The Wild Swans

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University. She is the author of several books, including The
Mountain Is Moving: Japanese Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret
Laurence: The Long Journey Home.

This ancient folk tale, beautifully retold by Ken Setterington, is given
new dimensions by the folk art of Nelly and Ernst Hofer, who learned the
art of paper cutting in their native Switzerland. The Hofers have won
awards for their folk art in two other titles: Silent Night: The Song
from Heaven (1997) and Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen
(2000), also retold by Setterington.

In Anderson’s archetypal tale, a king is lost in an enchanted forest.
Only a dreadful bargain with an old witch enables him to find his way
back to his castle. He promises to marry the witch’s daughter. In
desperation, the king hides his 11 sons and his only daughter, but his
new queen discovers the children and turns the princes into swans. The
princess, who has remained hidden, sets out to find her brothers and
break the spell that binds them.

A dream vision tells her where she must go and what she must do. With
great courage, suffering, and endurance, Princess Elise fulfils the
conditions, rescues her brothers, and clears her name from false
accusations. As in all fairy tales, there is a happy ending.

A short concluding chapter on the art of paper cutting and its history
enriches this tale for older children. Cut-paper cards and bookmarks
were popular with German and Swiss immigrants to North America, and were
also an important art form in Jewish culture. Black silhouettes were
used as an early form of portraiture. The Wild Swans is a beautifully
told tale, one based on a complex history and richly imagined artwork.
Highly recommended.