Lapland woman

The Lapland woman is a practical helper in Gerda’s search for Kay. In the frozen north, she gives Gerda and the Reindeer shelter, food, and a route onward; after Kay is rescued, she helps the children prepare for the return journey. Her role turns hospitality and local knowledge into tangible support, while the Finland woman later makes clear that Gerda’s own purity and innocence—not a gift of greater strength—must carry her through the final danger.

Identity and Setting

The Lapland woman lives alone in a small, mean-looking hut. Its roof slopes nearly to the ground, and its door is so low that those entering or leaving must crawl on hands and knees. When Gerda and the Reindeer arrive, she is cooking fish by the light of a train-oil lamp. The cramped dwelling and simple meal place her help within a setting of scarcity, far from the comfort of the Snow Queen’s palace.

The Reindeer tells the woman about their journey, beginning with his own story, which he considers the more important one. Gerda is so pinched with cold that she cannot speak. The woman responds to their immediate need as well as their larger predicament: she welcomes them, warms Gerda, and provides food and drink before sending them onward.

Guidance and the Message to Finland

The Lapland woman explains that the journey is not nearly over. They must travel more than a hundred miles farther, to Finland, where the Snow Queen now lives and burns Bengal lights each evening. She cannot give Gerda all the information she needs, so she directs her to the Finland woman, who can help more.

Because she has no paper, the Lapland woman writes a few words on a dried stockfish. Once Gerda has warmed herself and eaten, the woman writes the message, tells her to guard it carefully, and ties her back onto the Reindeer. The unusual writing surface makes the message part of the provisions of the journey: knowledge is passed on through whatever materials are at hand. The Reindeer then carries Gerda away at full speed, while the northern lights flash through the night.

Aid on the Return Journey

After Kay and Gerda leave the Snow Queen’s palace, they return first to the Finland woman, who warms them in her hot room and gives them directions for the journey home. They then reach the Lapland woman, who has made new clothes for them and put their sleighs in order. Her welcome on this second visit is thus different from the first: she is no longer sending an exhausted traveler toward the next source of knowledge, but helping two children equipped for the road back.

Both reindeer accompany Kay and Gerda as far as the boundaries of the country, where the first green leaves are budding. There the children and the Lapland woman take leave of the two reindeer and of her. Birds begin to twitter, and the forest is full of new leaves: the farewell occurs at a visible turn from the frozen north toward spring and home.

Narrative Role

The Lapland woman belongs to a chain of helpers whose contributions are distinct. She offers shelter and provisions, identifies the next destination, and conveys a message; the Finland woman supplies the crucial understanding of Kay’s condition and the limits of what others can do for Gerda. On the return, the Lapland woman’s clothes and prepared sleighs provide material assistance rather than a new revelation. Her place in the story links the dangerous northern passage to the return journey, making care, directions, and readiness for travel the means by which the children continue.