Cushman, Karen. 1995. The Midwife’s Apprentice. New York, NY: Clarion Books. ISBN
0395692296
Brief
Plot Summary:
The
Midwife’s Apprentice
tells the story of a homeless little girl known as Brat becomes a midwife’s
apprentice in a small, English village.
Brat is picked on and taunted by the village children and used as cheap
labor by the spiteful midwife, who allows Brat to live and study with her. Brat becomes a good apprentice but lacks the
confidence to reach her full potential in this profession. Through a series of events, she decides to
make some changes in her life, for the better.
Critical
analysis:
I found this book to be a challenging read,
due to the hardships faced by the main character Brat/Beetle/Alyce. Brat’s character garners much sympathy in the
fact that she is a homeless little girl without anyone to care for her. Young readers will easily root for the
determined, resourceful little girl and against the nasty, controlling midwife. Adults may understand the midwife’s spiteful
nature, given that she lost so many babies of her own and spends her time
delivering other women’s babies, but I don’t think children will understand
this connection. They are likely to just
see her as evil and not understand why she doesn’t care for Brat in a more
loving manner.
The plot is presented in terms easily
understood by children. Brat spends her
spare time (away from the midwife) generally trying to survive and playing with
her adopted cat, Purr. The physical
labor involved in survival during this historical time period is very
accurately presented. Brat’s
relationship with the midwife is clearly portrayed as antagonistic, mostly due
to the midwife’s resentment of Brat.
The setting is vague in that the young reader
cannot pinpoint an exact time period.
Educated adults may be able to infer the time period, given historical
context, but I was unable to do so and can only guess that it is some time
during the 1800s. The English
countryside is vividly portrayed as Brat roams the village during errands for
the midwife.
This book does vividly portray the need for a person to find a place of belonging in the world. As the book concludes, Brat (now Alyce) is presented with several opportunities for employment, due to her loyalty, diligence, and skills. In the end, she realizes that the sense of belonging can outweigh other comforts, and chooses to return to the midwife, as Cushman writes, “that was her place in this world for right now, and though her belly would likely never be full, her heart was content.”
The author’s style of writing effectively
captures the speech patterns of the era in a simple way that young readers will
understand. The story moves at a nice
pace and will hold the reader’s attention.
Cushman achieves a nice balance of fact and fiction, though some young
readers may feel that there is an abundance of information about different
herbs and potions that may be confusing.
This information does lead one to believe that exhaustive research was
completed to learn about the tools of the midwife trade during this time
period.
Awards
won:
Newbery Medal 1996
School
Library Journal’s
Best Books of 1995
Review
Excerpts:
Horn
Book Magazine
In a sharply realistic novel of
medieval England by the author of Catherine, Called Birdy (Clarion), a
homeless, hungry orphan girl called Beetle is discovered trying to keep warm in
a pile of dung by the village midwife. The midwife, Jane Sharp, takes Beetle in
to work as a servant for little food, barely adequate shelter, and cutting
words. To Beetle, however, it is a step upward. The midwife is far from
compassionate, but she is, for her times, a good midwife. Beetle becomes
interested in the work and watches Jane covertly as she goes about her
business. Beetle also adopts a scraggly cat that she has saved from the village
boys' cruel mistreatment, and she feeds it from her own inadequate meals. As
Beetle grows and learns, she begins to gain some hard-won self-esteem, and
renames herself Alyce. She becomes more accepted by the villagers and is
sometimes asked for advice. On one occasion she employs her common sense and
compassion to successfully manage a difficult delivery when Jane Sharp is
called away. Jane is far from pleased; she wants no rivals and is angered when
a woman in labor asks specifically for Alyce. But Alyce finds she knows less
than she thought, and Jane must be called in to save the mother. Alyce, in
despair and humiliation, takes her cat and runs away. She spends some time working
at an inn, where she learns a good deal more about herself and the world. At
last she admits to herself that what she wants most is to become a midwife, and
she returns to Jane. The brisk and satisfying conclusion conveys the hope that
the self-reliant and, finally, self-respecting Alyce will find her place in
life. The graphic and convincing portrayals of medieval life and especially the
villagers given to superstition, casual cruelty, and duplicity — afford a
fascinating view of a far distant time.
Flowers,
Ann A. 1995. “The Midwife's Apprentice.”
Horn Book Magazine 71, no. 4: 465-466. Academic Search Complete,
EBSCOhost (accessed July 22, 2013).
Connections:
Other books by Karen Cushman:
Catherine,
Called Birdy
Will
Sparrow’s Road
The
Ballad of Lucy Whipple
Alchemy
and Meggy Swann
Enrichment
Activities:
The following website has some great
enrichment activities related to this book:
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