Catherine, Called Birdy
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| Catherine, Called Birdy | |
 Cover |
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| Author | Karen Cushman |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Harper Trophy |
| Publication date | 1994 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 224 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-06-440584-2 |
Catherine, Called Birdy is the first children's novel written by Karen Cushman. It was published in 1994, and it won the Newbery Honor in 1995.
[edit] Plot summary
In Medieval England in 1290 Catherine, the beautiful daughter of Sir Rollo and Lady Aislinn, has been asked by her brother the monk to keep a journal; she begins when she's 13 and ends at 14. "Catherine, called Birdy" is that journal, and describes all her travels, thoughts, and activities.
Birdy is the only daughter and youngest child of a country knight and an English noblewoman. The first part of her journal describes her life as a 'lady' in 13th century England, which includes tangling spinning, picking out embroidery, mixing foul smelling vats of goose fat soap, and doctoring the sick and afflicted. She detests these tasks and frequently longs for the carefree and unfettered life of a knight.
Not many weeks after Catherine begins her journal, her father begins the process of matching Catherine with the wealthiest suitor he can find. Appalled by what she perceives as auctioning her off to the highest bidder, Catherine vows action. Throughout the following months, she drives off each potential suitor, infuriating her father. As the search for a potential husband continue, Catherine begins to reflect more frequently on the ideas of hatred, marriage, misery, and her limited ability to steer the course of her own life.
Finally, despite Catherine's best efforts, she is matched with the ugliest, foulest and richest suitor of them all, Shaggy Beard. Catherine continues to hope that she will find a way to end this engagement also, but as her marriage day draws nearer, her hopes begin to wane. Catherine eventually runs away from home in her desperation to avoid marriage to Shaggy Beard; she finds refuge with her aunt, but realizes that she has been acting childishly and returns home. Upon her return, she is told that Shaggy Beard has been killed in a tavern brawl and she will now be married to Shaggy Beard's son, Stephen, who has inherited his father's titles and estate. Catherine is much happier with this match (especially because Stephen also enjoys reading and learning, and unlike his father, bathes) and ends her diary with only one month to go before her wedding.
[edit] Characters
Catherine (Birdy, Little Birdy): The protagonist of the book. Catherine is 13 years old when she starts her journal, but turns 14 in September of the next year and describes herself as 'stubborn, peevish, and prickly as a thistle.' Catherine has a fondness for birds and keeps several different varieties and many cages in her chamber. Catherine compares characters to birds; she decides that she is most similar to a goose, because they are cunning, greedy, shortsighted and stubborn. Catherine is well educated for a lady at her time, but is still a bit naive. For example, she sneaks off one day to attend a hanging, anticipating that it will be great fun, but ends up running away from the crowd and vomiting her lunch when the first thief is pushed off the scaffold. Catherine is twice fooled by a man's handsome face: once with a potential suitor and once with a squire in her father's service. She realizes that both men are pompous (the suitor has no sense of humor or kindness, and Squire Geoffrey makes fun of her best friend Perkin) and quickly gets over her attraction. Catherine greatly matures over the year that she keeps her journal; her mother's difficult labor and miscarriages, her friend Aelis's marriage, and the death of Perkin's Granny all help her grow up a bit. She ends her diary ready to become a woman and a wife to a suitor she is happy with. She is also a damsel; who feels like a prisoner to her house because only villagers or men can go outside and also because she is the lord's daughter.
Lord Rollo: Catherine's father. Catherine describes him as a disgusting, greedy pig of a man; she likens him to a buzzard. Catherine's father does not tolerate her frequent impertinence and disagreements between them often find Catherine with a smarting head or rump and locked in her chamber. Lord Rollo does have a kinder side; he visits Lady Aislinn after she falls very ill giving birth to Baby Eleanor and spends hours begging, pleading, and shouting before, "emerging from her chamber, his face ashen, to say that she will live."
Lady Aislinn: Catherine's mother. Catherine likes her to a swan, stately and graceful. A kind, gentle mother to Catherine, though she is not being very learned. During the course of the novel, Catherine's mother has had several difficult miscarriages, which leave her weakened and deeply saddened. She does have another a daughter by the end of the novel, named Eleanor Mary Catherine.
Morwenna: Catherine's nurse, who at one time was also a nurse to Catherine's mother. Catherine likens her to a nuthatch, brown and dumpy. She keeps a wary and unwelcome eye on Catherine at all times to make sure she is doing her chores, staying out of mischief, and progressing in the art of being a lady.
Perkin: A goat boy in the village. Could be considered Catherine's best friend and favorite companion. He was born with one short leg and hobbles when he walks, but is a very intelligent and free spirited boy. Catherine likens him to a falcon, because he is clever. He lives with his granny in the village when the weather is poor, otherwise, he lives in the meadow with the goats. Catherine frequently discusses deeper matters of life and heart with him. Perkin desperately wants to be a scholar, but it is not clear if he is even literate, although he does have a knowledge of both French and Latin. He learns by picking up any bits of knowledge that he can and repeating them to himself until he memorizes them. Example: "This apple/pomme/malus is not ripe."
Catherine's siblings: Catherine has 3 older brothers. Robert (the abominable, as Catherine calls him) and Thomas are away in the king's service. Edward is a monk at the monastery. Catherine likes Edward the most. Later in the book, a baby sister, Eleanor Mary Catherine, is born into the family.
[edit] Anachronisms
- Personal journals were not customarily kept in the 1290's, especially in the breezy, informal tone of Catherine's diary entries.
- The cover art shows Catherine wearing a 15th century Burgundian gown and steeple hennin taken from a painting by Petrus Christus despite the book being set two centuries earlier.
