“The Golden Key,” by George Macdonald, illustrations by Maurice Sendak
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1967 (reprint from 1867 edition), 86 pages, Grades 5 and above.
Fairy tales are some of the oldest forms of literature. Since fairy tales are fantasy, these stories are filled with dragons, talking animals, flying horses and other odd and interesting creatures. Fairy tales can be used with the very young to teach morality and they can be read by adults to find meaning in human existence. Though many of the characters in fairy tales are unusual, fairy tale writers are very serious. Fairy tales are about truth, meaning and the good and bad consequences of decisions. One of the first great fairy tale writers was George Macdonald (1824-1905). Born in Scotland, Macdonald wrote fairy tales with deeply religious significance. “The Golden Key” is an outstanding example of his work.
Mossy is a young boy living on the edge of a forest near Fairyland. His great aunt tells him stories about an unseen world beyond the forest. To get there, Mossy needs to find the end of the rainbow and locate a golden key that will unlock the future. As the sun begins to set one day, Mossy sees the rainbow and walks into the woods and finds the golden key at the end of the rainbow.
Also on the border of the magical forest is a young daughter of a widower. As the gentleman is often away on business, the daughter is managed by two very careless servants. Her hair is a mess and she is quite dirty. The fairies from the forest one day try to vex the child by playing practical jokes on her. In response, she runs into the forest and meets an older woman named Grandmother. Because her hair is so messy, Grandmother calls the girl, Tangle. Grandmother sends some magical creatures to find Mossy and by the end of the day, the young boy returns to Grandmother’s house. He has the Golden Key, but doesn’t know what to do with it. Grandmother tells Mossy to take Tangle and go deeper into the forest to find the keyhole that opens the future.
They begin walking deeper into the forest and across strange regions looking for the keyhole. Along the way they meet characters that give them clues to eternal truths and their own ultimate destinies. But they get separated and both must find the path by themselves. Oddly enough, the journey ultimately leads them to again find each other. There, Mossy sees a keyhole. What should he do?
What does Mossy do? Does Tangle go with him? Why is there such peace and beauty in this world? Who is responsible for this tranquility? Would you throw yourself into the unknown to find truth? What do the children do? To find out, read George Macdonald’s beautiful fairy tale, “The Golden Key.”
George Macdonald was born in Scotland and raised in a severe Calvinistic faith. He became a minister but could not accept the vengeful God that Calvin preached. Rejecting predestination, or the belief that people are either saved or damned at the moment of birth, he turned to writing and created loving, beautiful, religious fairytales. Macdonald strongly influenced modern writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The more stories one reads by Macdonald, the more you are impressed by his great love of God. Simply a first rate author, I hope you get a chance to read “The Golden Key” or other fine works such as “The Light Princess.” They can’t be beat. Enjoy!
