A Feminist Fairy Tale

I recently saw a review of this novel on NPR’s web site which compared it to Beauty and the Beast. Frankly, I don’t see it, but that’s okay because it’s so much better than a retelling of any known fairy tale. Novik combines elements of Slavic fairy tales, magic, and even some Tolkienesque flourishes (she admits to being a fan and it comes through in the work) to create a complex story about powerful women and friendship, the merits and difficulties of collaboration, and finding peace.

Set in Polnya and Rosya (Poland and Russia) in a mythical past, kings and queens rely on wizards and witches to help them, particularly versus their enemies. One powerful wizard known as the Dragon resides in a tower in the remote wooded and mountainous countryside of Polnya. The Dragon protects villagers from the encroachments and malevolence of “the Wood,” and in return every ten years they provide one 17-year-old girl of his choosing to serve him for a decade. It’s not clear exactly what happens to these girls while in his tower, but when they are released, safe and with a large dowry, they seem unable to go back to the farm and resume their old life. When our heroine Agnieszka  and her best friend Kasia are 17, it happens to be a year for the Dragon to choose. Everyone expects that he will take Kasia, as she is so lovely and competent, but to the shock of all, he chooses the untidy and not terribly handy Agnieszka. Agnieszka’s relationship with the Dragon starts out rocky; he seems perpetually exasperated with her and she enjoys antagonizing him, but what becomes clear is that Agnieszka possesses some sort of magical powers herself. Moreover, Agnieszka has an unusual connection to the Wood, which seems to want to draw her in and destroy her along with the Dragon.

The lines of this story are a bit complicated, but Novik weaves them together skillfully. There is a political element to it: Polnya and Rosya have been locked in tension for 20 years owing to a Rosyan prince running off with the Polish Queen Hanna into the Wood; they have never been seen again but Prince Marek is determined to find and save his mother the Queen against his father the King’s wishes. The Wood seems to be a political actor as well, as its boundaries extend and literally consume towns along the border; its minions — the living creatures and animated plants within — actively kidnap humans and imprison them within trees or turn them into puppets of the Woods’ desires. Then there is the emotional element to the story as exemplified by Agnieszka, Kasia and even the Wood — what is at your core, what is your motivator? What do you want and how will you get it, particularly when the larger world is inhospitable and hostile?

One of the things I really enjoyed about this novel was the way that Novik portrays her characters’ magical powers; there are different ways of practicing, almost like left brain and right brain magic. The Dragon and the other wizards and witches at the King’s court seem to practice a “left brain” magic that relies on tried and true formulas and rituals. Agnieszka practices an old school, intuitive “right brain” magic, the magic of Baba Yaga.  When she tries to practice magic as the Dragon does, it doesn’t feel right and often has disastrous results. When she practices her more emotional and intuitive magic, the results are powerful and surprising, and further exasperate the Dragon who cannot understand why she can do things that he cannot. But even more impressive is what happens when they work together. These passages made it seem like magic is a sort of musical composition or a large canvas upon which they create a masterpiece.  Joint magic between Agnieszka and the Dragon seems to have a physical and passionate component as well, which complicates their relationship.

The male/female relationships in this novel are familiar and yet not exactly fitting the fairy tale type. The relationship between Agnieszka and the Dragon reminds me a little of the Elizabeth Bennet/Mr. Darcy relationship which is reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast in some ways, I suppose — the very proud man and the smart woman who stands up to him but doesn’t fully understand him until later. In a wonderfully funny send-up of the commoner-turning-into-a-princess image made famous by Disney’s Cinderella, Novik has Agnieszka use a dressing-up spell for protection from, rather than enticement of, a prince. But make no mistake, Novik’s world is dominated by patriarchal relationships. In the village, daughters are given away without much concern about their personal desires, and amongst the royal families, kings’ power over queens is a given, but also leads to the central tragedy of the plot.

Novik’s fairy tale is a feminist story, and the bond of friendship between Agnieszka and Kasia is central to its telling. Each feels a strong urge for something other than what life has to offer and cannot reach it while tethered to their village. Each suffers but rejects rage and hatred and holds on to love. There is one powerful scene where they can literally see each other’s weaknesses and faults, and yet this strengthens their bond. Another powerful bond between female characters is pivotal to the novel and its resolution, but to reveal it would spoil the plot for others. The bottom line is that powerful women, motivated by love, fear, anger, can change the world for better or worse.