The Wise Woman, or The Lost Princess: A “Prodigal Son” Story of Sorts

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As one of my longtime favorite children’s stories by George MacDonald, this one always hits home for me. Ever since I was a little girl, I found this story to be rich and engaging.

One of my older sisters shared with me that she felt convicted reading this, as she related to being like the self-absorbed, tantrum-throwing princess growing up. I found that interesting because I was similarly convicted by the portrayal of the dutiful, yet self-absorbed, Agnes.

I was always outwardly “willing” to do what I was asked to, while inwardly harboring anger, resentment, or self-righteousness. Ultimately what this tale teaches is a lesson about the many forms our corruption can take and how we are each equally in need of redemption.

I have always been drawn to didactic tales such as this, yet in recent years I’ve found that they’ve begun to get a bad rap.

Should a Fairytale Be Didactic?

According to many, including the commentary provided by U.C. Knoepflmacher in the Penguin edition I read, MacDonald should have stopped writing before he wrote The Lost Princess! The grounds for this are that the story is:

“More disciplined, symmetrical, and monochromatic than MacDonald’s earlier open-ended experimentations with fairy-tale forms…His new emphasis on restraint demanded a repulsion of the imaginative free-play he had once so greatly cherished.”

The issue Knoepflmacher has with this story is that it is too organized and aimed at teaching restraint instead of providing ambiguous, transportive tales as he did before.

I respectfully disagree. I have always loved stories that have a moral or point while still retaining the loveliness of a myth, legend, or fairytale. From Aesop’s Fables (which are didactic, yet wonderful, stories!) to Pilgrim’s Progress, to the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne and others! With the right balance, I think having some sort of intended meaning can enrich a fairytale.

Literary/ Biblical Connections

This story could be likened to other dual stories that show two quite different characters and the choices they make. Among them are the Prince and the Pauper (published 6 years later by Mark Twain) and, perhaps the story George MacDonald had in mind, “The Prodigal Son” from the Gospel of Luke.

I am most curious about the last connection, as I think it’s worth exploring. How is this tale commenting on the application of “The Prodigal Son” in child-rearing and child development? How does the Wise Woman, as Wisdom itself, guide the children and parents? What are the implications of turning away from Wisdom?

As this is a blog and not a paper (though I feel that scholarly itch to write one!), I will try to be succinct instead of thorough. I encourage you to read this one as inspiration for your own thoughts and reflection!

The Princess Rosamund

The princess in the story could be said to represent the wild son in the parable of “The Prodigal Son,” as she feels she lives at her own whim, careless of the needs and feelings of those around her.

“As she grew up, everybody about her did his best to convince her that she was Somebody; and the girl herself was so easily persuaded of it that she quite forgot that anybody had ever told her so, and took it for a fundamental, innate, primary, first-born, self-evident, necessary, and incontrovertible idea and principle that she was Somebody… and the worst of it was that the princess never thought of there being more than one Somebody–and that was herself.”

The wise woman reprimands the princess’s parents: “how badly you have treated her!” She tells them that they ought to have given her some of the things she didn’t want and should not have spoiled her as it merely fed her selfish nature.

As a remedy, the Wise Woman kidnaps the Princess and gives her many lessons about doing things she doesn’t want to do (such as chores) and regarding thinking about others. The Princess regresses along the way, throwing terrible fits, but eventually her character softens and she becomes wise.

When she meets with her parents again, they are unworthy of her. The Wise Woman blinds them that they might re-learn how to see. And who should be their instructor but the daughter they had “treated badly?” Their physical condition is made to match their spiritual one and redemption is turned on its head as the transgressor becomes the prophet, leading other transgressors in the ways of wisdom.

Agnes

Agnes, on the other hand, is the dutiful shepherd’s daughter who does her chores and thinks herself morally upright because of it. She thinks highly of herself for merely doing what is morally right (her duty), and thus feels she is deserving of the praise and admiration of those around her.

Like Rosamund, she fancies herself to be a Somebody, making her “immoderately conceited” and vain.

“Agnes was not by nature a greedy girl, as I have said; but self-conceit will go far to generate every other vice under the sun. Vanity, which is a form of self-conceit, has repeatedly shown itself as the deepest feeling in the heart of a horrible murderess.”

As part of the Wise Woman’s training, Agnes is imprisoned with a reflection of herself (a doppelgänger of sorts, if you will). She loathes and fears it while still feeling smug, self-righteous, and satisfied. The reason her teaching doesn’t take is that there is a worm eating away at her heart.

As in the story of “The Prodigal Son,” it is the child who is outwardly vulgar who transforms, gaining a more humble estimation of herself. The shepherd’s daughter, Agnes, does not learn because her condition is more serious: her vanity has taken deep root in her heart and she won’t let go of it. She became too good at outwardly toeing the line and mistaking that for true virtue. She never learns and is left with her own worm-eaten heart as punishment.

The Wise Woman

It is worth noting that the Wise Woman, the teacher of these two “sinners,” represents Wisdom personified, as seen in the book of Proverbs from the Bible and in many literary works. She gives both the parents and the children difficult moral lessons to learn which challenge their deep-rooted beliefs about themselves and what the world owes them. Only two people in this tale are savvy enough to learn from her, while the others will continue in the blindness of their folly.

I’d love to hear from you:

What are some didactic (meant to teach) stories you’ve enjoyed?

What are some of your fairytale favorites and why?