In the essay, "Magic Mirrors: Society Reflected in the Glass of Fantasy," Yolen writes, "The good news is that fantasy books deal with issues as thoroughly as realistic fiction—but one step removed." The Wild Hunt presents the forces of nature, which are indifferent to the ideals of humans.

Mercy has no part in them. The world depicted in the novel is not the so-called real world, but no attempt is made to soften winter's cold, the destructive changes that can blight life, or the impact of death itself.

Mully dies because he could not curb his appetite. Had Jerold drunk from the river of blood and eaten the spoiled fruit in the garden, he too would have died. Mully is appealing, but he is not sentimentalized as are the animals in some Disney films.

In Yolen's fairy tale The Girl Who Loved the Wind...