The mother goddess was not only in charge of birth but also of death. (“I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!” Anyone?) She was also mistress of the animals. So she could also be symbolised by dogs and pigs and other animals vital to human survival. She was a...
“The Story We Used To Tell” — Hear this story dramatized at the Levar Burton Reads podcast. A woman goes to stay in a big, gothic mansion with her childhood friend (known only as ‘Y’) as Y comes to terms with the recent death of her husband. One morning, the first person nar...
Kenneth Grahame’s mask inThe Wind In The Willowsis the mask of the true self (isn’t it always?), which manifests only after a near death experience plunging Mole into the deepest, darkest part of the woods, no, sorry, ofhimself. Mole is plunged into the deepest most repressed parts ...
Climax/Low Point(Pigeon gets scared half to death by a massive puppy head coming onto the page — by the way, notice how Pigeon is now facing backwards, opposite to the turn of the page? He has had a shock — this is common picture book convention.) Resolution(what I’d call the An...