The Maid of the North by Ethel Johnston Phelps
"The Maid of the North" by Ethel Johnston Phelps is a collection of twenty-one folktales from around the world, notably highlighting female protagonists who exemplify strength, bravery, and independence. Phelps identifies these stories as "feminist" narratives, as they portray women as active decision-makers rather than passive characters. Notable tales include "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," where the heroine carefully assesses the situation before accepting a life-changing offer, and "The Stars in the Sky," in which the protagonist persistently pursues her dream of reaching the stars despite numerous challenges. Each story in this collection shares common themes of determination and problem-solving, with heroines who confront various adversities, such as loss or oppressive circumstances. Phelps aimed to counteract the traditional portrayal of women in folklore, which often depicted them as secondary to male heroes. By including tales that celebrate resourceful and courageous women, Phelps provides readers with a broader understanding of female strength in folklore. This collection serves as an important reminder of the rich heritage of strong female characters, aiming to inspire readers of all genders.
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Subject Terms
The Maid of the North by Ethel Johnston Phelps
First published: 1981; illustrated
Subjects: Animals, family, gender roles, and love and romance
Type of work: Short fiction
Recommended Ages: 10-15
Form and Content
The Maid of the North is a collection of twenty-one folktales from throughout the world. Ethel Johnston Phelps calls them “feminist” stories because they show women as strong not weak, active not passive.
The young peasant girl in the Norwegian story “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” has all the qualities that Phelps values, especially independence. Although her parents have rejected the White Bear’s offer of a home for her, she decides to accept it, but only after she has observed him carefully enough to make a judgment about his character. She is not rash or irrational. Like Phelps’s other heroines, the peasant girl is brave, insisting, even in the most dramatic circumstances, that she is not afraid.
The same characteristics are evident in the heroine of the English story “The Stars in the Sky.” Once she has decided to reach the stars, she sets off, and whatever transpires thereafter, she always keeps her goal foremost in her mind. When the heroine comes across the Little Folk, she asks for their help instead of fearing their magic. Still unafraid, she rides a horse, then a fish, and finally, although extremely tired, climbs to a dizzying height above the earth and manages to touch a star. Although this story is less complex than “East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” it follows the same pattern—as, indeed, do all of these folktales.
The reason that the stories in this collection resemble each other so much in form is that, in addition to having such qualities as courage and determination, Phelps’s heroines are all analytical by nature. In each story, the heroine identifies a problem and works through to a solution. The problems are varied; many involve a loss. In “Fair Exchange,” a child is missing; in “The Twelve Huntsmen,” it is a prospective bridegroom. The heroines in “The Old Woman and the Rice Cakes” and “Maria Morevna” have been deprived of their freedom. Other stories feature a threat: a miserable marriage for Bending Willow, the loss of the family livelihood in “The Tiger and the Jackal,” and sometimes even death, as in “Elsa and the Evil Wizard” and the story of Scheherazade.
Whether the heroine acts immediately to solve her problem depends on her assessment of the situation. The mother in “Fair Exchange” knows that she will have a better chance at getting her baby back from the fairies if she has something to offer in return; therefore, despite her longing for her own child, she spends months nursing the changeling back to health before confronting the fairy queen. In “Gawain and the Lady Ragnell,” the lady must move deliberately by first entrapping King Arthur, then getting Gawain’s consent to an unwelcome alliance, and, most difficult of all, making sure that Gawain trusts and respects her enough to let her make the crucial decision. Others must postpone action as well: the forceful Maria Morevna until her lover appears, Bending Willow until the chief dies, and the old woman of the rice cakes until she can think of a plan. The patience shown by these characters should not be mistaken for passivity. Their wills do not waver, and when they can act, they do so.
Clearly, in each tale it is the protagonist who forces events toward a happy ending—or, in the story of Scheherazade, two such endings that differ only in detail, as well as another that the author would prefer. In every case, the heroine’s strength of character determines the form that her life, and her story, will take.
Critical Context
Before the publication of Ethel Johnston Phelps’s two collections of folktales Tatterhood and Other Tales (1978) and The Maid of the North, children and young adults reading works in that genre were exposed almost exclusively to the assumption that males are superior to females. Her works were designed to correct that idea. As the author explains in the introduction to The Maid of the North, however, it was not easy to find folktales that would suit her purpose. Most of them focus on heroes, not on heroines, and when women do appear in these stories, they are often beautiful, passive, and docile. Since every society has had its strong, resourceful, and courageous women, it is clear that the image of women such tales present is a false one.
No sensible person would argue for the suppression of the more traditional stories, such as those in Die Kinder-und Hausmärchen (1812, 1815; Grimm’s Fairy Tales, 1823-1826) and the books of Hans Christian Andersen, or the stories that dominate even the collections from which Phelps drew, such as Kate Wiggins’ Tales of Laughter (1908) or Andrew Lang’s well-known Lilac Fairy Book (1910). The books of Ethel Johnston Phelps, however, should appear on the shelves beside them, to remind readers of both genders that there are and have always been strong and decisive women who are courageous enough to make their own choices and to realize their dreams.