# The Woman — Phantastes character guide

> The Woman in Phantastes by George MacDonald.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** herself, The woman, myself

**First appearance:** 0005-ii

## Snapshot

A winged being of a far-off planet whose songs and sorrows reveal the strange fate of those who love too deeply.

## Who they are

She belongs to a race of winged women whose longing, once awakened by a look too deep into another's eyes, drives them into solitude to die of desire. Her songs tell of maidens who seek spring through endless winter and of lovers parted by a mist, and her own weeping after the singing hints at grief she carries but does not explain. She gives the traveller both comfort and a darker understanding of love's cost, deepening the story's meditation on desire and loss.

## Relationships

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_psychological_

The Woman exerts a mysterious, obsessive pull over the narrator, who is drawn into her enigmatic presence.

### [Cosmo von Wehrstahl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/characters/cosmo_von_wehrstahl)

_psychological_

The Woman is a manipulative, witch-like figure who ensnares Cosmo with dark magic and obsession.

### [The Ash](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/characters/the_ash)

_rivalry_

The Ash and the Woman are opposing dark forces, each vying for control over the narrator's fate.

### [The Lady](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/characters/the_lady)

_rivalry_

The Lady and the Woman are antithetical figures, representing light and dark femininity in conflict.

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_psychological_

The Woman exerts a mysterious, obsessive pull over the narrator, who is drawn into her enigmatic presence.

### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/characters/unknown_narrator)

_psychological_

The Woman exerts a mysterious, obsessive pull over the narrator, who is drawn into her enigmatic presence.

### [The Ash](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/characters/the_ash)

_rivalry_

The Ash and the Woman are opposing dark forces, each vying for control over the narrator's fate.

### [The Lady](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/characters/the_lady)

_rivalry_

The Lady and the Woman are antithetical figures, representing light and dark femininity in conflict.

## In the story

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/chapters/iii)

The hostess warns about the Ash tree, explains fairy lore, and directs her daughter to watch the tree's movements.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/chapters/iv)

A forest maiden who rescues Anodos, ties her hair around him for protection, and sings a prophetic song.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/chapters/vii)

The kind farm wife who tends to Anodos, offers him food and shelter, and shares her understanding of the forest's dangers.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/chapters/viii)

The sallow-faced woman reading from an ancient volume; she warns Anodos not to open the closet and later reveals the shadow belongs to him.

### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/chapters/xvii)

A little elderly woman who transforms into a beautiful face briefly, then mocks Anodos with laughter.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/chapters/xix)

The mysterious hostess who spins, sings, and guides the narrator through the cottage's doors.

### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/chapters/xxiii)

A woman rushes out of a cottage crying for her child; the knight tells her he left the child with a hermit and gives her the dragon's body.

### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/chapters/xxv)

The wise woman from the cottage, remembered for her assurance of something too good to be told.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/characters/the_woman
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/phantastes_se/characters