The Wood at Midwinter

“The Wood at Midwinter” (2024) by Susanna Clarke is a short, illustrated narrative blending elements of folklore, fable, and fantasy. Clarke, renowned for atmospheric, mystical tales, has also authored the award-winning novels Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (2004) and Piranesi (2020). “The Wood at Midwinter” is strongly informed by Clarke’s knowledge of Anglophone literature and interest in themes of otherworldly landscapes and human spirituality. The story, set in a wintery forest a few days before Christmas, follows the saintly Merowdis Scot as she navigates a unique connection to nature and her rejection of societal norms. This tale, which intertwines religious imagery with supernatural and ecological themes, is a modern fable that explores sanctity, sacrifice, and the interconnectedness of all living things.

This guide uses the 2024 e-book from Bloomsbury Publishing. 

Plot Summary

Sisters Merowdis and Ysolde Scot are riding together in a carriage along with two of their dogs, Pretty and Amandier, and their pig, Apple. Merowdis, who is 19, tells Ysolde that their father joked that Merowdis picked the name Apple because apples are thought to pair well with pork. Ysolde, shocked, tells Apple not to listen, but Apple does not seem bothered. Merowdis has a lot of animals—multiple domestic pets and wild animals that she cares for—and her parents dislike them. Ysolde defends their father, saying “Saints are difficult people to live with” (7). This is a reference to Merowdis, who has “visions,” doesn’t favor humans over animals, and says “saintly” things.

Ysolde stops the carriage outside the woods; Merowdis and the animals get out of the carriage, while Ysolde drives away. Speaking aloud, Merowdis says it is nice that Ysolde has left leaving “us” alone; however, the dogs, Apple, trees, and a nearby spider all assume Merowdis is glad to be alone with them. Dropping the bonnet Ysolde insisted she wear, Merowdis and her companions walk into the woods. Amandier, a hunting dog with a pale, rough coat, is worried about bears and wolves. Apple says she likes wolves, which Pretty thinks is strange, given that Apple is a pig. While the dogs explore, Apple looks for food.

Merowdis walks for an hour, then sits. Apple, Pretty, and Amandier come to her, and she talks to them. Merowdis is conflicted: She wants to be a nun but is not obedient enough, and she does not want to marry George Blachland, who is pursuing her. She worries about what will happen if she does not marry, and her companions tell her not to think sad thoughts while in the woods.

A blackbird and a fox approach, watching Merowdis and her companions from a distance. Pretty barks at the fox, but Merowdis stops him. The fox points out that the woods are his territory, but Pretty pretends he can’t understand and warns Amandier against listening to the fox. Merowdis says that winter is quiet, not because the wood is asleep but because it is listening.

Merowdis announces that she wants a child and that Christmas makes her think about a child more often. The wood is confused by the mention of Christmas, so Merowdis explains that a significant birth happened at Christmastime. The wood thinks that is “foolish,” saying that humans should have babies in the spring. The fox agrees. Merowdis explains that a midwinter child can “bring light,” and the wood understands, relating Merowdis’s words to its own understanding of the Sun, hidden during winter. Merowdis agrees and says the hidden Sun is not enough for her and that she wants a child.

The wood, which is connected to every other wood and can see all of time, says it sees a woman walking. Pretty and Amandier urge Merowdis not to listen, but she asks the wood to see the woman. The wood shows her a tired woman with wild hair. Pretty and Apple beg Merowdis to look away. At first, Merowdis thinks the woman is the Virgin with her midwinter child, but she looks closer and sees that the woman is herself. She is carrying a bear cub, not a human infant. Amandier thinks this Merowdis doesn’t know what she is doing, but Apple counters that she knows the cub will kill her, explaining, “Saints do shocking things. It’s what makes them saints” (36). The vision version of Merowdis calls out to let the cub come to her. The vision fades, and Pretty blames the fox for the events. The fox smugly replies that Merowdis belongs to the wood now. He returns to the forest. Merowdis comforts her friends, saying they still have time together before her child comes.

Ysolde returns. She finds Merowdis’s bonnet on the ground. She says she is trying to be patient but that no one can see it. The wood responds saying that it can see Ysolde’s patience just as Ysolde can see the wood’s patience. Merowdis comes out of the wood and tells Ysolde that she has been promised a child. The child will come during a time of cold and pain, but Merowdis will be joyful.

Merowdis makes Ysolde promise not to be scared when the child comes. But when Merowdis disappears into the wood forever, Ysolde is frightened. In a church in the city near the wood, there is a painting of Merowdis. This shows her wearing black in the woods during winter, holding a bear cub.

Clarke includes an afterword entitled “Snow,” to accompany “The Wood at Midwinter.” Clarke acknowledges her cultural influences: While reflecting on her 2020 novel, Piranesi, Clarke noticed that her novel was quite similar to another story—“The House of Asterion” by Jorge Luis Borges. In writing “The Wood at Midwinter,” Clarke has been influenced by musician Kate Bush, particularly Bush’s 2011 album 50 Words for Snow. Clarke also explains that Merowdis is imagined as a neurodivergent character and is partly based on Clarke’s father. Clarke then discusses the inspiration behind other elements, including the wood, the snow, and the fictional setting. The last of these is drawn from her 2004 novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.