The Magic Circle, by Donna Jo Napoli dealt with three main characters. In the story a woman named The Ugly One possesses the power to heal. The woman has a beautiful daughter named Asa. The Ugly one is a sorcerer; who also helps sick people who are possessed by demons. The Ugly one becomes a witch after biting the finger off a deformed baby child and desiring an exquisite golden ring. The main character is The Ugly Sorcerer who is a hunchback. At first she helps deliver children at birth and then she becomes a sorcerer when her neighbor persuades her to learn the ways of a healer.
She uses an amethyst stone that is holy so that she can draw a circle known as a magic circle. The circle keeps her safe while summoning demons that try to turn her into a witch. A man asked her to heal his child with an extra finger, but instead of using her powers she simply bites it off and then she foolishly steps out of the magic circle to grasp the once desired ring and is regrettably she is turned into a witch. A boy named Peter is one of her patients. The Ugly one cures him and they become friends.
Peter teaches her all he knows about the devils. Peter is a normal young child who keeps his faith in The Ugly one till the end. Peter turns into a strong young man who is very knowledgeable about anatomy and demons due to his studies in books. Bala was the neighbor who convinced The Ugly One to heal people. The Ugly One was not sure if the Bala was good or evil because of her name. The letters in Bala’s name were so similar to the Devils’ names. Bala treated The Ugly one very cruelly and had no respect for her because she was a hunchback.
When The Ugly One turned into a witch, Bala was very quick to turn against her and sided with the crowd. In conclusion, The Magic Circle was a very engaging book. It presented the background and a different perspective to the well known fairy-tale Hansel and Gretel. By hearing the full story a sympathetic view is developed toward the wicked witch. The Ugly One was tricked from a life of a healer to the life of a children-eating witch. The story of Hansel and Gretel will be looked at in a different way forever.