One of the things I found interesting about Ash was the importance of Ash’s mother’s death. Despite us actually meeting Ash’s father, Ash’s mother is much more central to the novel as a whole. In the beginning, her mother stands as a reminder of the way things were in Rook Hill before her stepmother moved in, and after her father’s death the long, dreamlike walks to her mother’s grave stand as useful depictions of Ash’s loneliness. However, I find the most important characteristic of Ash’s mother to be her connection to magic, and, to a lesser extent, the fairy population. I love that Lo has given magic and fairies a sort of religious bend, where some people believe in the mysticisms of old (the greenwitchs) and others interpret them to be make-believe (the philosophers). In a way, Lo’s novel follows the same “blind faith” ideas of other YA novels such as A Wrinkle in Time, where the main characters share a belief in things that most other characters in the novels do not. Ash’s belief in fairy tales is important in the context of her mother’s death. For one thing, the fact that her mother was a believer as well gives us a nice connection between her mother and magic (hence the reason Ash can “feel” her mother’s presence all the time). However, the most important point is that Ash’s belief in the old magic gives her a form of hope. At first it’s the hope that she might somehow see her mother again (albeit through being whisked away by a fairy), but later this hope manifests itself in her relationship with sidhead. It’s the hope that she can somehow get out of the situation she is in, and magic/faeries is the only chance she has in doing so.
Mother’s and Magic
4 responses to “Mother’s and Magic”
-
I saw the connection between a Wrinkle in Time and Ash too. I think the major difference is that Ash grew up hearing fairy tales and therefore has a foundation to hold on to throughout the story. Meg was told to have blind faith in a world that was thrown upon her. Why do you think the authors chose to write it this way?
LikeLike
-
I find it interesting that even though the philosophers don’t “believe” in the fairy tales, they still find them important enough to have an opinion about . Like religion, even to those who don’t adhere to it, the idea still influences them in some way. I also like the addition in the comment of Meg’s world being thrown upon her while Ash has more agency in her belief.
LikeLike
-
Mothers in general play a large role in this type of magic, with mother’s love or sacrifice being central to the character’s sense of self. The mother, in general, seems to have an assumed place close to the heart in many novels. Therefore, the mother often stays central in character’s decisions, actions, and influences their path in the novel.
The distortion of this sense of nurture in the stepmother is what makes her a hated character in the novel.
LikeLike
-
In comparing Ash to the original Cinderella story in this way, its interesting that I am pretty sure we never get an introduction to Cinderella’s mother (or much backstory whatsoever) in the original story. Knowing more about Ash’s parents make for compelling story and a more interesting relationship with magic– we are let into understanding her motivations. Also found the idea of calling them ‘fairytales’ interesting in a meta-way because we probably call Cinderella a fairytale, right?
LikeLike
Reading Young Adult Literature 
Leave a reply to allisonrayco Cancel reply