The dead wife
by Andrew Lang
The Wooden Doll
A man and wife lived in a forest. They are far from other people. The man goes to hunt. The wife stays home. She has many things to do.
One day, the wife feels sick. She goes away to a spirit world. The man says goodbye. He feels very sad. He is all alone.
He makes a wooden doll. It is like his wife. He puts her clothes on it. He sits it by the fire. He talks to it.
The man works hard alone. He cooks. He cleans. He hunts for food. It is hard work.
One day, he finds wood by the door. A fire is in the house. The next day, food is in the pot. It is a surprise!
He wants to see who helps. He hides and watches. He sees a woman. She carries wood to his house.
He runs inside. His wife sits by the fire! The wooden doll is gone. He is so happy.
"A kind spirit pitied you," she says. "I can come back. But do not touch me. We must see our people first."
They live together again. She brings wood. She makes the fire. The man is happy.
"Let us go to our tribe," he says. "Then I can touch you."
They pack food for the journey. They start walking to the camp.
It is the last night. They make a fire. They will sleep here.
The man feels so much love. He wants to hug his wife. "We have not seen anyone," she says. "It is too soon."
He does not listen. He hugs her tight. Suddenly, he holds the wooden doll! She is gone.
The man is very sad. He pushes the doll away. He runs to the tribe.
He tells them his story. Some people go with him. They see the wooden doll on the ground. They see two sets of footprints in snow. One footprint is like the doll's foot.
They know his story is true. The man misses his wife. He learned to listen carefully.
Original Story
_THE DEAD WIFE_[20] Once upon a time there were a man and his wife who lived in the forest, very far from the rest of the tribe. Very often they spent the day in hunting together, but after a while the wife found that she had so many things to do that she was obliged to stay at home; so he went alone, though he found that when his wife was not with him he never had any luck. One day, when he was away hunting, the woman fell ill, and in a few days she died. Her husband grieved bitterly, and buried her in the house where she had passed her life; but as the time went on he felt so lonely without her that he made a wooden doll about her height and size for company, and dressed it in her clothes. He seated it in front of the fire, and tried to think he had his wife back again. The next day he went out to hunt, and when he came home the first thing he did was to go up to the doll and brush off some of the ashes from the fire which had fallen on its face. But he was very busy now, for he had to cook and mend, besides getting food, for there was no one to help him. And so a whole year passed away. At the end of that time he came back from hunting one night and found some wood by the door and a fire within. The next night there was not only wood and fire, but a piece of meat in the kettle, nearly ready for eating. He searched all about to see who could have done this, but could find no one. The next time he went to hunt he took care not to go far, and came in quite early. And while he was still a long way off he saw a woman going into the house with wood on her shoulders. So he made haste, and opened the door quickly, and instead of the wooden doll, his wife sat in front of the fire. Then she spoke to him and said, ‘The Great Spirit felt sorry for you, because you would not be comforted, so he let me come back to you, but you must not stretch out your hand to touch me till we have seen the rest of our people. If you do, I shall die.’ [Footnote 20: From the Iroquois.] So the man listened to her words, and the woman dwelt there, and brought the wood and kindled the fire, till one day her husband said to her, ‘It is now two years since you died. Let us now go back to our tribe. Then you will be well, and I can touch you.’ [Illustration: The Indian Finds His Wife Sitting by the Fire.] And with that he prepared food for the journey, a string of deer’s flesh for her to carry, and one for himself; and so they started. Now the camp of the tribe was distant six days’ journey, and when they were yet one day’s journey off it began to snow, and they felt weary and longed for rest. Therefore they made a fire, cooked some food, and spread out their skins to sleep. Then the heart of the man was greatly stirred, and he stretched out his arms to his wife, but she waved her hands and said, ‘We have seen no one yet; it is too soon.’ But he would not listen to her, and caught her to him, and behold! he was clasping the wooden doll. And when he saw it was the doll he pushed it from him in his misery and rushed away to the camp, and told them all his story. And some doubted, and they went back with him to the place where he and his wife had stopped to rest, and there lay the doll, and besides, they saw in the snow the steps of two people, and the foot of one was like the foot of the doll. And the man grieved sore all the days of his life.
Moral of the Story
Impatience and a failure to heed warnings can lead to the loss of what is most desired.
Characters
The Man ★ protagonist
Strong, capable hunter
Attire: Deerskin clothing, moccasins, practical for forest life and hunting
Lonely, grief-stricken, impulsive
The Wife ◆ supporting
Healthy, capable woman
Attire: Traditional Iroquois woman's clothing, likely deerskin dress and leggings
Loving, obedient, cautious
The Wooden Doll ◆ supporting
Crude likeness of the wife, life-sized
Attire: The wife's clothing
Inanimate, but imbued with the husband's longing
The Great Spirit ◆ supporting
Not described
Attire: Not described
Compassionate, powerful, interventionist
Locations
Hunter's Forest Home
A solitary dwelling deep within the forest, far from the tribe. Contains a fireplace and space for a wooden doll.
Mood: Initially loving and domestic, then lonely and grief-stricken, later mysterious and hopeful.
The wife dies, the husband creates the doll, the wife returns, the home is revitalized.
Forest Path
A six-day journey through the forest to the tribe's camp.
Mood: Anticipatory, hopeful, then increasingly tense and fateful.
The couple journeys back to the tribe, representing a return to normalcy.
Snowy Campsite
A temporary campsite in the snowy forest, one day's journey from the tribe.
Mood: Cold, weary, filled with longing and temptation.
The husband breaks his promise and embraces the doll, leading to the wife's final disappearance.
Story DNA
Moral
Impatience and a failure to heed warnings can lead to the loss of what is most desired.
Plot Summary
A man, grieving his deceased wife, carves a wooden doll in her likeness. After a year, his wife mysteriously returns, brought back by the Great Spirit, but warns him not to touch her until they reach their tribe. On the final night of their journey, the husband, overcome with longing, embraces her, causing her to transform back into the wooden doll. He is left with renewed grief, and the tribe finds evidence confirming his tragic tale.
Themes
Emotional Arc
suffering to hope to renewed suffering
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
This story reflects Iroquois spiritual beliefs and traditional ways of life, emphasizing the connection between the spiritual world and daily existence, and the significance of community.
Plot Beats (15)
- A man and his wife live in isolation in the forest; the wife stays home while the husband hunts.
- The wife falls ill and dies, and the husband buries her in their home, grieving deeply.
- Overcome with loneliness, the husband carves a wooden doll in his wife's image, dresses it, and places it by the fire.
- The husband struggles with domestic tasks for a year, as there is no one to help him.
- He begins to find wood, fire, and cooked food mysteriously appearing in his home after hunting.
- The husband hides and observes, seeing a woman enter his house with wood.
- He rushes in and finds his wife, alive, sitting by the fire instead of the doll.
- His wife explains the Great Spirit allowed her return but warns him not to touch her until they see their people.
- They live together for a time, with the wife performing domestic duties, and the husband decides it's time to return to the tribe.
- They prepare for a six-day journey to the tribe's camp.
- On the final night, just one day from the camp, they make a fire and prepare to sleep.
- Overcome with emotion, the husband reaches out and embraces his wife, ignoring her warning.
- His wife instantly transforms back into the wooden doll in his arms.
- The man, distraught, pushes the doll away and rushes to the tribe to tell his story.
- Some tribespeople return with him, find the doll, and see two sets of footprints in the snow, one matching the doll's foot, confirming his tale, and the man grieves for the rest of his life.
