Audrey A McGee

This is a project that has been on my heart for about two years. “The Wise Woman” is a poignant and relatively unknown story, similar to how its author, George MacDonald, is a poignant and relatively unknown storyteller. Everyone knows C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, but few have heard of the man who deeply influenced them and so many other legendary writers.

I’ll go in-depth with George MacDonald’s history and work in another blog post, because this one is dedicated to the adaptation of “The Wise Woman.”

The Story

“The Wise Woman, or, The Lost Princess” is a story about two horrid little girls and the Wise Woman’s efforts to transform their hearts. One girl, Rosamond, is a princess, and is horribly spoilt. The other, Agnes, is a shepherd’s daughter, and is horribly conceited. Each girl believes herself to be Somebody — the only Somebody in the world, in fact. The girls only meet briefly at the end of the book, but their paths run parallel – for the most part.

Rosamond is the first to be taken by the Wise Woman. The Wise Woman, who needs no other introduction, is called by the king and queen when Rosamond becomes unbearably violent in her temper tantrums. The Wise Woman reprimands them for spoiling her, then leaves with Rosamond secretly under her cloak. Rosamond’s journey with the Wise Woman is full of fear and stubbornness, especially when they arrive at the Wise Woman’s house. Rosamond is tasked to clean the cottage, and she refuses to do so until circumstances seem dire. The princess discovers a door that leads to a grand hall full of paintings, and she sees one of a shepherd’s cottage. Rosamond realizes the paintings are actually portals of the places portrayed; she steps over the frame and runs to “freedom”.

The Wise Woman has not been idle in this time. She goes to the shepherd’s cottage in disguise of an old beggar woman to test Agnes’ conceit; the girl fails miserably, and the Wise Woman takes Agnes away, too. She takes the shepherd’s daughter and places her in a magic chamber in her house, where Agnes soon has a visitor: an ugly, nude child about her age. The child repeats whatever she says and mimics her actions; Agnes realizes this disgusting creature is her Somebody — the way she looks on the inside. She is horrified and starts wanting to change.

Rosamond learns so much from the shepherd’s dog, Prince, and grows a little more gentle and humble. The Wise Woman (in disguise) calls Prince away, and Rosamond is instantly back to her old ways, until the shepherd and his wife can no longer keep her in their home. Rosamond leaves, hoping to find her way back home.

Agnes’ resolve to change does not last, and she decides to run away through the hall of paintings, where she sees Rosamond back at her home. She also sees palace gates with an edict that every lone girl must be brought to the palace. Agnes steps through and quickly learns that the king and queen are thoroughly tired of little girls who are not Rosamond. Agnes goes to work in the palace’s kitchen, where she hears about the missing princess.

Rosamond runs into the Wise Woman and goes her own way, getting stuck in the mire before returning to the Wise Woman’s house, where she asks to be better. The Wise Woman gives her tests – one with her old nursery, one with a little lake – and Rosamond fails them. The princess asks for the Wise Woman’s help, and she gladly gives it, letting her succeed in the last trial.

Rosamond, transformed, is sent back off to her home, while Agnes figures out that the missing princess is the little girl she saw in her home painting. To gain favor and attention, and out of spite for her parents, Agnes turns them in to the king and queen, who are appalled at Rosamond’s treatment in the shepherd’s cottage. They’re even more appalled to discover that Rosamond is still missing, and are about to sentence the shepherd and his wife to death, until a radiant Rosamond runs into the throne room, calling for them to stop. The king and queen take several minutes to recognize her, when the Wise Woman appears and shows the sets of parents what the fruit of their labor was. Agnes has grown prouder and uglier, and has turned traitor to her parents. Rosamond was unrecognizable because her parents were unworthy of their transformed daughter. For their blindness, the Wise Woman strikes the king and queen physically blind, and she sends Agnes and her parents away, the girl’s new personality as punishment enough. (The shepherd asks to come with the Wise Woman, and she allows him. His wife and Agnes do not make the same request.) The Wise Woman charges Rosamond to bring her parents to the Wise Woman someday.

A long post to simply explain the story! But now comes the adaptation.

Initial Thoughts

In my writing adventures, I’ve often looked for public domain works to adapt into stage scripts. I’ve wanted to do something of the sort with the Chronicles of Narnia books, but they are not in the public domain. I was discouraged until I remembered reading this short story by “the C.S. Lewis before C.S. Lewis”, which was indeed in the public domain. The scene with Agnes meeting her Somebody solidified it for me. “The Wise Woman” needs to be a musical.

The plan is for the musical to be sung-through, similar to Les Mis; however, it will consist more of self-contained songs than sung-through dialogue. The fairytale has an ethereal quality to it that lends itself to more music than speaking, and I believe it will allow the audience to be more present in the story. There will be an ensemble consisting of a dozen or more performers, who narrate the story as well as portray most of the set. Again, that ethereal quality and the liminal spaces in which the story takes place would best be portrayed in the abstract.

There is an outline for about 45-50 songs in the show, about 15 of which have been drafted. Most of these drafts are bits and pieces of lyrics or tune, but there are two songs that are finished, or nearly finished.

The Songs

The first song that I wrote for this musical is one of the cornerstones of the story, and one of the most powerful images to me: Agnes’ encounter with her Somebody. This song is titled “You are Ugly”, and it is a haunting duet between the characters. Here is the chorus when Agnes realizes who she’s talking to:

Odious, ugly, miserable,

You ape-like thing, I’ll crack your skull.

Though from this place we’ll never part,

I hate you with all my heart!

Most of the language and turns of phrase I attempt to pull directly from the original short story’s text.

The other song was only written a month or two ago. It is Rosamond’s song in the moment when she failed the second trial and feels as though she cannot try any more. It’s titled, “Very Tired of Myself”, and here’s the chorus:

I’m very tired of myself;

I wish that I’d never been born,

For there is no escape for me.

Too sinful to fight for my health,

Nothing I can do anymore

To be the girl I want to be.

The phrase, “I’m very tired of myself” appears in the story in this scene, and it hits me every time I read it. I have struggled with deep depression, and the number of times I was just so tired with myself and the world…it was a constant battle. I love this song so much.

That’s where I am in the writing process. I am so thrilled for this musical, and I hope I can do the story justice!

© All lyrics copyright of Audrey McGee, 2023