Black Maria

Black Maria, or Aunt Maria for American audiences, written by Diana Wynne Jones, certainly challenges the norms and stereotypes labeled on not just witches, but women in novels. The novel begins with two children who are sent off by their mother to visit their relative aunt Maria, who is not a witch in the stereotypical sense - no, she does not incorporate magic in the way we all think of when we hear that word - for example, J.K. Rowling’s idea of spells is completely different from the way Diana Wynne Jones portrays witches. Rather, Mig and Chris eventually come to realize that the sweet, teddy-bear appearance of their aunt is actually a powerful and villainous matriarchal witch who controls the village of Cranbury-on-Sea and its inhabitants.

The gender roles in Black Maria is perhaps the most eye-opening revelation of this novel; rather than the women being suppressed, the men of Cranbury are nothing more than zombies, who are expectant to the manipulations of the women who live there. However, the men are not the only ones oppressed by Aunt Maria’s awful regime; the women are also expected to play a certain role, disconcerting Mig, the main character, as she does not want to be treated any differently or better. Mig and Chris’s relationship dissipates throughout the course of the novel as a result of these gender roles - Chris is suspicious of Mig’s actions, and believes her to be like their aunt. The themes in this book practically are begging for recognition.

Ultimately, I’d like to think that Diana Wynne Jones was challenging the viewer’s perception of their own stereotypes and our own expectations that have been taught to us ever since we were born; the roles of women and men, and how society is still a dominantly male controlled environment. Although it improves each day, I believe she wrote this not to undermine men (Aunt Maria is not necessarily someone you look up to…), but to reassert her belief that the true power is equality.