Spirituality in THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN

After our class discussion about George MacDonald's spirituality, I began to recognize it in his book The Princess and the Goblin.  The "three levels" of his work, the underworld, the regular world, and Grandmother's tower, make so much more sense.  Another thing I noticed was the cleansing power of the burning roses, much like a form of baptism.  They have the ability to clean, heal and warm.  They also have a calming affect.  On page 116 it says "...she [Princess] only knew there was no fear in her, and everything was so right and safe that sit could not get in."  This was the effect the roses had on her, and I believe the ultimate trust in the Lord would parallel this feeling.  If we put our total trust in Him, we should not be afraid or worry at all.  Grandmother also uses the roses as a sort of tool to heal Curdie, something I find interesting.  Although I cannot think of a specific "tool" God uses to heal believers, I do know that he heals in a way nothing else can.  It is quite obvious that MacDonald was a strong Christian and the way he portrays it through this work is amazing.