Down the dusty roads and far away, a poor mother once lived with her seven children…
These are the opening words of the literary masterpiece by Audrey Wood, Heckedy Peg. According to Boersma family lore, I had memorized the words to it before I even knew how to read. I’m not even sure what the book jacket looks like, as it wore out and fell off at least twenty years ago.
For much of my life, I’ve looked back on this novel with the hazy nostalgia many of us feel for the media we loved as a child. In recent years, I have come to the firm belief that this book is actually more of a timeless classic that embodies many of the values I hold dear. I must now alert you, that if you are averse to spoilers about this obscure book, turn back now.
This book is told in the style of a classic fairy tale. Yet according to my research, it is an original tale invented in the 1980s. The first thing that catches your eye as you open the book is the mesmerizing illustrations. As a four-year-old, I poured over the pictures, trying to etch every detail into my brain. The illustrator is able to convey the unique personalities of the seven children through illustrations alone, as they have very little dialogue in the story. Additionally, all the photos are infused with this golden-yellow hue that makes you feel a warmth and love that is matched by the themes of the story.
And the women! It has come to my attention that there are no adult men in this novel at all, and that the hero of the book is the coolest mother of all time. If you are familiar with the Bechdel test for assessing representation of women in media, Heckedy Peg passes the test with flying colors. The actual whole plot of the book is that the mother sets out to save her children who have been captured by Heckedy Peg. At first I was a bit insulted that the mother character wasn’t even given the dignity of a name, until I realized her nameless identity allows more room for us to see her as the embodiment of effective motherhood itself: strong, loving, and selfless.
While the conflict of the book is caused by disobedient children, the resolution isn’t condescending and didactic in nature. Because of the children’s disobedience, they are turned into food and captured by Heckedy Peg. But the way that they are saved is by the fact that the mother knows her children so well. She is able to match the gifts she has just bought for them with the food they are transformed into. Once they have been set free from the curse, there is no “the moral of the story is always listen to your mother.” Instead there is a scene of purest joy as they are reunited with their heroic mother.
Thus the story models the sort of unconditional love that I believe is at the heart of Christianity and everything that is good in the world. It doesn’t matter that the children made a foolish mistake that nearly got them killed. What really shines through is the fact that their mother, representative of all mothers, and maybe even God, will do anything to save them. No conditions, no lectures, no simplistic morals. Just purest love, love the color of straw.
That’s right, I’m the sort of intellectual four-year-old who was inspired by feminist religious allegory in my daily life.
Maybe I should purchase a copy of this novel for every child (and adult) that I know.
Susannah currently lives in New Jersey and works as a 7th grade ELA teacher in East Harlem. When she is not teaching or writing, she can be found exploring independent bookstores, going backpacking, and trying to roller-skate on all the cool trails in the city. She is also recently experienced in the art of citrus skunk repellent (I know you’re impressed).
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I quite agree with you, Susannah, that God will do whatever is required to save His children. He sent His only Son to suffer that horrible death on the cross; and all we are required to do is believe Him.
I enjoyed your writing very much. Thank you!
Pupa