Lolly Willowes; or, The Loving Huntsman

"It was such fun to re-read this after a period of years. It’s a so-called feminist classic, a slim little book. The first two-thirds are quite light, almost boring. I think intentionally. Then, two-thirds in, there’s this very dramatic shift. It’s about this woman, Laura Willowes, who is a spinster. After her mother dies, she lives with her father and brother and is gradually boxed in as a kind of unpaid servant to the family. There’s no opportunity to escape or have a life of her own. The book is exploring how patriarchal society can diminish women’s lives, even ostensibly in supportive and loving ways. Lolly, as she’s known, has become very bonded to the natural world and the village she is living in. Then her nephew comes to live with her. Again, this is very much an imposition, she doesn’t want him there. Then this kitten turns up and scratches her. Lolly immediately understands that this kitten scratch, which causes her to bleed, is a pact with the devil. She understands that, tacitly, she has known this was going to come, has in some ways desired it. And so she commits to becoming a witch. All of a sudden, she has a new life before her: the life of a witch, although she is fully aware, that she’s going to pay the price for that. She’s not sure what, but there must be one. It’s all told in this wonderfully witty prose. In some ways it’s a satire, in other ways, it’s a very, very serious book. I think it’s actually very trenchant in the way it’s describing how domesticity traps so many women, and how few options there are to escape that."