The Green Man by Jeanette Winterson (1995/8): A Review
Title : The Green Man Book : The World and Other Places Author : Jeanette Winterson Publication Year : 1995 / 1998 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐ Genre : Short story, Folk Horror, Eco-Fiction, Mythopoeic Fiction “The Green Man” is Winterson’s modern reinvention of a familiar folkloric figure, and like several stories in this collection, it initially left me wondering whether the narrative was deliberately confusing or whether my brain had simply chosen the wrong day to report for duty. The Green Man is commonly associated with spring, rebirth, fertility, and the wild power of nature. However, the idea that he was an ancient pagan woodland god is largely a twentieth-century interpretation. Although leafy faces have appeared in art and architecture for centuries, the name “Green Man” was coined by folklorist Lady Raglan in 1939. So, the ancient god may not be quite as ancient as advertised. Mythology also has a marketing department. Fortunately, the precise origins of the figure are less importan...