Karen Cushman

The Midwife's Apprentice (rpkg) (Trophy Newbery)

blue

In France, a midwife is sage femme, wise woman; in Denmark, jordemoder, earth mother; among Yiddish-speaking Jews, vartsfroy, waiting woman; in Hawaii, pale keiki, protector of the child. Throughout the world midwifery continues to exist alongside medicine for women who choose to continue the tradition.

The woman who made a profession of helping women in labor was called a midwife, from Middle English words meaning “with woman.”

“Of course,” she whispered, eyes opening wide. “Of course.” She was not an inn girl or a nursery maid or a companion to old women. She was a midwife’s apprentice with a newborn hope of being someday a midwife herself. She had much still to learn, and she knew a place where she could learn it, cold and difficult and unwelcoming as that place might be. That was her place in this world for right now, and though her belly would likely never be full, her heart was content.

this is making me emotional, i love how she made an identity and a life for herself...she deserves all the love!!

The rich merchant and his wife wished to take her back with them to Salisbury to care for their son and mayhap perform more miracles; he spoke temptingly of new shoes and a shrine. Magister Reese was leaving the inn to return to the lodgings in Oxford he shared with his widowed sister and wished to employ Alyce: “My sister grows older and needs more care than I can give her, and I think mayhap Oxford would please you.” Alyce liked being invited, but Jennet scowled and moped, unwilling to lose a willing worker but even sadder to see the last of the girl herself, and finally offered Alyce a penny every now and then if she would agree to stay. As she chewed on a grass, Alyce smiled. From someone who had no place in the world, she had suddenly become someone with a surfeit of places. She closed her eyes and continued to chew. What to do? What do I want? she asked herself in the manner she had learned from Magister Reese, who thought it fitting for even an inn girl to want.

again, wise words, even if they're coming from the stinky midwife.

“She was not as stupid as some I have had, and better company, but still perhaps her going was for the best. She was not what I needed.” “Because I failed,” whispered Alyce in the shadows. “Because she gave up,” continued the midwife. “I need an apprentice who can do what I tell her, take what I give her, who can try and risk and fail and try again and not give up. Babies don’t stop their borning because the midwife gives up.”

Just because you don’t know everything don’t mean you know nothing.

"for she had never learned to give voice to what was inside her. She knew only to run away" i need a moment, ik voel me aangesproken...

She had failed. Strange sensations tickled her throat, but she did not cry, for she did not know how, and a heavy weight sat in her chest, but she did not moan or wail, for she had never learned to give voice to what was inside her. She knew only to run away.

Sweet and fun story. One could learn a lesson from it.

Callie Anna

Well written and interesting. I just wish that children would actually read good literature like this.

In a small village in medieval England, a young homeless girl acquires a home and a new career when she becomes the apprentice to a sharp-tempered midwife.

The Midwife's Apprentice

Meredith Rose

Hmm, how do I explain this? The Midwife's Apprentice wasn't a bad book... it just wasn't what I was expecting. I was really looking forward to a story about a girl who works closely under the guidance of an experienced midwife to learn an extremely difficult trade during a time when medical knowledge was essentially non-existent. In other words, I was looking forward to a story about a midwife's apprentice. 

Instead, this book is about a girl, Alyce, whom no one - least of all her teacher, Jane the Midwife - believes in and who is given few chances to learn or grow. Poor Alyce fends for herself the entire story, spending most of her time performing menial chores, attempting to teach herself by watching deliveries through bedroom windows, and doing other things completely unrelated to midwifery. In fact, for the majority of the story, she works as an inn keeper's apprentice rather than a midwife's apprentice, after Jane's consistent harassment and Alyce's own lack of confidence drives her to give up all hope. 

(Proceed with caution; there are spoilers ahead, but I feel the need to discuss the ending of this story!)

The climax of the story happens when Alyce, working at the inn, uses what little knowledge and confidence she did gain during her "apprenticeship" to help a young woman staying at the inn weather an unexpected and arduous labor. Alyce successfully delivers the woman's baby boy. Feeling that she has more than proven her worth and that she has learned the value of hard work, persistence, determination, and confidence, Alyce returns to Jane the Midwife. 

Alyce apologizes for not having faith in herself and for giving up too quickly. She speaks to her newfound confidence in all the knowledge she acquired (mostly without Jane's guidance) that led her to successfully deliver the baby at the inn. She asks for the opportunity to become Jane's apprentice again.

Jane refuses her. 

Only when Alyce returns again, having collected herbs and spices, does Jane allow her into the house to continue her "apprenticeship." I suppose some might perceive Jane's actions as teaching Alyce a lesson: "You don't know everything. You must be willing to do the menial tasks before you can truly learn." I disagree. Jane continually manipulates and uses Alyce, fearing that her potential and skill will eventually steal precious business. 

And this is how the story just ends... with Alyce resigning herself to living under Jane's tyranny, where Alyce's potential and talents will continue to be stifled and where she might occasionally glean a lesson by watching through the bedroom window. 

Like I said, The Midwife's Apprentice is not really a bad book. I think it's trying to teach the value of humility, believing in yourself, and being persistent even when others might not see or value your potential. I can really appreciate that message; it's just not what I was expecting. 

Now that I think about it, the only thing that might be wrong with this book is the title. Had it not been called "The Midwife's Apprentice," I probably wouldn't have gone in expecting for Alyce to learn under the guidance of her teacher. Had it been titled differently, maybe I would have been less startled when Alyce spends the majority of the story teaching herself and ultimately settling for less than she deserves.

As a writer myself, this book seems a terrifying but valuable lesson about the importance of a strong and accurate title.

The Midwife's Apprentice (rpkg) (Trophy Newbery)

Reviews

Highlights