At The Back Of The North Wind

At the Back of the North Wind, a children's book by George MacDonald, is a fantasy centered around a boy named Diamond and his adventures with the North Wind. Diamond travels together with the mysterious Lady North Wind through the nights. Diamond is a very sweet country boy who brings joy wherever he goes, fighting despair and gloom and bringing peace to his family. One night, as he was trying to sleep in the loft, Diamond plugged up several holes in the barn wall to stop the wind from blowing in. However, he soon discovered that this was stopping the North Wind from going on her routes. Diamonds befriended her, and North Wind lets him ride on her back, taking him on several adventures. Though North Wind does goods deeds and helps people, she also does terrible things. In one of her mischievous acts, she sinks a ship. Yet everything bad leads to something good. In "At the Back of the North Wind," North Wind seems to be a representation of pain and death working according to God's will for something good. On their adventures, North Wind brings Diamond to the country she lives in, a country without pain and death. Yet, he is brought only in a shadow of the real country at the back of the North Wind. The real country is open for him only after his death. At the end of the book, Diamond dies, finally able to see the country. In "At the Back of the North Wind," MacDonald touches many theological and philosophical questions, especially concerning theodicy. Today, it is considered one of his masterpieces.