Catherine, Called Birdy

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1994

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapter 12 - Author’s Note

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 9-11Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 9 Summary: “May”

The chapter begins with the May Day festivities celebrating the coming spring. There is a maypole and dancing, competitions of wrestling and climbing, stick fighting, and singing. There is also much flirting and some kissing. In spite of her efforts and stubborn will, Shaggy Beard’s messengers return to the manor. Birdy is upset, though their reappearance causes her to rethink her role in the breakup of George and Aelis: “A wonder: I have not the powers to avoid Shaggy Beard. Did I then truly have anything to do with George and Aelis? Or was there no curse?” (116).

Birdy asks Perkin to kiss her, wanting to know why people seemed so taken with the act. He simply laughs and refuses her. The next day, she finds out that the negotiations are completed and she will marry Shaggy Beard, but not until fall, when her mother has delivered the new baby. She thinks she might have time to hatch an escape plan.

Birdy continually fights with her father, while her mother remains unwell. Perkin comments that he knows how to handle her by comparing her to a pig: push, and it will pull. She also must endure more lessons on how to be a lady, which frustrates her.

The torrential rains that accompany the coming of spring keep Birdy indoors and bored, and she resorts to trying to talk to Odd William. He essentially ignores her, as he becomes involved in a different quest. A steward visiting from a nearby manor mentioned that an unschooled villager suddenly woke up able to speak Hebrew. Odd William takes an interest in this, believing that the founders of Britain are from one of the lost tribes of Israel. He takes off for the village, comically askance on his donkey, with local villagers thinking him some sort of holy man. Birdy wants to paint this scene upon her wall but fears she would never quit laughing at it.

Chapter 10 Summary: “June”

Odd William returns; the villager wasn’t speaking Hebrew after all, and his hopes for fame at his discovery are dashed. Meanwhile, the family receives a message that Robert’s wife has died, along with his child. Birdy, for all her dislike of her brother, is saddened at the news.

She records a lengthy story about watching an anthill: “I helped an ant today. She carried a burden so heavy it looked to crush her” (125). She feels compelled to assist the ant in getting the crumb of food back to the others, describing the anthill as “her home” (125).

Her father takes ill with a toothache, and all manner of medieval medicine is practiced upon him to cure it, including bloodletting and cutting the tongue. Since none of these methods work, he will go to Lincoln, the seat of the shire, to seek more professional help. In the meantime, Morwenna the nursemaid has requested some new fabric, so she and Birdy will also go to Lincoln.

It is the week of Corpus Christi, and there will be several religious plays performed. As usual, Birdy gets a thrill out of the nightmarish aspects of the plays—the fires of Hell burning and the prospect of demons rising—rather than the educational or spiritual aspects of them. The plays are a combination of bawdy stories, mishaps, and some minor religious instruction. The Devil’s costume is so convincing, Birdy may repent for her disobedience if threatened her with Hell.

The party returns to a manor in the throes of spring cleaning, and Birdy finds that her mother is feeling better. She, on the other hand, feels gloomy and cannot celebrate Midsummer’s Eve because she is brooding on her impending marriage.

Perkin’s grandmother dies after another villager has a dream about her. The villagers suspect elves or fairies are the culprits. At her funeral, the priest says a lot about how mortality awaits everyone, but Birdy is struck by what he didn’t say—that Perkin’s grandmother had merry eyes and made excellent cakes.

In the meantime, Birdy hatches a plan to install a young soon-to-be-married couple—Meg the milkmaid and Alf the baker—in Perkin’s grandmother’s cottage so that Perkin can still stay there during his time away from the goats in the meadow. She bargains with her father for the cottage, and he consents, as he will get a pig from Meg’s dowry and reassurance that Birdy will at least consider the marriage to Shaggy Beard.

Birdy paints a picture of Perkin’s granny for him, and before he leaves for the meadow, he kisses and thanks her. She cannot help but respond: “My insides are very warm although the morning is cool” (134).

Chapter 11 Summary: “July”

Birdy attends Meg and Alf’s wedding, which she finds surprisingly lovely: “Morwenna says beauty and rainbows soon pass away, but I know for the rest of my life when I look at Meg I will see her like this” (135).

But the next day, she is back to brooding over her own marriage, defiantly concluding that she will never give her consent to it. Having defied her father and broken her promise regarding the cottage, she is locked in her room. Birdy is released when her mother wants to see her, though she still says she will not consent.

Birdy visits Meg and Alf in their cottage and is overcome with emotion at the “feeling of love in there, of Meg and Alf and their babies and their grandchildren to come, all together in this cottage, living their days together” (138). This contrasts with how she feels when her mother praises her father, which is incomprehensible to Birdy. Lady Aislinn says, “Marriage is what you make it, Birdy. If you spit in the air, it will fall on your face. Patience, gentleness, and a willing heart will make the most of any union” (139).

Aelis’s husband dies, and Birdy wonders if George knows yet. Aelis is happy that her husband is dead and has been told she will have more choice in the matter if she is to wed again. Still, George’s wife yet lives.

Birdy receives gifts from Shaggy Beard, which she finds boring or inappropriate. Shaggy Beard’s son, Stephen, on the other hand, sends her a dagger with the words “Think well on me” carved on it (140). This she likes.

The monks who traveled to Rome are back with relics to be installed in the abbey. George, Ethelfritha, and Birdy will represent the family during this ceremony. The relics are the remains of Felix the Roman and his brother Projectus, two tax collectors who converted to Christianity. They died martyrs after being forced to sacrifice to Roman gods, following many lucky reprieves that are seen as miracles. As Birdy recounts, the relics consist of “the martyrs’ bones, a fingernail clipping, and a thread from Felix’s best tunic. Glory be to God” (143). Birdy prays to the brother’s remains to help her get out of her upcoming marriage.

Having noticed that Uncle George seems more affectionate toward his wife, Birdy vows never to meddle in matters of love again. While she is sad to see him love someone besides her, she is glad to see him smiling again.

The chapter concludes with “I will not consent” (144).

Chapters 9-11 Analysis

Spring is a metaphor for the renewal and rebirth of all things, from the new growth in the fields to the rising romance between people. Mating rituals, both formal and informal, mark the season. With regard to Birdy, a kiss becomes a symbol of her actual coming of age: At first, Perkin refuses to kiss her, when she is merely childishly curious about what the fuss is all about. Later, however, Perkin kisses her without prompting because she has been kind and generous to him after his granny’s death. This marks a turning point in Birdy’s maturity, as she gradually becomes less self-centered and experiences a sexual awakening, her “insides [...] very warm” after the encounter (134).

She also displays growing maturity when thinking of Uncle George: Rather than resort to immature acts such as cursing him when she sees his affection for Ethelfritha, she is pleased that he seems happier. This reveals a selflessness that Birdy has previously not been capable of.

When Birdy recounts the story of helping the ant, it is notable that the tale is lengthy. The burden that the ant carries, whatever it is, reflects how Birdy feels about her own burden and the burden of women in general; she does assign the gender pronoun “she” to the ant. The ant’s hard work and dedication to the others in her anthill home compel Birdy to help her—even though the ant is unaware of Birdy’s assistance and unable to show her gratitude. This is another selfless act and an implicit acknowledgement of the communal efforts that go into making a home. After the ant and her burden are safely delivered to the anthill, Birdy “felt as though I had saved the whole world” (126). There are two significant ways that this feeling can be interpreted: On the one hand, Birdy maybe slowly realizing that the domestic sphere, the making of a home, can be “the whole world.” In tandem with this realization, it can also indicate her powerful position in relation to the ant; Birdy could easily ignore or even kill the ant, yet she chooses to help it. Her altruistic actions reveal that some of her domestic lessons and religious readings are soaking into her consciousness. There is power in working together toward a common goal.

In these chapters, religious belief and ritual are also highlighted, through Odd William’s fascination with the lost tribes of Israel, the plays Birdy sees during Corpus Christi, and Perkin’s granny’s funeral. These instances are recounted alongside superstitions—elves or faeries are suspected in granny’s death—and dubious spiritual sincerity, as in the relics. When Birdy lists the relics, they seem rather insignificant or bizarre—some bones, a fingernail, and a thread. Her closing judgment on them—“Glory be to God” (143)—reads as sarcastic. Still, she prays to the relics to deliver her from the fate of marriage. This is common to a broader understanding of the medieval period in general, where devout religious belief existed comfortably beside deep superstition. In an age before science is codified, religion, superstition, and intuition were relied upon for guidance. This is also shown in the medical interventions for Lord Rollo’s toothache: cutting the tongue or coaxing a worm out of the jaw aren’t medical procedures as understood today.

This can also be observed in the tensions between religious belief and secular action. Saints are revered, and the religious calendar closely followed, but Robert’s bride comes to the altar already with child, and dalliances between villagers are tolerated. The narrative reveals a contrast between human nature and religious observance. There is also Birdy’s tart observation, “It is plain that men are in charge of making saints” (142) because male saints are anointed for being renowned scholars or church leaders, while woman saints become so for refusing to marry heathens or giving birth to great men. The roles, as always, are gender-specific.