We learned from fairy tales to be afraid of the wolf knocking at the door, the snarling beast with pointed teeth and ill will. But in the real world, the Big Bad Wolves do not always have the appearance of danger. They perfume themselves with charm. They smile. They offer promises wrapped in silk. And sometimes, we do not even notice we are in their woods until we are lost.
In The Essence, Miranda Baron unpacks the myth of the wolf, not by avoiding it, but by meeting it face to face. Her poetry, specifically in works such as “Big Bad Wolf” and “Rapunzel can’t let her hair down,” retakes the tale of the manipulated woman. These are not merely poetic reworkings of fairytales; they are authentic exploration of what it is to be trapped in a pattern of control, heartbreak, and manipulation.
The “wolf” in Baron’s book is not an individual. It is a pattern. A trap of the mind. A cycle that says, “This time it is going to be different,” as it pulls you back into the same pain. It is the partner who lifts you up to knock you down. It is the friend who tells you they love you but is only around when it serves them. It is the internalized inner voice that reminds you that your value hinges on another’s validation.
These poisonous cycles tend to start with seduction, a liquor of validation, attention, and belonging. In her work, Baron compares it to drinking out of a chalice, a drink sweet to the lips but unpleasant in the wake. The effects take time. Subtle. You start to warp. To apologize for what is not your fault. To remain silent to maintain peace. To doubt your own reality.
But here is the strength in her message: awareness stops the cycle. Identifying the pattern is the first act of defiance. Seeing the wolf, even when he is disguised in sheep’s clothing, is the first step back to taking back your power.
Baron is not writing out of blame but out of transformation. She is writing from the heart of the fire where old selves are burned away, and power is born again. Her heroine does not wait around to be rescued. She learns to rebuild her house using bricks. She will not be fooled a second time.
And maybe that is the best lesson in The Essence: that we get to learn, fall, and rise anew each time. That healing does not look linear or neat. That even if we got ensnared in a toxic narrative once, we have the power to write a new ending.
The wolves will forever be out there. But so will your voice. Your boundaries. Your truth.
And this time, you know the way out of the woods.