From the Forest by
Sara Maitland is a search for the hidden roots of our fairy tales. We all know,
‘Once upon a time…’ and off we go on some fanciful story that usually involves
the forests and woods. I can recollect my own love of the woods when I was young.
We always had good woods across from our homes or when I was older an easy
drive, especially on Nantucket when I would escape to the moors and then the
hidden forest to find some solitude. Walking in the woods always has more
intrigue and adventure than a simple walk on the beach or in a city. Forests and fairy tales have a
symbiotic relationship contends Maitland and she sets out from the get go to
show and prove this with sound examples and a strong argument. “The forest is
the place of trial in fairy stories, both dangerous and exciting. Coming to
terms with the forest, surviving its terrors, utilizing its gifts and gaining
its help is the way to ‘happy ever after.’” Beyond the classic authors I’m
struck by Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s
Dream, As You Like It, and The Tempest particularly and how he use
this formula to arrive at a happy ending. Part of the charm of the forest is
the chaos they bring to the story, the confusion, and in the end once it is
figured out, the path is found, order is restored, but first there is always
chaos. There is magic about forests we have always felt and always seem to
return to with joy, trepidation, and wonder. Maybe it isn’t a coincidence that
our cities resemble forests as we imitate our primitive natural sides when we
cut them down and build where a forest once was. Once upon a time there was
Thumbling.
The book has twelve chapters, one for each month of the year
starting with March. Each chapter speaks of a specific forest filled with
botanical facts of the trees in each wood followed by a fairy tale.
April finds us in Saltridge Wood where I learned that the
beech tree is the best tree to carve in because it grows with the tree and is
not overgrown, as it would be obliterated on other trees covering the wound. I also
learned that little else but bluebells and ransoms are found in a beech grove
because of the root system of the beech tree which is not hospitable top other
fauna. ‘Tyranny is like a beech tree; it looks very fine but nothing grows
under it.’ The hierarchy of trees has the oak as king and the beech as queen
only because it was the tree used by nobles to plant on their estates to
provide shade and no groundcover. The real queen of the forest is the birch,
which has been relegated to princess. It is the birch that has the connection
to the fairy world, as birch was the tree for witches’ broomsticks. The birch
has many other aspects as well such as the natural juices, the bark, and its
sinewy strength as attested to by Robert Frost in his poem praising the birch. Ironically,
there is no defining text or study of exactly what a fairy tale is or how many
there are. The author mentions two attempts, the Aarne-Thompson system and the
Vladimir Propp morphological approach, both of which are incomplete, inconclusive,
and unsatisfying. Fairy tales are oral or written down. Charles Perrault
(1628-1703) is given credit as the first ‘collector’ of fairy tales. Then of
course we have the Brothers Grimm. So doesn’t Shakespeare fall into this
category? He did what the Brothers Grimm did; he altered existing fairy stories
and wrote them down. More irony occurs when their walk is interpreted by a
hellhound that attacks their dog and creates some angst and puts a cloud over
the walk after the bad dog owners retrieve their hellhound and disappear. Once
upon a time there was a White Snake.
In May at the height of spring we are exploring New Forest,
which has a history back to 1066, when William the Conqueror created the Forest
Law that stated all forests belonged to the Crown and the Crown had exclusive
hunting rights in all forests. Only the Crown could grant hunting rights to
others, nobles as rewards. All others were poachers and harsh penalties would
be exacted. In 1215 during King John’s reign the Magna Carta giving the people
access to the forests displaces the Forest Law. During the time from 1066 to
1215, the forest became the realm of Out Laws, Robin Hood being the most famous
mythical outlaw in England. Forests were places for people to hide from the law
and still are today. The author spends much time providing data from the
Brothers Grimm about the number of people who use the forest as sanctuary. Of
course she spends some time with the Arthur legend and Camelot while Merlin
wanders the Great Caledonian forest. Once upon a time there was
Rumpelstiltskin.
It’s June so we must be in Epping Forest. Epping Forest is a
tube ride from London, which makes it a very public and very visited public
forest. It has been public and in the national trust since Queen Victoria. A
right good model for what Teddy Roosevelt would do in America soon. Prior to
Victoria and as far back as Henry I, Epping Forest was the formal hunting land
of the Crown. While wondering the forest our author comes upon a swing that
must have taken lots of genius to create because of the height of the limb and
the difficulty of climbing the branchless tree. As she reflects of the lack of
children, the author ventures off on her own private rant of how children are
missing out on the adventures of the forest because of the overprotected
society that keeps children in and allows them to become obese and miss out on
the spirit of fairy tales, of play, of solving problems in the forest, and of
living. She has a point. Once upon a time there were Hansel and Gretel.
Each month for the rest of the year, Maitland visits a
different forest or wood, discusses the nature of the ecology and biology and
botany of the wood, then explores various fairy stories to complement the
science. The connection between woods/forests and fairy stories/tales is
obvious as we travel from wood to wood with her and her companions. The major
connection is one of ‘secrecy.’ Woods provide a place for secrets just as fairy
tales are secrets or are filled with secrets, which are probably why we are enchanted,
by both woods and fairy tales. They are physically linked to each other in so
many ways, it is hard not to walk on a forest path, fear getting lost and hope
to find a house that will provide refuge, safety, and magic. Even her fairy
tales that follow each chapter are not the ones we know, they are variations
much like what Shelley Duvall did with
Faerie Tale Theatre
in the 80’s.
This is a fun book and has provided me with a whole new avenue
of exploration for my future visits to UK.