Maiden

"She was a witch of prodigious skill and possessed of much gold"

- Description

The Maiden, is the female protagonist of the children's tale, The Warlock's Hairy Heart in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of stories written by Beedle the Bard.

The Warlock
"It might have taken the warlock fifty years to find such a woman, yet it so happened that the very day after he decided to seek her, a maiden answer his every wish arrived in the neighbourhood to visit her kinsfolk"

- The Warlock meets the maiden

The Warlock decided to find an astoundingly beautiful, magically talented, and wealthy wife, so that he is envied by all, and it just so happened that he found a maiden whomet every expectation the very next day. The maiden was fascinated as well as repelled by the Warlock's cold and reclusive personality, but agreed to attend a feast at his castle. The Warlock attempted to flatter the maiden, but she confronted him saying that she would only believe these lovely words if she thought he had a heart. The Warlock thus took her down to the dungeon of the castle and showed her an enchanted crystal casket, within which lay his own beating heart.

Murder
"Now you are healed and will know true love!"

- The maiden



Horrified, the maiden asked him to put the heart back inside his chest, and so he does. The maiden is so pleased that she runs forwards and embraces him. The heart, however, has become horrible in the long time that it has been separated from the body, and the scent of her golden hair, the silken touch of her soft white arms, and the gentle musical sound of her breath in his ear all pierced it.

The Warlock cut her breast open, so he could exchange her heart for his hairy one.

Warlock
"You speak well, Warlock, and I would be delighted by your attentions, if only I thought you had a heart!"

- The maiden confronting the Warlock

When she met the warlock, she was fascinated as well as repelled by him, but agrees to attend a feast at his castle. The Warlock attempted to flatter the maiden, but she confronts him saying that she would only believe these lovely words if she thought he had a heart. The warlock then took her to the deepest dungeon to show his most valuable treasure, his own beating heart. The maiden was repelled by the beating heart and made the Warlock put it back in his chest. Once he had done so, the smell of her hair as well as the beauty of her skin pierced his newly awakened heart. Soon he kills the maiden to exchange his own heart for hers.

Her kinsfolk
"Her kinsfolk, however, deemed theirs a most suitable match and, eager to promote it, accepted the warlock's invitation to a great feast in the maiden's honour"

- The kinsfolk

The maiden came to visit her kinsfolk, when she met the Warlock. Even though the maiden thought that the warlock was strange and remote, the kinsfolk deemed them as a most suitable match and were eager to promote, therefore they accepted the warlock's invitation to a great feast in the maiden's honour.

Physical appearance
"Her beauty was such that it tugged the heart of every man who set eyes on her..."

- The maiden's beauty

The maiden is described as having heavy golden hair, silken white skin, and a soft, musical voice; she was of such outstanding beauty, that she tugged the heart of every man who set eyes on her.

Personality and traits
"... the unnamed maiden of The Warlock's Hairy Heart - acts more like our idea of a story book princess"

- J. K. Rowling

The unnamed maiden acts more like the idea of a Muggle storybook princess, than the rest of the heroines in The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Her main strength was probably her perception: she was able to sense the coldness that lay behind the warmth of the Warlock's flattery, where others failed to see it. She was also described as a prodigiously skilled, very wealthy witch.

Magical abilities and skills

 * Magic mastery: The maiden was described as a witch of prodigious skill.
 * Empathy: The maiden appears to have some version of magical empathy, as she is able to sense the true feelings and emotions of one, as she did with the warlock.

Appearances

 * The Tales of Beedle the Bard