Finding St Francis...

in The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge

The Little White Horse and My God and My All by Elizabeth Goudge beside my Goudge bookcase.

“‘The brave soul and the pure spirit shall with a merry and a loving heart inherit the kingdom together,’ quoted Sir Benjamin. ‘That's our family motto, my dear. It's been our motto since the days of the first Sir Wrolf. It refers, I think, to the two sorts of Merryweathers, the sun and the moon Merryweathers, who are always merry when they love each other. It is also, perhaps, a device for linking together those four qualities that go to make up perfection—courage, purity, love, and joy.”

🌿 Elizabeth Goudge, The Little White Horse

As we read through Goudge’s classic tale, we are told that the sun Merryweathers and the moon Merryweathers must learn to give up their pride and live together in peace to reunite the divided kingdom of Moonacre Manor. They must live at peace with themselves, and also with their neighbors.

Goudge uses Old Parson to tell us an important truth:

“‘It is a fact that only the moon can banish the blackness of night. And I think it probable that only when (the Moon Princess) humbles herself to love a poor man will she do it, because it is a fact that nothing worthwhile in this world is achieved without love and humility.’”

And Maria tells us that:

“The little white horse… had all the Moon Maiden qualities, the white beauty, the shining purity, the still pride. Only the tawny dog and the little white horse had a perfection to which individual sun and moon Merryweathers would never attain ... They were ideals ...”

We will take a look at how The Little White Horse was influenced by Saint Francis of Assisi, one of Goudge’s most beloved saints, and how his Franciscan virtues and ideals formed the foundation for her classic children’s story.

St. Francis preaching to the birds, from St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata, by Giotto di Bondone, c. 1295–1300. Louvre Museum, Paris, France.

St Francis