Skip to main content

literary analysis - Role and significance of Molly Grue


In Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn, I find the character of Molly Grue is something of a cipher. She seems to serve as a councilor and all-around wisewoman, but never seems to take an active role in the course of events. And there are a few points where the book seems to go out of its way to add some mysterious elements to her.


One such element is when Molly sings the song of Elli - associated earlier by Mama Fortuna with Old Age, death and decay. Schmendrick's reaction seems to make it clear that her knowledge of this song is surprising and significant (chapter 6):




Schmendrick peered over the unicorn's back into Molly's territory. "Where did you hear that song?" he demanded. It was the first he had spoken to her since the dawn when she joined the journey. Molly shook her head.


"I don't remember. I've known it a long time."



Another intriguing point is when, at the book's closing, Molly refuses to tell the others the unicorn's parting words to her - vehemently swearing she will never tell as long as she lives.



"I'll never tell," she said, a little frightened, but flushing oddly. "I remember, but I'll never tell anyone, if I die for it - not even you, my lord." She was not looking at him as she spoke, but at Schmendrick.



While this is entirely plausible whatever the particulars of the character, I feel an absence of connection to the rest of the book. I don't see anywhere in the book that Molly is facing issues that would provoke such a reaction from her; so, this seems to address a side of Molly that is not revealed in the book.


In conclusion, I feel there's a lot more to Molly than we see in The Last Unicorn. I get the sense that either (A) Molly has a backstory that we're not privy to, and/or (B) Molly serves a symbolic or thematic purpose in The Last Unicorn, rather than being directly crucial to the plot.


Can anybody shed light on Molly's character, in either of these directions or in both? Who is Molly, and why is she so important to the book?



I'd be happy to hear answers drawing on any combination of:



  • Any reference Beagle himself has made to the issue

  • "The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version," or any other related fiction by Beagle (or, indeed, the film, which I haven't seen)

  • A thematic analysis of the book




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more