A fire of absolute
selfishness begins the novel. A fire of self-sacrifice, atonement, and
unselfishness ends the novel. These are
the bookends of “The Wise Woman”. What
happens in the middle, the plot, is the author, Philippa Gregory, creating a
story with absolute artistic freedom because she does not need to stick to the
truth of a well-known historical figure.
Philippa
Gregory is the author of many well-known and beloved historical fiction novels
such as “The Other Boleyn Girl”. For the
many who may not have read that or any other of her novels, chances are that
you have seen the movie. She is
well-known for her novels concerning the Tudor king, Henry VIII, and his six
wives and various other women that fulfilled his lusts and need for power. She also has written a novel for each of his
daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. She has
recently taken to going back further in history and writing of the women who
were instrumental in the War of the Roses which led ultimately to the Tudors
taking the throne in England. The point
is, a vast majority of Philippa Gregory’s novels are ones based in history and
historical figures whose histories are well-known. Because of that, true and factual history is
the backbone of her books. Lesser known
are her books that do indeed take place during historical periods of time but
does not focus on the factual history of a real person. “The Wise Woman” is one such book.
After
reading many of Philippa Gregory’s books, I have realized that she focuses
heavily on strong female characters who are simply trying to find a sense of
power, security, and financial stability in a world where men rule and those
things are not readily available for women.
I watched while Mary and Anne Boleyn attempted this, and we all know how
it ended for Anne. Recently, I found
myself in the world of Jacquetta and Elizabeth Woodville who also were trying
to have these things and found them to varying successes (“The White Queen” and
“The Lady of the Rivers”). And, in “The
Wise Woman”, it is Alys who is trying to have this. Alys, who was orphaned very young, was taken
in by Morach who was a local wise woman.
A wise woman is someone who is learned in herbs and the use of them in a
healing sense. A wise woman was also
someone who could be a midwife and had nursing skills. Unfortunately, wise women were often marked
as witches.
When I
think of witches, I think of the sordid history that our very own country had for
a short period of time in the 1600s.
Many Americans have heard of the Salem Witch Trials and have seen them
portrayed in plays such as “The Crucible”.
Various authors have taken their spin at the history and stories of this
period of time. One I have read, by
Katherine Howe, is called “The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane”. Without going into a full summary of the
novel, I can tell you that the women in this book also were talented at
midwifery and using herbs. In looking at
each situation whether it is England in the 1500s or the American colonies in
the late 1600s, I can see a trend in why there was such a fear of witchcraft
and such an ease in accusing women of doing so.
Both of these periods were times of religious change and religious persecution
of the non-religious or differing religious.
During this period of time, it was expected that you followed the
majority religion and that you behaved within the guidelines set forth by
it. Unfortunately, this meant that the
role of women was very narrowly defined.
Fear crept up when women had knowledge that only men should have. Fear crept in when women were able to do
things that they should not be able to do had they so stuck within the
religious guidelines of the day. I do
not doubt that true witchcraft took place in those periods of time and even
still. The idea presented in these books
though is that so called wise women were persecuted and died for it and because
of it, and thus lived in fear of the church and accusations.
When it
comes to “The Wise Woman”, Alys struggled between two worlds. Set just before and during the religious
reformation of King Henry VIII, she very much so chose the faith of the pope
and was a nun during her young years.
After a fire which burned down her nunnery, she chose to return to
Morach who as a wise woman and mother figure expected her to follow in her footsteps. Alys struggled with it and would only do the
things that she believed would not offend her Lord. But, after being taken away to the castle of
the local nobleman and falling in lust with his son, she allowed the darkness
of her wise woman ways to overtake her. Alys,
in truth, was firstly a woman who was only interested in her own welfare,
security, and wants and secondly a nun or a wise woman. When it was convenient, she easily shed her
religious ways and the vows she had taken.
When it served her, she would turn to the dark side of being a wise
woman to get what she wanted and felt that she deserved.
As the
novel delved into Alys’s and witchcraft’s dark side, it became very creepy
indeed. I personally am a bit sensitive
to characters and storylines that purpose to remove all obstacles in their path
of achieving what they so desire, without regard to the lives that they are
ultimately affecting. Alys used the dark
side of witchcraft for that. Doing that led to some extremely sordid storylines
including the man she lusted for, Hugo, and his wife, Catherine.
Overall,
I enjoyed the novel. I wasn’t a fan of
the witchcraft that was used for evil or self-serving purposes, and I wasn’t a
fan of the sometimes sordid sexuality in the book. Unfortunately, I know that the culture of the
time was very much sexual. Because of
these things, I would not rank it in the highest among my favorites of Philippa
Gregory’s, but I did enjoy it
nonetheless. The story is compelling,
and it does cause you to wonder how Alys will make it in this world that is
against witchcraft and is against the religion of the Pope. I enjoy Philippa’s point of view in her
novels including this one which is exploring a woman who is simply trying to
make a place for herself in a world where women are simply objects and conduits
of their family’s wealth.
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