The Making(s) of a Girl : Gender and Humanness in Frances Hardinge's Cuckoo Song

A common trend in modern fantasy literature for children and young adults is to describe theworld from the monster’s point of view. Frances Hardinge’s Cuckoo Song (2014) exploreswhat it means to be a girl from the perspective of a changeling. In the article, I analyze thechangeling motif with a focus on gender and humanness. The article shows how non-normativefemininity and the non-human are intertwined in the depiction of the changeling. The girl’sfeeling of otherness is portrayed through her unruly and makeshift body that threatens to betrayher by falling apart or taking control of her actions. Only by moving beyond restrictive notionsof girlhood and affirming the non-human, can a resolution be achieved. The changeling in Cuckoo Song juxtaposes the non-human with humans that have been represented as the otherin Western society, like women, children, and foreign people. Thus, the narrative sheds lighton practices of othering and the gendered, racialized, and age-specific norms of human life. Through an exploration of the effects of dehumanization, Hardinge’s novel devises a posthuman ethic underlining all creatures’ right to life