The Buried Giant

by

Kazuo Ishiguro

The Medicine Woman Character Analysis

The medicine woman is a friend of Beatrice’s in the Saxon town where she and Axl stay in on the first night of their journey. Beatrice goes to the medicine woman to ask about a pain she’s having in her side, but the medicine woman tells her it’s just a ache associated with aging. Although this explanation seems reasonable, neither Beatrice nor Axl are very comforted by it and choose to go see Father Jonus shortly thereafter.
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The Medicine Woman Character Timeline in The Buried Giant

The timeline below shows where the character The Medicine Woman appears in The Buried Giant. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
War, Peace, Vengeance, and Forgiveness Theme Icon
...somewhere else, but Beatrice disagrees because it’s nearly dark and she wants to see a medicine woman in the village about a discomfort in her side she’s been experiencing. Axl is worried,... (full context)
War, Peace, Vengeance, and Forgiveness Theme Icon
...still” in the village, which is usually busy and lively. Beatrice decides to go to the medicine woman before going to the inn. Stepping into what appears to be a village square, they... (full context)
Memory, Truth and Justice Theme Icon
War, Peace, Vengeance, and Forgiveness Theme Icon
Beatrice finds the medicine woman and they talk together in the Saxon language (which Axl can’t understand) for a while... (full context)
War, Peace, Vengeance, and Forgiveness Theme Icon
The medicine woman tells Beatrice that she and Axl need to go straight to the longhouse (an inn)... (full context)
Love and Hatred Theme Icon
Axl asks Beatrice if she received an answer from the medicine woman about her pains. Beatrice tells him that the medicine woman told her the discomfort was... (full context)
Chapter 6
Memory, Truth and Justice Theme Icon
War, Peace, Vengeance, and Forgiveness Theme Icon
...conversation between Jonus and Wistan, Beatrice tells Jonus about her conversation about the mist with the medicine woman . She asks Jonus if either he or Wistan knows where the mist comes from... (full context)