This tale focuses essentially on nature. The Erl King seems to be the essence of nature ‘he came alive from the desires of the wood’. This tale shows nature in a negative light, ‘the wood swallows you up’ here the wood is being used as a weapon by the Erl King, a means for him to gain his victims. Furthermore he then turns his victims into birds, and if he is indeed the essence of nature then this is conveying nature to be negative, as he is seducing and then trapping these girls against their wills.
There is constant personification of nature ‘the wood swallows you up’ and ‘the stark elders have an anorexic look’ Using the forest in a negative sense, like it is being used a means of trapping people, a weapon of sorts by the Erl King ‘stay there until it lets you out again’ the forest has all of the power, in a feminist context, the women are powerful yet the Erl King, male is dominant ‘trees stir with a noise like...skirts of women who have lost themselves..’ showing how weak women are...
Furthermore the ending, also suggests that mother nature eventually kills him, although the main protagonist plans how to kill him, Carter then switches it to the third person with 'she', and this suggests a different character then takes over, 'then she will open all the cages ' 'then she will carve off his great mane' this could suggest that mother nature kills him, which is supported by 'mother, mother, you have murdered me!' which would also fit in well with story, if we are to believe that he is the essence of nature which is constantly highlighted through use of 'he came alive from the desires of the wood', then his mother would ultimately be nature.
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