Catherine, Called Birdy, Karen Cushman, Bildungsroman
II.
Setting- The novel is set in a Medieval English Manor in a village called Stonebridge in the 1290s. Since the protagonist, Catherine, lives in a time period where women were seen as possessions and had no freedom, the book shows the daily struggles a young girl can go through. Throughout the Medieval times, it is known that the children needed to tune in to their parents and do what they needed as opposed to choosing a future for themselves. This book investigates the idea of ladies being sold off to the a qualified bidder and being tread as a lower to the men. Although Catherine was only fourteen years old, she faces potential suitors and goes through mischief in order to scare away …show more content…
Catherine is given an opportunity for a new start in life, so she decides to go home and face her reality. She realizes she will do whatever is best for herself. “I cannot be like Aunt Ethelfritha, who, in being anyone she chooses, forests who she really is.” (Cushman 202) Therefore, when she runs away it gives her a sense of fufillment. The resolution takes after not long after when she chooses to acknowledge her destiny and return home. Catherine starts a new chapter in life that helps their future and grants their fortune. “Just so, my family [and friends]…are part of me, and I part of them, so even in my new life I will not be far from home.” (Cushman 203) When this was said by Catherine, life could be joyful no matter the situation, it all depends on the perspective she has on it. The denouement develops when she arrives she discovers that her suitor has passed and she will rather be married to his son, who is young and intelligent. “All I know for Stephan…I am prepared to love him.” (Cushman 205) Finally, she is satisfied with her new suitor, Stephan, and accepts his offer because she sees a brighter future with him. She can enjoy the pleasures of life with a new