The figure of the old spinner on the way tessiture at work The Princess and the Goblin by George Macdonald

Abstract

This article intends to read the character “Old Lady”, of the work The princess and the goblin, first published in 1872, by George MacDonald. This mysterious figure, through an unusual presence in the narrative, weaves paths for the character Irene, princess who is at the center of a kidnapping plan, to be taken to the bowels of the mountains by creatures called “goblins”. This old lady will be analyzed here, of the imaginary of the mythical figure of the spinner. For such reading to be performed, Hughes Liborel's study “The spinners” will be mentioned in this work, present in the book Dictionary of literary myths (2005). As the character mysteriously influences the spaces and paths of the story, in addition to Irene’s ascending journey, we will also bring studies by Gaston Bachelard and Gilbert Durand, to illustrate the spatial, celestial and temporal issue in the character.