Interpretation of “The She-Wolf” by Barbara G. Walker

 

Interpretation of “The She-Wolf” by Barbara G. Walker

Background and Context

Barbara G. Walker is known for rewriting myths and fairy tales from a feminist and anthropological perspective. In The She-Wolf, she challenges the traditional European image of the wolf as evil (as in Little Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs) and restores its older, sacred status.

The opening paragraphs are not part of the fairy tale itself but form a cultural essay explaining:

  • Wolves were sacred animals in ancient Europe.
  • Many clans worshipped wolves as totems.
  • Rituals involved wearing wolf skins and dancing to become spiritually “wolf-like.”
  • Zeus Lycaeus (a form of Zeus) was worshipped as a wolf-god.

Christianity later demonized this tradition, turning wolves into symbols of evil and creating fear of lycanthropy (werewolves). Walker argues that fairy tales inherited this prejudice.

Thus, the story that follows is a counter-myth—a deliberate attempt to show the wolf, especially the she-wolf, as compassionate, powerful, and just.

Summary of the Story

a) Lupa and Her Father

  • Lupa lives with her widowed father in extreme poverty.
  • Their survival depends on one cow, which dies.
  • Their last hope is to sell the mother’s tapestries.

b) The Ruined Tapestries

  • On the way to the market, rain destroys the dyes in the tapestries.
  • Lupa despairs, knowing she has lost both money and her mother’s memory.

c) Meeting the She-Wolf

  • In the forest, Lupa finds a she-wolf trapped and injured.
  • Despite her fear, she helps the wolf, frees her, and bandages her leg.
  • The wolf promises help and tells Lupa to return home.

d) The Gift of Venison and Arrest

  • A haunch of deer meat appears at their door.
  • They eat, but are arrested for poaching the king’s deer.

e) The Queen’s Intervention

  • At court, the queen—who has yellow eyes—saves them from execution.
  • She reveals herself to be the same she-wolf Lupa helped.

f) Reward and Transformation

  • Lupa becomes the queen’s handmaid.
  • Her father becomes royal gardener.
  • Their poverty ends.
  • The tapestries are remade and become famous.
  • Rumors say Lupa and her father later join wolves in the forest, suggesting spiritual transformation.

Major Themes

1. Compassion Over Fear

Lupa helps the wolf despite:

  • its size
  • its reputation
  • the danger

This contrasts with traditional fairy tales where humans flee or kill wolves.

Message: True humanity is shown through kindness to the feared and rejected.

2. Reversal of the “Evil Wolf” Myth

Walker overturns centuries of storytelling:

Traditional Fairy Tales

Walker’s Version

Wolf = evil predator

Wolf = mother, queen, protector

Human = victim

Human = beneficiary

Wolf punished

Wolf rewarded

The wolf is not a monster but a nurturing mother and a just ruler.

3. Female Power and the She-Wolf

The wolf is:

  • female
  • a mother
  • a queen
  • a protector

She represents ancient goddess traditions, where women and animals symbolized fertility, strength, and leadership.

The queen secretly retaining her wolf identity suggests suppressed female power surviving under patriarchy.

4. Justice Outside Human Law

Human law:

  • blindly accuses
  • punishes poverty
  • favors the rich (the king)

Natural / wolf justice:

  • rewards kindness
  • repays debts
  • values loyalty

The queen explicitly says:

“I repay my debts.”

This presents moral law as superior to legal law.

5. Human–Animal Kinship

The ending suggests Lupa and her father become wolves at times:

  • symbolic of spiritual unity
  • echoes ancient shamanic beliefs
  • humans are not superior to animals but part of nature

Symbolism

Lupa’s Name

“Lupa” = Latin for she-wolf.

She is spiritually linked to the wolf from the beginning.

 

The Bandage

  • Symbol of compassion
  • Proof of moral debt
  • Bridge between human and animal worlds

 

The Tapestries

  • Represent culture, memory, and feminine creativity
  • Destroyed by poverty
  • Restored under wolf-queen’s protection
  • Suggest that art flourishes when justice exists

The Forest

  • Space of danger in fairy tales
  • Here: space of truth, magic, and moral testing

The Queen’s Yellow Eyes

Symbolize:

  • her animal nature
  • hidden identity
  • ancient power concealed beneath civilization

Feminist Interpretation

 

Walker presents:

  • A female animal deity
  • A compassionate female human
  • A matriarchal system of justice

Men (king, guards) represent rigid authority; women (Lupa, queen) represent mercy and balance.

This aligns with Walker’s larger project of recovering pre-Christian goddess traditions.

 

Moral and Message

The story teaches:

  • Kindness transcends species.
  • Ancient wisdom survives beneath modern systems.
  • What society labels “monstrous” may be sacred.
  • Women and nature, once worshipped, were later demonized—but not destroyed.

 

Significance

The She-Wolf is:

  • A revisionist fairy tale
  • A feminist myth
  • A critique of religious demonization
  • A defense of animal dignity
  • A restoration of the sacred feminine

It transforms the wolf from villain to guardian, from monster to queen.

 

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