The Wood at Midwinter

Clarke draws on literary tropes—especially folklore—to create a sense of time and place that is both familiar to the reader and deeply uncanny. Rather than a setting located inside the verisimilitude of realism, the novella’s world is cited within the parallel cultural world of folkloric fantasy. Drawing on recognizable patterns from fairy stories, folktales, and medieval literature, Clarke’s modern fable exists in a place of magic and prophecy, in which the boundaries of time and space can be broken. This allows it to resonate as a spiritual and literary allegory, drawing on metaphorical meanings that are familiar and comprehensible to the reader. The story creates a setting that is located in a sense of the past but is not the rational, historical past. Through this, the narrative is able to draw on superstitions and beliefs that were more commonly held in the past, as well as on historical narratives that express these beliefs. Indeed, this historicity is itself an ancient and widespread trope of magical literature.

In creating a sense of place, the wood recalls traditional tales—especially the Grimm stories—where forests embody danger but also offer a rite of passage or wisdom. As such, it draws on tropes recognizable from childhood, such as in “Hansel and Gretel” or “Little Red Riding Hood,” in which lost innocents are both threatened and transformed by the wild environment. The novella’s talking animals are reminiscent of those in folklore and ancient mythic narratives that preserve pagan belief systems, such as the Old Norse Edda and Celtic folk traditions. As in “The Wood at Midwinter,” birds and foxes appear particularly often in early literature as guides or companions to the protagonist, imparting mystical knowledge. The capitalization of common nouns such as “Fox” signifies the emblematic nature of the characters and recalls legends such as the ancient Greek stories Aesop’s Fables. These patterns act as a shorthand, especially useful in such a short narrative, to impart depth and complexity of meaning. These allusions are emphasized by the names of the sisters: Ysolde is a name famous in the medieval Romance tradition, while Merowdis is a derivative of the Anglo-Norman word meaning “emerald,” a gem considered to evoke magical powers, particularly those located in the natural world.

By writing a midwinter tale, Clarke draws on the traditional association of this time of year with magical or mystical happenings that break the boundaries of the known world. For instance, these patterns are found strongly in the Arthurian tradition, such as the 14th-century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight which, like Clarke’s tale, combines Christian imagery and ideas with those of the deeper pagan past, especially questing or prophecy. Merowdis’s foresight or prophetic vision is a key part of this, combining references to the biblical Christmas story—itself a prophetic narrative—with pre-Christian British storytelling traditions that explore ideas of free will, fate, and the burden of knowledge. 

In addition, by assimilating an ostensibly historical 19th-century setting with folkloric and fantastic elements, Clarke alludes to the Victorian fashion for supernatural stories, especially those with a strong moral message. Key examples include Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Old Nurse’s Story. The longstanding cultural association of midwinter with the supernatural in English literature creates a fantastical context for “The Wood at Midwinter,” setting up recognition of meaning on the part of the reader, especially around the combination of realistic and supernatural elements. 

Clarke also creates her own folklore, especially through the missing footnote about Merowdis’s city, described as a beautiful place built by John Uskglass, the Raven King. This reference ties the story to Clarke’s larger literary universe while evoking the layered storytelling of oral traditions. The integration of fairytale-like motifs, including the personification of nature and the symbolic roles of animals, creates a narrative that feels as though it could exist outside time, passed down through generations. By fusing these elements, Clarke constructs a narrative that is both familiar and inventive, inviting readers to participate in a world in which the normal rules of time and place can be broken.