The Midwife's Apprentice

The first few chapters introduce the protagonist, Brat/Beetle/Alyce, and establish her overall lack of comfort, safety, and belonging. Unhoused and alone, Alyce finds heat and shelter where she can as she hops from village to village, settling one night in a practical, though smelly, pile of dung: “When animal droppings and garbage and spoiled straw are piled up in a great heap, the rotting and moiling give forth heat […] the girl […] burrowed deep into the warm, rotting muck, heedless of the smell” (1). Alyce—though resourceful—does not view herself as a person who is worthy of dignity as the novel begins. As she sleeps in the dung heap, “she dream[s] of nothing” (2), only able to focus on her immediate needs—namely, survival of cold and hunger. For as long as she can remember, she’s lived on her own and scrounged for her existence, stealing a mud-covered vegetable from a field as needed. Her original self-chosen name—Brat—denotes the way she internalizes the villagers’ treatment of her, such as Jane shooing her away, understanding that villagers dislike people who beg and steal.

While Alyce typically deals with being chased away by running to another village, her sudden proposal to work for Jane for food is a turning point for Alyce’s character that demonstrates both her resourcefulness and how desperate situations can prompt change. While Alyce and Jane are quite different as characters, they both see opportunity in their meeting: Jane’s put-together appearance makes Alyce wonder if Jane could present an opportunity for a meal; meanwhile, Alyce’s desperation presents an opportunity for Jane, who takes advantage of Alyce’s hunger for her own “greedy purpose.” Jane, who bestows the name “Beetle” upon Alyce—referring to dung beetles, which feed on fecal matter—is repeatedly characterized as “sharp” as well as “important-looking.” The narrator notes that “Jane did her work with energy and some skill, but without care, compassion, or joy” (11). Despite Jane’s severity and cruel assumptions about Alyce—that she is “too stupid and scared to be any competition” (11), for instance—her acceptance of Alyce as her apprentice represents an important step along Alyce’s journey toward The Comfort of Finding One’s Place. While Alyce thinks of nothing beyond food when she offers to work for Jane, one day of work turns into months and will later lead to Alyce finding ambition, dignity, and a sense of belonging.

In these early chapters, however, Alyce has not yet learned that Confidence Brings Self-Worth. Jane, who fears being replaced or becoming obsolete, forbids Alyce from watching while she helps deliver babies. Alyce recognizes this, yet feels both left out and relieved, because she is afraid of doing something wrong. Alyce witnesses Jane at work for the first time in Chapter 3 when the midwife helps the weaver’s wife give birth in a field. Though Jane’s methods are crass, she gets the job done under difficult circumstances, and Alyce is impressed by Jane’s competence despite the way Jane treats Alyce. Furthermore, Alyce’s own competence comes to the fore, as she is able to identify specific herbs, syrups, powders, and other supplies Jane sends her to fetch by smell and sight and understands their uses and properties. Alyce likens Jane’s delivery to her own experience saving the cat from the sack in Chapter 2: This signals that she is able to see herself in Jane’s place. Though she doesn’t know it yet, this is the moment where she first wants to be a midwife, as she’s finally seen how much good a midwife can do for someone. However, Alyce’s confidence in midwifery is not consistent: In contrast to the field delivery in Chapter 3 that sparks Alyce’s ambition, the situation with the miller’s wife in Chapter 4 puts Alyce in the position of needing to act but being too petrified to do so—not knowing what to say or do, she tries the crude, insulting words Jane would use, such as “Push, you cow” (20), unable to find the right words or voice, as no one has demonstrated that for her.

As Alyce takes her first steps toward finding her place and building confidence, she also experiences The Power of Kindness, which promotes a sense of belonging and camaraderie. Alyce’s relationship with the cat is the first call to the theme, showing the strength of a bond that is forged through being kind—as opposed to opportunistic, like Jane—and establishing the cat as both a character and motif in the novel. In Chapter 2, Alyce—still unconfident and terrified of the village boys—hides while they mistreat the cat, even though she’s come to care about the animal. Only after the boys leave does she work up the courage to rescue the cat from the sack and nurse him back to health as best she can. Despite her own meager rations, she shares her cheese with him, bidding him to live. Her act of kindness thus saves the cat’s life, something the cat recognizes: He returns two days after the incident and stays at Alyce’s side while she talks to him, cementing their relationship and providing Alyce with a friend and ally throughout the rest of the book.