Catherine, Called Birdy as historical novel

Catherine, Called Birdy as coming-of-age novel

The literacy theme

Links to other sites about Cushman and Catherine, Called Birdy

        Historical novels generally must balance adherence to the facts of historical events (They can’t, for instance, show Germany winning World War II; a novel that does so would be an alternate-world fantasy, not historical fiction) with the requirements of narrative (plot, characterization, etc.).  Depending on the author’s purpose, the novel may place greater or lesser emphasis on historicity.  Sometimes, historical fictions may take minor liberties with historical fact – e.g., when a fictional character is placed at the scene of a well-documented historic event.  Nobel Prize-winning playwright Wole Soyinka even altered some of the chronology of actual events that he fictionalized in his play Death and the King’s Horseman.
        In historical fiction for children, the issue of historical accuracy is, if anything, more important than in adult fictions.  One reason for this is the child reader’s relative ignorance of history; while adult readers may be expected to distinguish between historical reality and the novelist’s invention, children have had less exposure to the historical background of the story.  Thus, deviations from the historical record are more likely to be accepted as factual.
        A second reason for heightened concern about historical accuracy in children’s fiction is the frequent use of historical novels to teach about the past, especially in the elementary school.  Because teachers at this level rarely have extensive training in history, they are perhaps less likely than secondary or college history teachers (who may also supplement regular histories with historical fictions) to be able to guide their students through historical distortions.
        Cushman generally gets high marks for the accuracy of her depiction of the material culture of the Middle Ages; i.e., she scrupulously presents realistic details of daily life in terms of food, clothing, etc.  Her accounts of social practices of the times – e.g., the marriage practices, trade, etc. – are also accurate.
        We might, however, raise questions about the distinction between “physical” accuracy (does the author get the manner of living right?) and “psychological” accuracy (do the characters reflect the ways people thought at that time?).  Catherine gets more mixed marks in this area.  For instance, Catherine exhibits a strong rebellious streak and an unwillingness to abide by custom in terms of class distinctions, marriage expectations, and deference to her parents; we are accustomed to this kind of behavior in 20th-century American children, but is it plausible that a 13th-century British noblewoman would react in the same way?  MacLeod finds Catherine’s independence-mindedness within the margins of possibility but suggests that she is treated much less harshly for asserting her independence than would have been likely during the actual Middle Ages.
        Catherine also values privacy more than most medieval people would, although Cushman has defended her desire for privacy by observing that just because privacy was rare, it doesn’t mean that some individuals might not still thirst for it.  She does, however, acknowledge that Catherine is “already moving more toward a modern person” than the typical girl of her period would have been.  We can see that move in other aspects as well: for instance, while Catherine has the usual prejudices against Jews one would expect from a Christian girl of her time, she drops them almost immediately upon first meeting the Jewish refugees.  Psychologically, it seems unlikely that such deeply ingrained biases would or could be shed so easily.
         However, the historical novelist’s task of characterization becomes more difficult the further back in time one goes; as the usual mode of life becomes more and more alien from our own, the worldview similarly becomes more different.  Strict psychological accuracy in the depiction of a historical character may impede the necessary identification of the young reader with the protagonist’s predicament.  To tell the story effectively, then, the author must compromise somewhat in the accuracy of characterization.

Catherine, Called Birdy as coming-of-age novel

        Cushman told an interviewer: “I think of the Middle Ages moving into the Renaissance as like a child growing into adolescence. At this point in history, people began to have concerns about identity and concerns about appearance. . . . These are some of the same issues that today's adolescents face.”
         Certainly the big issue for Catherine is to find out who she is.  She dislikes her life as the only daughter of a minor knight, and longs to be one of the village children, free to play outside (4).  Part of the attraction of her friend Perkin the goatherd is that he is able to live outdoors.  If she must be a lady, she longs to be a rich lady, who would not have to do the work she is called upon to perform as her father’s daughter (5).  When she visits her brother at his monastery, she decides to run away and disguise herself as a boy so that she, too, can be a monk (28).  She actually does run away later in the novel, but finally comes to the conclusion that she is not equipped to adopt any of the alternative lifestyles that she imagines.
         Catherine seems to be alone in her rebellion against her fate.  When Aelis is similarly forced by her father into an undesired marriage, she submits rather than undermining the plan, as Birdy repeatedly does.  And when Aelis is freed from that first marriage, Catherine’s Uncle George has already married a rich widow; ultimately, Aelis chooses to marry Catherine’s “abominable” brother Robert.  Aelis’s view of Robert, and her mother’s view of Sir Rollo, Catherine’s “beast” of a father, along with Robert’s unexpected kindness in helping her to free the performing bear, help Catherine to see that there may be more than one way to view the world.
        Early in Catherine, Called Birdy, As the Jewish grandmother tells her:

 “Little Bird, in the world to come, you will not be asked, ‘Why were you not George?’ or ‘Why  were you not Perkin?’ but ‘Why were you not Catherine?’” (17)

The literacy theme

        In common with many contemporary children’s books, Catherine, Called Birdy also has a strong emphasis on writing and literacy.  The format of the novel itself, a diary being kept by Catherine at her brother’s suggestion, reflects an emphasis on learning to express oneself.  The detailed description of the scriptorium at the monastery (26-27) celebrates books as physical objects, and Catherine’s appropriation of the book of saints given for her mother (25), along with her characterization of the scriptorium as “Paradise,” demonstrates her appreciation of books.
        Barnhouse argues that Catherine reflects literacy with greater historical accuracy than most recent young adult books with a medieval setting.  For example, Birdy keeps her diary on scraps of parchment and leftover ink – recognizing the comparative expense of writing instruments in the Middle Ages.  The book she receives from her mother and the depiction of the entire household listening to the Passion being read aloud are also historically plausible details.  Note, too, the different levels of literacy shown – it is not just ‘literate’ or ‘illiterate’ as too many writers have shown.  But even here, Birdy and Perkin rate literacy anachronistically high for people of their era and situation.
        In particular, Perkin’s desire to be a scholar reflects modern views of the importance of literacy in making a success of life.  It is psychologically unlikely that a village goatherd would see any great value in the ability to read, in a world where even the great and powerful were frequently illiterate.  Academic knowledge, the subject matter of a scholar, would not only not have any great value for the average peasant, but would probably not even be a part of his frame of reference.  Where would Perkin have encountered a role model for his desire? How did this interest in reading, and in the peculiar types of knowledge that reading could bring, arise in such a person?
        Like the presentation of Catherine as psychologically a modern girl, the value given to literacy in Catherine, Called Birdy reflects the needs and interest of the 20th century, rather than those of the period in which the novel is set.

Helpful Links:

Sources: Rebecca Barnhouse,  “Books and Reading in Young Adult Literature Set in the Middle Ages,”  Lion and Unicorn 22, 3 (September 1998) 364-75; Stephanie Loer,  “Interview with Karen Cushman,”  Houghton Mifflin Education Place.  (1997)  http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/author/cushman/question.html; Anne Scott MacLeod,  “Writing Backward: Modern Models in Historical Fiction,” Horn Book (January/February 1998) 26-33; Hazel Rochman,  “The Booklist Interview: Karen Cushman.” Booklist 92, 19-20 (June 1, 1996) 1700-01.

A. Waller Hastings
Professor of English
Northern State University
Aberdeen, SD  57401

Updated May 9, 2000
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