Matilda Bone

The historical fiction novel, Matilda Bone, by Karen Cushman tells the story of a girl living in the Middle Ages. It explains that life was difficult during this period of history meaning that when when Matilda was moved to a new place, it was hard for her to adapt to the new environment because due to a lack of medical knowledge and unsanitary conditions but too much of her religion.

Before Matilda was moved to Blood Bone Alley by her beloved Father Leufredus, she lived in a manor with religious people who taught her about their religion and Matilda learned a lot from them. When she met Mistress Peg, she didn't like her very much since she wasn't into religion because Peg see no use for prayers in bonesetting. Raised in a religious place, Matilda was really holy at the time and when she was in trouble, she asked the saints in her mind and prayed to God. But over time at Blood Bone Alley with Peg, she learns that her prayers for the sick and wounded wouldn't help her tend and treat the broken bones for she was a bonesetter's student.

During the Middle Ages, hygiene was a problem because people didn't wash and if they did, the materials they used weren't right. So with low hygiene, disease can spread causing death at a young age or getting sick easily just like Blood Bone Alley, a dirty and filth place. And Matilda was not used to that since because she lived in a nice warm and clean home. So when Matilda got abandoned at Blood Bone Alley, she hated her life and begged for Father Leufredus to come back to her.

Medical knowledge was very different from what we have today but I think that Bonesetting is exactly something that resembles some modern broken bone surgeries, forcing a broken bone back in place resting it. Matilda had to assist Peg with these surgeries which at first, she failed at but she did start mastering it. Matilda also had another skill, she was very kind and gentle to other people so when the injured person's morale is down, she talks to them and make them feel much better as well as distracting them from the pain they are in.

This book showed these three ideas clearly throughout the book. And in the story, Matilda for on a journey and by the end she has learned and experience many new things in life. “The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.”- Don Williams, Jr.