The Waif Woman

by Robert Louis Stevenson

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Genres: Short Stories, Horror, Classics, Fiction, British Literature

38 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1914

About the author

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.

Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eerie.....

[Duane Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Stevenson short story, a sort of Icelandic parable, was published several years after his death. It's a haunting (no pun intended) story about the mysterious Thorgunna.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Christina Baehr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often struggle to enjoy short stories and novellas, and I think it’s because I prefer the mental energy it takes me to enter into a new story world to have a longer pay-off, but RLS is bringing me so much gold. This is a story styled after an Icelandic saga, and his writing is punchy and stark in this haunting little tale about greed and guilt.

[Graziano · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘This is a tale of Iceland, the isle of stories, and of a thing that befell in the year of the coming there of Christianity.’ (p.1)

The Waif Woman is a short story suppressed by Stevenson and published twenty years after his death. Many editors prefer not to include this story in their selections because The Waif Woman is unfinished.

Thorgunna, a woman wearing beautiful clothes, a ‘chests of clothes beyond comparison … fine coloured stuffs, finely woven’, takes accommodation in a inn where the innkeepers are Finnward and his wife, Aud.
Aud cannot help herself thinking about these clothes.
But there is a rule: the ‘voice of Thorgunna sounded in her (Aud) ear: "The things are for no use
but to be shown," it said. "Aud, Aud, have you shown them once? No, not once!" (p.11)

‘At last she got to bed in the smooth sheets … she shook awhile … and a grue took hold upon her flesh, and the cold of the grave upon her belly, and the terror of death upon her soul. With that a voice was in her ear: - It was so Thorgunna sickened -’ (p.11)

Sometimes is not necessary an explanation of the meaning of the book, Stevenson suggests the setting and feeling a reader might feel reading The Waif Woman.

[Arthur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short enough to read (or listen to in my case) in one sitting. I enjoyed the storyline of the vengeful spirit and the moral theme of coveting my neighbors good. I liked it.

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertainment about the revenge of a ghost Thorgunna. Rescued from a becalmed ship, she is invited to the home of Aud and Finnward, as Aud envies her fine clothing, jewelry, and linens, seeking ways to own the riches. Though the couple seems in favorable circumstances, such material goods are rare in Iceland. In achieving her heart's desire, Aud goes beyond envy to dishonesty, hoarding her ill-gotten gains, admiring them in private, thinking about her attractiveness to men when she attires herself in them. Thorgunna's vengeance haunts the couple's household after her death. Though Aud's manners are guilty and Finnward fearful of repercussions, Finnward's deathbed promise to Thorgunna dissolves into weakness, as Aud flatters him. Their virtuous children courageous Eyolf and honest Asdis are left to do the right thing, to free the family from the hauntings. In this story, Robert Louis Stevenson adapted chapters 50-51 of the Icelandic Eyrbyggja Saga.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A weird tale from RL Stevenson inspired by his reading of Icelandic sagas. It is a re-working of Morris and Magnússon’s translation of ‘The Story of the Ere-Dwellers.’ Stevensons publisher didn't want to include it in a collection, but Stevenson disagreed with that decision (he defended it in letters).

* Read as part of my Gutenberg Lotto quest, wherein I periodically use the "random" button on Project Gutenberg and read one of the books that comes up.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cool story! Reminds me of the fairytales I heard as a child.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Aesop like parable story about the dangers of covetousness and greed, set in Iceland. The best story of the trio in the selection of short stories from RSL.

[Sara]

Some light of star blind the eyes
some unburnid ruge bleed the life
some unwise dream cunny the soul
some dark hand sing song of dead
and sea come with more
waiting at shore
many holy cant change the sine
the river went for more
satsfay not in the hand
just tow boxs chang the heart
blacked the soul
grayed the days
and dust come at the face
and wind went with burned ash
just be gd satsfay

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free download available at Project Gutenberg.

This unpublished story, preserved among Mrs. Stevenson’s papers, is mentioned by Mr. Balfour in his life of Stevenson. Writing of the fables which Stevenson began before he had left England and “attacked again, and from time to time added to their number” in 1893, Mr. Balfour says: “The reference to Odin [Fable XVII] perhaps is due to his reading of the Sagas, which led him to attempt a tale in the same style, called ‘The Waif Woman.’”

[The Leppy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow...It's short but I couldn't put it down. Creepy and good. I would put it on par with early stories of Edgar Allen Poe. It's creepy and unsettling. It feels like it could have been expanded upon BUT this doesn't detract from it. This wasn't published until the after the author died from what I read which could explain the unpolished feel or that the author was starting to explore this idea which is really good but died before he could elevate it. I love reading stories like this because it feels like you can sense the creative process and the experimentation happening on the page. This isn't something you get with more recently published things and I really appreciate it.

[Rocky Henriques · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is good enough...

But I gave it only four stars due to sloppy editing. In several places there are page numbers which appear randomly in the text. Overlook those, and this is an enjoyable, short read.

[Ritchie Wynants · Rating 1 out of 5]

A short story about envy. I didn't like this one. It seemed as if Stevenson had an idea on which theme to write, but didn't fully think the characters through. I couldn't really bother about any of them.

[Caitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like his classic “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, this tale also leave the reader with an unsettling amount of reasoning after the story ends. Weird? Hell yes. Satisfying? Unclear- ask me in a week…

[Stephanie | Books_and_Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

{Rated G} A story about the repercussions of not keeping promises and being selfish. A quick read... but felt a little unfinished.

[Ciccio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poisoned bed-sheets?
The end of the story was obvious very early. No need to overextend it. Point made.
Old Norse story of weak characters and exemplary penalties.

[Soph · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright. Enjoyed the reoccurring issue of greed and materialism; will definitely check out Stevenson's other less known works

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A horror story laced with two (2) very important lessons:

1) Thou shan't give thyself into the sin of greed
2)Thou shan't fuck around with the dead's wishes.

[Logan Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thorgunna is such a chad name

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐

[Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

pleasant quick read,
Can't tell anything about the story without giving spoilers.