The Midwife's Apprentice

by Karen Cushman

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Themes and Characters

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A girl, around twelve or thirteen years old, begins her journey in The Midwife's Apprentice without a mother, a name, or a home. She is unfamiliar with kind words, having only experienced curses, kicks, and blows. One would need to search extensively to find a heroine on the brink of womanhood with a bleaker future. Yet, by the novel's conclusion, she has transcended her desperate struggle for survival. She evolves into someone who understands ". . how to try and risk and fail and try again and not give up." She positions herself to learn everything about midwifery—physical techniques, herbs, potions, superstitions, spells, and charms—and, more importantly, she discovers her innate capacity for compassionate intelligence, adding tenderness to her future duties.

Inside her, it was as cold and dark as the frosty night outside. . . . She only knew that hunger and cold cursed her existence, forcing her to keep waking, walking, and working, just to alleviate the pain.

This is the severe poverty faced by the girl initially known only as Brat. She buries herself in a village dung heap to stay warm on a frigid night and is awoken by hunger pangs and the taunts of the most downtrodden local boys, who mock her with cries of '"Dung beetle! Dung beetle! Smelly old dung beetle sleeping in the dung.'" A woman arrives, disperses the mocking boys, gives Brat the new name Beetle, and offers the starving girl meager food in exchange for work.

This woman—"neither young nor old, neither fat nor thin with a sharp nose and sharp glance and a wimple starched into sharp pleats"—is Jane the Midwife. Jane is competent in her trade, unlike many of her peers, but she possesses only strong hands, clean fingernails, and the bitter memories of giving birth to six children who later passed away as her qualifications for midwifery. She now lacks empathy for the physical pain and emotional distress of laboring women and feels little joy at bringing new life into the world. This stern woman, the sole midwife in the village, is also greedy for money and goods exchanged for her services and is jealous of her status in the community. She constantly negotiates her fees and twice refuses to attend to laboring mothers who cannot pay. She treats Beetle like a simple-minded drudge, assigning her heavy chores, providing minimal food, no encouragement, and much disheartening abuse.

Beetle soon finds herself burdened with the monotonous tasks of "collecting and stewing and brewing," essential for preparing the midwife's potions and ointments. Despite being labeled as the midwife's apprentice by the villagers, Beetle still becomes the target for their frustrations about Jane's greed. Her only confidant is a loyal listener incapable of offering advice—a mistreated cat she rescued from a pond, where village boys had cruelly thrown it in a sack with an eel. After recovering, the cat formed a close bond with Beetle. In challenging times, Beetle seeks comfort from her affectionate companion, Purr.

By this early stage in the novel, Cushman has clearly defined the main characteristics of her two central characters, highlighting the significant differences between them. Jane the Midwife is too hardened by past hardships and has a cheerless heart, preventing her from growing as a person. On the other hand, Beetle, though hindered by a life without love or roots, possesses youthful energy, a resilient spirit, an innate ability to learn, and hidden reserves of compassion for living beings, as demonstrated by her friendship with the cat. For the first time, she has a fragile foundation on which she can strive to become the...

(This entire section contains 1645 words.)

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person she is destined to be. Beetle's journey toward realizing her potential begins as she meets new people and faces various challenging situations. Even the encounters that lead to feelings of hurt, failure, and futility contribute to her personal development.

Although Jane excludes Beetle from attending actual deliveries for a long time, the girl inadvertently witnesses her first birth when the weaver's daughter goes into labor in a field and delivers her baby on clean straw. From this, Beetle learns that midwifery involves "as much hard work and good sense and comfrey tonic as spells and magic." Her first experience with an indoor birth is sobering. Beetle is called to assist the miller's wife only because Jane is preoccupied with a romantic rendezvous with the married baker. Beetle has discovered their secret and been coerced into silence. With Jane temporarily unavailable, Beetle must step in. Unfortunately, the miller's wife becomes so upset with Beetle's innocent lack of birthing knowledge that she throws objects at the terrified girl. The flustered midwife eventually arrives to deliver the baby, but not before Beetle hides in the shadows to avoid the agitated pair. This incident drives Beetle to work twice as hard, motivated by both fear of the midwife and a growing realization of how little she truly understands about childbirth and adult life.

Following various learning experiences, the midwife's apprentice adopts a new name and perspective. When Jane fractures her ankle just before the Saint Swithin's Day Fair, Beetle is tasked with attending in her place to gather midwifery supplies. At the fair, she is enchanted by the vibrant display of pennants, colorful booths, exotic items from faraway places, puppeteers, and fortune tellers. Among the merchant's goods, she notices a wooden comb featuring a carved cat. Captivated by the comb, Beetle is delighted when the merchant, noticing her interest, gives it to her along with the first compliment on her appearance she has ever received. Buoyed by the gift and praise, she is taken aback when a fairgoer greets her as Alyce, a girl known for her reading ability. She immediately adopts the name for herself. As "Alyce," she begins to develop a sense of self-worth, realizing her personality and looks can be pleasing to others. For the first time, she understands that being able to read adds value to a person. Her growing self-esteem is further boosted when she rescues Will Russet, a village boy who used to torment her, from drowning in the river. They become friends, strengthened when Alyce assists in the birth of his cow's twin calves. She learns that calming creatures in labor significantly increases the likelihood of a smooth delivery.

This newfound understanding aids her in delivering a baby for the first time. When the bailiff's wife experiences a challenging labor, Jane, believing the baby won't survive, leaves for the Manor to collect a delivery fee for Lady Agnes, leaving Alyce to assist the distressed woman. Drawing on her recent experiences, Alyce gently soothes and eases the woman's pain, enabling her to give birth. This success inspires Alyce to quietly observe each room the midwife enters, eager to learn the craft of midwifery. Soon after, she saves a young boy from the cold and protects him from bullies. She names him Edward, after the current king of England, and sends him to the Manor House in search of shelter and work. This reinforces that her compassionate nature now plays a crucial role in how she perceives the world and makes decisions based on her observations.

Alyce experiences a devastating blow to her self-esteem when she fails to deliver a woman's baby, a task ultimately completed by Jane. Feeling like a failure, Alyce feels she has no choice but to "run away." Purr, the cat, follows the only kind person he knows. The next morning, Alyce arrives at an inn located at a crossroads, where the innkeeper's wife, described as "the round and rosy Jennet," offers her food and lodging in exchange for work. Alyce remains deeply disheartened by her failure until she meets Magister Reese, a scholar who is gathering information for an encyclopedia. He perceives that the girl sweeping the floor where he dines each night is shy, lonely, and disheartened, yet not lacking in intelligence. Realizing he cannot speak to Alyce directly, Magister Reese begins to "teach" Purr the alphabet. Alyce listens intently as he describes the letters and becomes captivated by their shapes.

At night, Alyce reviews what she has learned during the day. Amid her daily tasks, she practices writing the letters in the morning frost and in the soot of the chimney. Magister Reese progresses to teaching words, frequently reading obscure passages from his compendium. Alyce is not just learning to read; she is broadening her knowledge base. One day, the scholar inquires, '"And what, inn girl, do you want?'" Alyce spends the entire afternoon contemplating this question before responding: "I know what I want. A full belly, a contented heart, and a place in the world.'" Though she still feels like a failure, her confidence is gradually returning, fueled by her newfound skills and discipline.

The midwife unexpectedly arrives at the inn, meets with Magister Reese, and shares with him a wealth of midwifery knowledge, which he diligently records in his encyclopedia. Alyce is unsettled by Jane's presence but can't suppress her curiosity. She approaches the table where they are talking and overhears Jane asking the scholar if he has seen her runaway apprentice, who quit after a single failure. This conversation plants the idea in Alyce's mind of reclaiming her former role. Her remaining fears vanish after she successfully delivers a baby for a woman who has to stop at the inn. Alyce now understands that she has a true calling and purpose if she chooses to pursue it; being a midwife's apprentice is her rightful place in the world, offering her everything she desires and needs. She returns to the village, and although Jane initially refuses to take her back, Alyce hesitates but ultimately finds the courage to confront her fear of failure. She demands that Jane accept her again, having learned how to cope with setbacks. "The door opened. Alyce went in. And the cat went with her."

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