Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Wise Woman

If you read a large number of the Grimm fairy tales like I did, you may occasionally run into a character known only as a wise woman. This description is a little vague, but the author sticks to it as if calling her that is of vast importance. So what does it mean?

There is a common modus operandi between these wise women. For one, she seems to be heavily in the know as pertaining to the character who meets her. The latter knowledge could be his corporeal situation or a spiritual one. She often materializes as an old, raggedy woman which is intended to fool the character into thinking she is a person of no consequence. Often she will be encountered having some sort of problem such as needing food or having difficulty getting something due to her age and feebleness. This is actually a test to see is the person meeting her is of good character. They will either assist her or be snide. Often, both scenarios happen in the same story.

Whatever the case, if you pass her test, she will help you, and if you fail, you will be severely punished. The good men will usually obtain a princess as a wife as well as the kingdom, and the cruel person often suffers a fate worse than death such as having bugs crawl out of his mouth whenever he talks. Death is also a possible fate, however.

The quick and dirty assumption is that she is a witch. A good witch perhaps. She possesses the powers to do both good and terrible things but does them based on the moral character of those she meets. A more likely possibility is that she is simply a fairy, and there have been instances where this eventually comes out. Most of the time, however, her identity is not given.

Another possibility given to me by my fellow author Shawn O'Toole is that she could represent the Holy Spirit. That would make her a carnal representation of justice acting upon those she meets in real time. I found this interpretation very interesting.

I am one of those crazy guys who believe in fairy tales. I believe that people were inspired by real events and invented stories that were ultimately oral tradition versions of those incidences. People in days of old may have actually met this wise woman in person. Heck, she might even still be walking about today. Remember that if you are ever asked by a cripple, old lady to help pick up her purse.

The only thing left to mention is that there have been a couple times where the story depicts the character as a wise man. They are the same thing with a different sex. However, the majority of the stories had her as a woman. When all is said and done, just don't be a jerk for no good reason. Strong spiritual forces may deem you unworthy and cast swift judgement upon you. Not good.

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