keep them in line. Her sharp claws, immense resilience, and violently bad temper help with both responsibilities. Unfortunately for her, these qualities also make her an irresistible attraction for the Jägermonsters,[3] and she's had to maim several for getting too familiar. Among the students, rumors about her origin have ranged from the plausible to the ridiculous, with most believing her to be a revived Lucrezia Mongfish.[4]
[edit] Creator
According to Carson von Mekkhan, she was "a construct of the Lady Lucrezia's," who was nursemaid her son, Klaus Barry. He seems to imply that Von Pinn was constructed by Lucrezia, but it may be that he just meant she belonged to her. Von Mekkhan may know more about Von Pinn than he is saying, or he may have always thought her constructed by Lucrezia. When Von Pinn's charge was killed in the attack on Castle Heterodyne, she went violently insane and had to be restrained by the surviving Castle staff. She was released into the Baron's service when his sphere of influence overtook Mechanicsburg, around the same time as he finalized his agreement with the Jägers.[5]
Von Pinn herself says she has a male creator. She also says she is over 200 years old, in which time she seems to have had at least three different masters. Her creator told her to keep Agatha "safe" -- which von Pinn took to mean "safe for those around [Agatha]" -- but did not order von Pinn to protect her. Her "beloved king" charged her with the duty to protect Agatha. Her last mistress, possibly Lucrezia Mongfish, compelled her to defend Agatha's life rather than merely her tomb -- an interpretation which von Pinn apparently thought possible.
[edit] History to Present
She appears to have served faithfully for years[6], until the chaos surrounding Agatha's departure. Her negative reaction to the girl herself is (presumably) incidental; more significant is her violent destruction of Punch and Judy, her inability to move against Zulenna Luzhakna's rearguard action, and her ballistic reaction to Bangladesh DuPree's subsequent casual stabbing of the heroic Zulenna.[7] Klaus had to use D-gas to keep from losing one or both of them. [8]
Agatha's first encounter with Von Pinn foreshadows the use of Lucrezia's command voice. When Agatha shouted at her in anger, "Put me down, you wretched construct!" Von Pinn's instinctive reaction was to instantly obey, apparently to her own consternation. This does not mean that she must necessarily like Agatha or Lucrezia; the Mongfish sigil on her watch appears to have been defaced by sharp claws. After discovering that Agatha is the Heterodyne Girl, Von Pinn apparently decided to protect her,[9] but her initial expression of this was not particularly clear or reassuring to Agatha, consisting as it did of rampant slaughter and a repeated statement that Agatha was "MINE!"[10]
At the end of Volume 8, she makes a dramatic reappearance at Castle Heterodyne by way of two torchmen, foreshadowing a pivotal role in the next chapter of the story. And sure enough, just as Agatha thinks everything is finally under control, there she is, apparently present to keep Agatha safe, and "also teach you manners". Agatha is not fully enthused about the idea. In the sense of 'firing down, thus arranging a situation so that Von Pinn had no choice but to sacrifice her life to save Agatha's, sending Von Pinn plummetting down a very, very large pit.'
[edit] Questions and Theories
- Was it just Klaus Barry's death that sent Von Pinn round the bend, or were there other contributing factors? What could she tell us about that night?
- What's with the monocle? Did she always have it?
- Is she a stitched-together sort of construct or is there Heterodyne Jäger technology involved?
- Who constructed Von Pinn?
- Who was it 200 years ago who had knowledge of Agatha's fate and how did they acquire such knowledge?
- Why does Von Pinn obey the Mongfish Command voice if (as a bicentarian) she was not constructed by a Mongfish?
References
- ↑ An introduction...
- ↑ For her original official description, see the Secret Blueprints.
- ↑ "...like a pudding-bag full of knives!"
- ↑ A piece of speculation Klaus evidently found amusing.
- ↑ All according to Carson von Mekkhan's history lesson.
- ↑ "Klaus always did know the right monster for the job."
- ↑ "Aw, does that hurt?"
- ↑ No time for lessons
- ↑ As she says here
- ↑ Seen here and here
