History Literature / WiseChild

* OddNameOut: Wise Child's cousins are named Conor, Domnall, Seumas, Fingal, Morag, Mairi, Colman, and ''Bride'', making for a bunch of Irish Gaelic and Scottish names along with an English word that's not even traditionally a name.

* FirstPersonPerspective: The story is narrated in first person by Wise Child. At times the narrative implies that Wise Child is telling the story after the fact as an adult (because she often attributes vague parts of the story to faults in her memory or deliberate refusal to tell the reader), but [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness this was dropped in the sequels]], which are told from the other main characters' perspectives and are decidedly in the present.

* BigSleep: Wise Child's grandmother is implied to have died in her sleep, as Wise Child's first reaction to her death is to tell her aunt that "Granny's too tired to get up today".

* TheBigSleep: Wise Child's grandmother is implied to have died in her sleep, as Wise Child's first reaction to her death is to tell her aunt that "Granny's too tired to get up today".

* AbusiveParents: Maeve is neglectful at best, having abandoned Wise Child for years prior to the novel and being cold and distant towards her during the brief time they live together again. At her worst, she is emotionally and physically abusive, having hit Wise Child at least ''twice'' in her childhood: once slapping her for mistaking a voodoo doll for a normal doll to play with [[spoiler:and, another time, hitting her across the hand with a fire poker so badly that it left her with a scar.]]
** Wise Child's uncle, Gregor, is implied to be this towards her cousins, as her aunt Morag is afraid of him and Colman was physically beaten by him.

* WickedWitch: Juniper is widely rumored to be this and treated like one by the villagers because of her different way of living (she lives alone outside the village, uses her herbs for healing in a manner that seems magical, and does not attend church). She isn't one and is actually a ''doran'', a person defined by living as one with nature, but it doesn't stop Fillan from exploiting the villagers' fears to turn them against her.

* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Wise Child was treated as such by her cousins during their childhood, due to her being the youngest and smallest. They were generally patient with her, but a notable time when they weren't was what led to her first meeting with Juniper (they left her behind on a walk home to teach her a lesson when she refused to walk and wanted to continue being carried, but Juniper found her and took her to them).

* IdleRich: After a week, Wise Child finds that this is her problem with living in Maeve's house. She has nothing to actually do when servants perform all the work, is left bored when not reading or riding her pony, and misses spending time with Juniper, especially because Maeve remains cold and unaffectionate towards her.
* InformedAttribute: A fair bit is made of how abusive and intimidating Wise Child's uncle Gregor is, what with her aunt Morag being fearful of him and Colman receiving his beatings, but none of this is actually shown (and he's such a minor character that he only has one line in the beginning). The worst thing he does is [[spoiler:agree with Maeve's desire to see Wise Child and allow their reunion]], but even that is off-page. Possibly justified by the fact that the story is told from Wise Child's FirstPersonPerspective: she doesn't live with him, so she isn't around for most of his behavior.

* InformedAttribute: A fair bit is made of how abusive and intimidating Wise Child's uncle Gregor is, what with her aunt Morag being fearful of him and Colman receiving his beatings, but none of this is actually shown (and he's such a minor character that he only has one line in the beginning). The worst thing he does is [[spoiler:agree with Maeve's desire to see Wise Child and allow their reunion]], but even that is off-page. Possibly justified by the fact that Wise Child doesn't live with him, and so isn't around for most of his behavior.

* OddNameOut: Wise Child's cousins are named Conor, Domnall, Seumas, Fingal, Morag, Mairi, Colman, and ''Bride'', making for a bunch of Irish Gaelic or Scottish names along with an English word that's not even traditionally a name.

** Maeve is a straighter example, as she seems to have powers of her own (she has numerous male admirers, is mysteriously wealthy with a large house and servants, is implied to have enchanted Finbar somehow to make him choose her over Juniper, and she gives Wise Child a magic stone that has adverse effects on her), but they are not explicitly shown.

* TheMarvelousDeer: At the festival of Beltane, which Wise Child and Juniper go on a journey to attend, a stag approaches Wise Child and offers himself as a sacrifice as part of a ceremonial ritual, which involves it literally being crowned.