I have always loved the fairy tale “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” (and I admit I feel even more connected to it since moving to high latitude a couple of years ago). A perfect tale for the cold and snowy season, this Norse fairy tale answers the question of what comes after the happy ending, after true love has been declared.
If you aren’t familiar, the premise is quite similar to that of “Beauty and the Beast”—though usually the poor father in this tale is not (always) at fault for handing off his youngest daughter over an unfortunate horticultural theft. The “beast” in this tale (usually a white bear or other white wild creature) comes to the family home and asks respectfully to join in the evening meal. Afterwards, he promises riches and comfort to the family if one of the daughters will return to his own home with him. The youngest (or eldest) agrees, and away they go to an enchanted palace where the heroine has everything she needs, and eventually falls in love with the sweet nature of her beastly suitor, who spends every night in her room with all the lights extinguished, and extracts the heroine’s promise that she will never seek to see him at night.
Of course, she does (and those familiar with the tale of Cupid and Psyche will recognize the echo here). Instead of a beast, she finds a handsome prince, and it seems for a moment that her heart has guided her correctly, and her husband is not only kind and gentle but also handsome and strong. Only…he’s under a curse, and now that she’s seen his human form, he’s whisked away from her to the home of the troll queen, and only at this point does the story truly begin.
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Over the Woodward Wall
The heroine undertakes a quest to the ends of the earth, asking the wind for guidance (and only the North wind can take her to the place that is East of the Sun and West of the Moon), to find her true love. Once there, she not only has to trick the troll queen, but must also awaken her true love’s memory of her and bring him out of the enchantment that clouds his mind. Different versions give the heroine varying amounts of aid, from cracking open magical walnuts filled with enticements for the troll queen to the simple coincidence of a fellow captive overhearing the heroine pleading with her true love to wake and see her.
Fairy tales are often (rightly, in some cases) criticized for featuring passive heroines who simply await rescue. “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” gives us the opposite: here is a woman who has to rescue her prince, with nothing but her wits and her courage.
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
The heroine of this tale has no name—her mother is so tired of having children that she doesn’t bother. So, clearly, a large family. When the lass, who grows up mostly left to her own devices, saves a lucky white reindeer, she is gifted with both a name and the ability to speak to animals. Naturally, this comes in handy when a white bear appears at the family home, and from there the familiar story falls into place neatly and sweetly. The heroine’s boundless curiosity makes her both relatable and believable, in spite of the strange circumstances she finds herself a part of.
Ice by Sarah Beth Durst
Grounded in modern reality, this variation features Cassie, and starts with her accompanying her father at an arctic research station near the north pole. She’s grown up listening to her father’s fairy tale of how her mother was the daughter of the north wind, and how when she fell in love, the Polar Bear King tried to hide her from the north wind—unsuccessfully, which is why Cassie’s mother is gone. Of course, Cassie knows this is just a story. Except…one day Cassie meets an enormous polar bear, and suddenly her scientific reasoning and her understanding of the world will be put to the test. With “trolls” who are more ambiguous than bad, and a motivation that isn’t based on romance, this is a delightful retelling that adds nuance and depth to the original story.
Sister & Serpent by Gwyn R. Lyon
Technically based on an even more obscure variation of the tale—“The Green Serpent,” as told by Madame d’Aulnoy—the story will still feel familiar to anyone who knows the Norse fairy tale. Twin sisters Rosalinda and Sophia are polar opposites: Rosalinda beautiful but stupid, Sophia clever but ugly. When Rosalinda is granted a gift of great intellect, Sophia runs away in despair and is drawn to an enchanted castle, where she finds herself speaking to a mysterious suitor by dark of night. When she tries to learn who he is, he’s whisked away, and the familiar pattern begins. This one also draws on a Charles Perrault tale, “Ricky of the Tuft,” and offers a satisfying variation in that the princess embraces her self-worth without magically becoming beautiful.
East by Edith Pattou
Rose is the heroine in this version, and is struck with wanderlust while the rest of her family are comfortable and happy in the little village they have always known. When her sister falls ill, and the mystical white bear appears to offer a healing gift in exchange for Rose’s company, she can’t refuse the bargain. Rose’s determination and curiosity are well established from the beginning of her story, so it’s easy to follow along as she wins her way through to saving her love and securing her happiness.
Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer
This version spends the major portion of its narrative on the protagonist’s agreed-upon year in exile, building a magical world for its heroine, Echo, to explore. She agrees to go with a mysterious white wolf in exchange for her father’s rescue from a snowstorm, and finds herself in a strange house full of changing rooms and a truly remarkable library of mirror books, which allow an even-more-than-usual total immersion in their stories. Within the books, she meets two other readers, another young woman named Mokosh and a young man named Hal. Echo gets to know them as she grows to understand the enchanted house and its inhabitant, the terse, enchanted creature she knows only as “Wolf.” The ending dovetails nicely with a bit of Scottish folklore, and this retelling explores second chances even more deeply than most.
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“East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” in all its variations, is a welcome reminder that recognizing a true love isn’t enough; there are times when more is needed, whether that’s understanding and communication, or going the extra mile, or realizing that there’s more to this person and no relationship is perfect or always easy. It’s one of my favorite tales precisely because the trials don’t end when the characters recognize their love for each other. That is just the beginning of the journey.
What are your favorite versions?
Rachel Ayers lives in Alaska, where she writes cabaret shows, daydreams, and looks at mountains a lot. She has a degree in Library and Information Science which comes in handy at odd hours, and she shares speculative poetry and flash fiction (and cat pictures) at patreon.com/richlayers.
Interesting article!
The first play I ever saw was a production, probably by a local high school, of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” when I was in kindergarten. At some point I read the story in a volume of My Book House books, and it’s one of my favorites.
as a teenager i adored “once upon a winter’s night” by dennis mckiernan – no idea how it holds up after 20 years, but if you like high fantasy, it’s at least worth a shot!
And my TBR pile grows even larger! East of the Sun is one of my favorite tales, too. Just lately it has been because of the help the heroine receives; she’s strong and determined, yes, but also not alone.
Great read! Given similar details, but vast differences, I’m wondering if there is a single story out there that is a progenitor to “East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Rapunzel.”
Cupid/Psyche and Hades/Persephone come to mind as well as suggested above.
@@.-@ Cupid and Psyche is the oldest version I know of, myself, but that’s limited to Western canon. I’d be intrigued but not surprised to find it traced back further.
Anecdote, but relevant. I live in Toronto, and we used to have a place called the World’s Biggest Bookstore. (Which I would mourn much more if it hadn’t been owned by the country’s largest bookstore chain, but still.) I remember going there at the end of 2009 (when I was in my early twenties) and raiding the YA fantasy section. I had a deep childhood penchant for myths and fairy tales, but had not encountered ‘East of the Sun, West of the Moon’ before that trip to the WBB, where I discovered – almost simultaneously – Jessica Day George’s retelling and Edith Pattou’s. I really wanted to get to know this story and found it difficult to choose between them. I walked out with a copy of Pattou’s, but due to having found out about them at the same time, I kept second-guessing whether I’d made the right call! Later someone also recommended the McKiernan version that @2 mentions, and I bought a used copy. In fact, I must have done this twice, because when I finally plowed through all the unread books in the house around 2015, I found that one in duplicate, which is a rarity for me (I tend to have an excellent sense of which books I do and don’t already own, regardless of whether I’ve read them).
There’s also <i>Troll Magic </i> by J.m. ney-grimm, which rings a few changes on the tale. Iv’e seen it described as a story without villains, but it’s satisfying nontheless.
I like the version of East of the Sun, West of the Moon by Jackie Morris. It’s a short but nice / different retelling, and it’s full of her beautiful illustrations (Jackie Morris also illustrates the covers of the UK Robin Hobb editions).
Oh, yes! Jackie Morris’ version with her fabulous illustrations!
to the writer @6: I, too live in Toronto. I was lucky enough to shop the WBB BEFORE Chapters took over, and even made it in a few times on visits to T.O. in the 80s before I moved here in 1990.
Sorely miss that place…
The picture-book version I used to read to my kids when they were young was by Mercer Mayer, of all people, with fascinating illustrations: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/633668.East_of_the_Sun_West_of_the_Moon
Rick
The ‘Hans, My Hedgehog’ episode of The Storyteller tells a version of this story that I’ve always enjoyed.
My favorite retelling is “Once upon a Winter’s Night” by Dennis L. McKiernan.
It is the first in a series of books, that draw heavily on fairy tales and medieval romances. The main characters are 4 siblings, ruling kingdoms based on the seasons, with one sibling featuring in each novel. Only the fifth and last novel deviates as it describes a war against the main villain.
When I was growing up, we had a movie on VHS called “The Polar Bear King” which was this story. The princess used magic scissors that created clothing out of thin air and “too much evil destroys evil” to defeat the evil witch who had imprisoned her husband. It was one of my favourites.
For a really empowered retelling, there’s “Seasons of Glass and Iron” by Amal El-Mohtar, which won the Nebula, Hugo and Locus short story awards. It’s available here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/seasons-glass-iron/