49 pages • 1-hour read
At the Back of the North Wind
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Themes
Wisdom Can Be Found in Many Places
At the Back of the North Wind focuses on Diamond, who comes from a lower-class family in the Victorian era. His father works while his mother keeps house, and Diamond does not attend organized school. He instead assists around the house, especially after his mother has other children, and helps his father drive a cab. By the middle of the novel, Diamond learns to read and uses this knowledge to read nursery rhymes and fairy tales. The two most classically educated characters in the novel are Mr. Raymond, who is an author of children’s poems and stories, and the unnamed narrator, who serves as a tutor.
Because most characters lack traditional schooling, the novel emphasizes wisdom that does not stem from conventional sources such as teachers and books. Diamond is one such source of wisdom. The narrator notes, “The whole ways and look of the child, so full of quiet wisdom, yet so ready to accept the judgment of others in his own dispraise, took hold of my heart, and I felt myself wonderfully drawn towards him” (200). Diamond is full of observations and adages that he sometimes shares and sometimes keeps to himself. For example, when his father is teasing him about the people that Diamond believes to be his friends, Diamond points out that friendship does not depend on what a person offers him. Rather, it is a conscious choice that must be made and supported by actions. Similarly, when Diamond’s family must live in an apartment above the mews, Diamond’s mother and father fall into a depression because of their changed status. Diamond, however, asserts that a person must resist sadness and focus on the positive. His optimism and joy lighten the atmosphere, helping his parents emotionally. In this way, Diamond’s wisdom is visible through his actions, and he leads by example.
The North Wind is also full of wisdom, though hers is more intentional and directed towards helping Diamond—and through him the reader—understand the world. For example, she instructs Diamond to act like a gentleman regardless of his social status, using his father as an example. She similarly tries to warn him away from unnecessary attachment to beauty, claiming “sometimes beautiful things grow bad by doing bad” to point out that it is a person’s actions that make them desirable as a companion or loved one (6). Unlike Diamond, the North Wind offers lessons through verbalizing, teaching more directly. She resembles the all-knowing, mysterious mentor archetype that often occupies fairy tales. She is a being of mystery intent on helping the protagonist, though she leaves it up to Diamond to make the right decisions.
In showing that wisdom appears in a wide range of places and ways, MacDonald suggests that it is important to develop ideas and make decisions based on what we observe as well as what we learn in more traditional settings. All humans can discern truth in this way, the novel suggests, because God has given them rationality and a conscience: “For that great Love speaks in the most wretched and dirty hearts” (97). As a Christ-like figure, Diamond especially embodies this ability. In the novel, many adults take Diamond seriously and note his wisdom; by making such a frequent occurrence, MacDonald encourages readers to do the same.
The Value of Hard Work
The family at the center of At the Back of the North Wind is a lower-class family who must engage in manual labor to make ends meet. Diamond’s father begins the novel as a personal valet to the gentleman Mr. Coleman but loses his job when Mr. Coleman’s fortunes fall. After a brief stint of unemployment, Diamond’s father becomes a cab driver, but the family finances remain difficult until Mr. Raymond offers Joseph steady employment near the end of the novel. This ultimate good fortune illustrates the novel’s views on work: The story clearly distinguishes between those who work hard to earn their livelihoods and those who attempt to take an easier route, rewarding the former and punishing the latter. While the novel depicts the plight of the poor and working classes in Victorian England, its point is therefore not so much to critique these hardships as to celebrate the virtuousness of rising above them.
In particular, the novel contrasts the dutifulness and determination of its working-class characters with the laziness and dishonesty of many of those accustomed to living in comfort. Mr. Coleman serves as a prime example of someone punished for avoiding responsible actions. The novel notes,
[D]ishonesty goes very far indeed to make a man of no value—a thing to be thrown out in the dust-hole of the creation, like a bit of a broken basin, or a dirty rag. So North Wind had to look after Mr. Coleman and try to make an honest man of him (72).
While the novel does not explicitly share what dishonest activity Mr. Coleman engaged in, it does state that Mr. Coleman sought to gain money quickly and avoid poverty. This implies that he might not have even been aware of how dishonest he had become in his attempts to hide his financial hardships. The North Wind punishes Mr. Coleman by sinking his last ship, casting him into dire financial straits. This establishes that a person will only receive what they put into the world: Dishonesty will only breed hardship.
Mr. Coleman contrasts with many characters in the novel whose hard work pays off in the end. Diamond’s father is a prime example. When employed for Mr. Coleman, he is consistent and honest. When Miss Coleman falls ill, “[H]e lowered his voice […] For Diamond’s father was not only one of the finest of coachmen to look at, and one of the best drivers, but one of the most discreet of servants as well” (15). As a cab driver, he works himself to the point of illness to take care of his loved ones and works without complaint when the family is struggling to feed Nanny and the borrowed horse Ruby. Because of these efforts, he is hired as a full-time driver for Mr. Raymond, and the family once again becomes prosperous.
Nanny is another example of hard work rewarded. Originally, she is a rough girl described as “coarse notwithstanding, partly from the weather, partly from her living amongst low people, and partly from having to defend herself” (148). After she recovers from her illness, Diamond’s family recognizes her buried goodness and takes her in, teaching her how to take care of children. She eventually moves with the family to the Raymond estate, where she works as a nurse for Diamond’s mother and enjoys a childhood in the countryside. Those who work hard are consistently rewarded for their efforts, either with financial stability or novel experiences.
The Importance of Love and Friendship
Over the course of At the Back of the North Wind, Diamond discovers and helps others discover the importance of interconnection. Diamond begins the novel relatively isolated. He has his parents and the horse Old Diamond, and he gradually develops a small friendship with Miss Coleman. However, Diamond is quick to make friends, and this openness causes many major plot events to occur. Early in the novel, his father gently teases him, stating, “Why, child, you’re just counting everybody you know. That don’t make ‘em friends” (104). However, Diamond’s assessment of the people around him turns out to be truer and more accurate than his father’s assumptions. For example, the cabman who lives next to Diamond’s family is widely thought of as useless. However, when Diamond takes over driving the cab, the cabman stands up for the boy when other cab drivers mock him. The man also endeavors to quit drinking, and while he is far from perfect, he begins the process after an interaction with Diamond.
Diamond’s friendship with Mr. Raymond begins when the man takes an interest in Diamond’s education, offering him money in exchange for learning how to read. However, Diamond’s big heart and curiosity quickly cause the man to take an interest in the boy. They grow closer, and Mr. Raymond guides Diamond through the process of finding help for Nanny. This leads to Diamond’s family taking care of the horse Ruby while Mr. Raymond is away, and the friendship eventually causes the family’s circumstance to improve drastically when Mr. Raymond offers Diamond’s father a permanent job. This would never have happened without Diamond’s pursuit of Mr. Raymond’s friendship and belief that “If [he] choose[s] to be their friend […] they can’t prevent [him]” (104).
One of the most important relationships that develops throughout the novel is that of Diamond and the North Wind. Diamond is at ease around the North Wind and tells her, “I love you, and you must love me, else how did I come to love you? How could you know how to put on such a beautiful face if you did not love me and the rest?” (38). Diamond says this on the night the North Wind sinks a ship; he is attempting to navigate the complexities of a relationship in which he is uncertain of the North Wind’s true intentions, but he concludes that she genuinely cares for him. This complex love carries through to the end of the novel, when the North Wind comforts Diamond as he worries that his experiences with her are a dream: “I don’t think you could dream anything that hadn’t something real like it somewhere” (211). The North Wind validates Diamond’s emotions and perceptions and indicates her support of him. In many ways, the North Wind accepts Diamond more than any other character in the book, never doubting or demanding anything from him. When she ultimately comes to take Diamond to the country at her back, she does so in a way that is protective and loving.
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