40 pages • 1 hour read
Karen CushmanThe Midwife's Apprentice
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1995A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
The Cat
Content Warning: This section of the guide depicts instances of animal cruelty, difficult childbirth experiences, and pregnancy loss.
The cat is both a character and a motif of the novel, representing both The Power of Kindness and The Comfort of Finding One’s Place. Throughout the book, the cat is a supplement to Alyce’s character arc. From the beginning, their stories mirror one another, both struggling and being treated poorly by those around them. After rescuing the cat, Alyce proves herself as trustworthy, and a friendship blossoms between them. Furthermore, the hair comb the merchant gives Alyce enchants her in part because it reminds her of her companion. From this point forward, the two are inseparable as they offer support and fill emptiness in each other’s lives. When Alyce leaves the village, the cat goes follows, because she has proven herself to be a place of safety. When Alyce returns to the village in the final chapter and proclaims she’s ready to work hard as a midwife, the cat is at her side, following her into Jane’s house. Notably, the inn is renamed “The Cat and the Cheese,” highlighting the impact Alyce—and the cat—made with their presence.
The cat also offers additional support to the power of names. Having a proper name makes Alyce feel better about herself and believe that she is worthwhile, and since the cat has been such an instrumental force in her life, she wants him to feel the same way. Alyce cycles through many names, none of which feel right, finally settling on Purr because the cat purrs in response to each suggestion. This exemplifies the importance of listening to others. Much like how becoming Alyce is a turning point for Brat, the cat experiences a change once he is Purr, suggesting that people have more respect for someone when they know who they are and what to call them.
The Village
The village is the setting for most of the novel, and it serves as a motif that plays an important role in Alyce’s development. The story opens with Alyce spending a cold night in the village, and at this point, this village is no different from any other she’s visited—a place to exist until she’s run off. From the moment Jane accepts Alyce’s offer to work for food, the village starts to become home, and by the time she takes the name Alyce, the village has grown into a place where she can see herself belonging. As the midwife’s apprentice, Alyce gets to know the village and its people, and even though they don’t much like or respect her yet, they are a critical part of who Alyce will become. In this way, the village represents the transformative power of one’s surroundings. One can’t always choose where they end up, but once they are there, they can choose how to interact with the place and its people. Alyce’s decision to integrate herself into the village and display kindness despite their treatment shows how she changes as a result of her environment.
The village is also a representation of medieval life and the customs and beliefs of the time. Everyone in the village has a job, whether it be as a midwife, a miller, a baker, or simply a chore boy. Those who wander into town to beg are soon chased away because life is difficult. The people of the village work too hard to give away or have stolen the fruits of their labor, and what little they do have goes toward bartering with one another for goods and services. The village is also a hotbed of gossip and busybodies. Everyone knows or wants to know everyone else’s business, a fact Alyce exploits in Chapter 7 when she pretends to be the devil to scare the villagers. In truth, while the people are scared, they are also curious, especially after the first set of tracks leads to a secret. The difficulty of life during medieval times makes the temptation of a respite from work more tempting, so the devil incident grows into a way for the people to have some excitement.
Childbirth
Centered on the practice of midwifery, The Midwife’s Apprentice features multiple instances of children being born. The motif of childbirth represents uncertainty, which Alyce must accept as she finds confidence.
Childbirth, particularly in medieval times, is anything but easy. As an experienced midwife who lost all six children she bore herself, Jane understands that her occupation is not always successful, even despite her knowledge and skills. The tools of her trade, as well as how she uses and collects them, reflects this. During deliveries, she is harsh and demanding, coaxing babies from the womb with brash and sometimes violent tactics. This matches accounts of midwifery at the time and also speaks to the desperation and uncertainty felt in birthing scenes.
Wrestling with the uncertain outcomes of childbirth is a significant part of Alyce’s character arc. The first time Alyce is left on her own with a delivering mother, she freezes because she is scared and doesn’t know what to do. After helping Will’s cow deliver calves, Alyce gains some confidence, which she uses to help the bailiff’s wife, representing that confidence is just as important as knowledge and skill. During Alyce’s third delivery, she is unable to coax the baby from the womb, partly because she is overconfident but also because she is not experienced or skilled. Jane succeeds where Alyce doesn’t because Jane is not desperate to prove herself, understanding her own limitations. In the novel, childbirth thus offers no guarantees, something Alyce spends the rest of the book coming to terms with.
