Carving-Knife in The Witches
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
We only see the carving-knife a few times, but boy is it an image we remember. First, we hear about it when the Grand High Witch says that as part of the Mouse-Maker recipe, “you take exactly forty-five brown mice and you chop off their tails with a carving knife” (93). Later, a chef in the kitchen actually does this to our narrator, “as the carving-knife whizzed through the air and there was a shoot of pain in the end of [his] tail” (18.33). Finally, in the climactic scene, a chef runs out with a carving-knife in order to kill some of the newly transformed witch-mice.
It goes without saying that the carving-knife is a tool of cruelty. What’s more, this is a weapon that causes immediate, sharp damage: one slice can do the trick. Notice, though, that it’s a tool of cruelty used only by adults. For that reason, it might make us see adults as violent creatures, but, in turn, it highlights the innocence of children.
Whenever we read about mice and carving-knives in this book, we can’t help but think of the old rhyme about the three blind mice:
Three blind mice, three blind mice,
See how they run, see how they run,
They all ran after the farmer’s wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a thing in your life,
As three blind mice?We guess mice and grown-ups just don’t mix well.
https://www.parents.com/fun/entertainment/music/three-blind-mice-sing-along-song-video/
If you’ve ever pondered this nursery rhyme’s meaning, you are surely not the first. Plenty of people have speculated about the history of this song whose lyrics leave you scratching your head. One of the more popular theories about the origin is that “the farmer’s wife” refers to Queen Mary I of England. She and her husband, Philip of Spain, owned large farming estates. The queen – also known as Bloody Mary for her ruthless tactics in keeping people in line – was a staunch Catholic. The theory is that the three blind mice allude to a group of Protestant bishops who were plotting against her. According to history, she did get the better of them, though not by leaving them blinded or dismembered. She chose a popular method of execution at the time: burning at the stake. Not quite the kind of thing that comes to mind when you think of children’s nursery rhymes, is it?
The blind mice were talking shit about the Farmer’s wife, the ancient internet bloggers making satire, sarcasm and parody had them burnt at the stake, that’s terribly cruel. The carving knife has me at a loss. I think that they want to shut us down, again. This is one interpretation of this the second is for MM and her 3 blind mice. The carving knife is efficient and quick. Cut them off from one another. No matter which way we look at it, it’s still the Queen doing the final blow.