The Girl Who Drank the Moon

“‘The path to Truth is in the dreaming heart,’ the Poet tells us.” 

Glerk quotes the Poet when he agrees to maintain Xan’s fiction that Fyrian is a Simply Enormous Dragon. This quote shows Glerk’s sensitive and artistic nature, and it allows Glerk to bend the truth and let Fyrian continue imagining he is huge—perhaps someday it will be true. This quote also shows how Glerk sometimes follows Xan’s directions to lie despite his reservations.

“Human babies are only tiny for an instant—their growing up is as swift as the beat of a hummingbird’s wing.” 

For creatures as old as Glerk, Fyrian, and Xan, Luna’s babyhood is fleeting. The comparison to a hummingbird is an example of the pervasive bird symbolism in the novel: Birds are quick and hard to hold, like childhood. This observation also foreshadows Xan’s desire to keep Luna close and childlike as long as she can.

“I do hope you are able to make at least one person grovel today. It would put to rest so many misgivings among the other Elders.” 

This comment epitomizes Gherland’s low opinion of the Protectorate’s common citizens, who he believes should be intimidated and put down. It also reflects Gherland’s belief about his own superior status. One reason Antain doesn’t fit in with the Elders is because he doesn’t treat regular people with scorn and contempt.

“Memory was a slippery thing—slick as moss on an unstable slope—and it was ever so easy to lose one’s footing and fall.” 

Xan does not like to remember things. Her childhood in the castle was unhappy, and Xan shies away from difficult and sorrowful things. Here she fears that recalling some memories would also rouse the ones she wants to avoid. Repressing memories is another way of hiding from herself.

“In the beginning, there was only Bog, and Bog, and Bog.” 

The Protectorate’s foundation myth centers around the Bog. A parent teaches a child that all life comes from the Bog, a loving entity.

“Maybe she won’t grow…Maybe she will stay like this forever, and I will never have to say goodbye to her.” 

Xan fears losing Luna. She tries to convince herself that their lives together will never change—and almost succeeds.

“I love foolish things. And clever things. I love all the things.” 

Fyrian’s personality is loving and happy. He adores hugs, games, and his beloved group of Xan, Glerk, and Luna (though he’s not totally thrilled about the crow). Here he shows his desire to make both Luna and Glerk happy when they have a disagreement. Fyrian wants everyone to be happy.

“And the business with the babies annoyed him, too—not the concept of it, really, nor the results. He simply did not enjoy touching babies. They were loud, boorish, and, frankly, selfish. Plus, they stank.” 

This quote describes Gherland’s character in a nutshell. He has no problem with lying to stay in power, no real qualms about killing babies, and he certainly enjoys the status he derives from the sacrifices. What does disgust him is that babies are physically gross and self-centered. Ironically, the same could be said for Gherland, who is egocentric and saggy-chinned. This quote also points out that Gherland has few, if any, parental feelings (the exception being a fondness for Antain), in contrast to other loving characters like Xan.

“He was a kind boy—clever, curious, and good of heart. His kindness was his dearest currency.” 

The madwoman recognizes that Antain is kind and that he gives his kindness freely to others regardless of their social status or influence. Antain makes a special cabinet for the head gardener because that man is kind to him, and he’s one of the few who empathizes with the madwoman. He feels dreadful about injuring a swallow, having never hurt anything before in his life.

“Just because you don’t see something doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Some of the most wonderful things in the world are invisible. Trusting in invisible things makes them more powerful and wondrous.” 

Xan tells Fyrian about a magic rope that can pull him back to her if he is ever lost, but her words also apply to other things in the novel. Love and hope are both unseen but powerful enough to dispel sorrow and create joy.

“Some things were easier said on paper, anyway.” 

Xan leaves Luna a goodbye note instead of talking to her in person. Leaving a written note frees Xan from a potentially emotional, distressing conversation, something she strives to avoid.

“The dragonling, he had to admit, was a sweet little thing. Bighearted. Young. But unnaturally so. And now was the time for him to grow up.” 

Glerk loves Fyrian but understands that he has been a baby too long, partially because of Xan’s influence. Their journey away from home to save Xan allows Fyrian to finally come of age and learn about himself.

“‘Caw,’ the crow said. ‘Who cares what they want? Paper birds are creepy.’” 

Opinionated and often comical, the crow is Luna’s devoted friend. The crow is a product of her magic, created when she picked up a chicken egg and the crow emerged from it fully grown. It’s significant that both Luna and the madwoman’s magic gives life to birds, demonstrating the depth of their bond despite their separation. The crow regards the paper birds with new appreciation when the flock defends him and Luna in the confrontation with Antain.

“The girl seemed incapable of sorrow, foolish thing.” 

Gherland cannot intimidate Ethyne into feeling sorrow because she has hope and love, both of which dispel sorrow. Her house is filled with sunshine, unlike other homes in the Protectorate. Rather than being foolish, Ethyne is wise; she does not believe the narratives that tell her to submit to the Elders’ rule because there is no possibility of change.

“I am not a wicked man. I am a man who loves his family. And because I love them, I will kill the Witch. I will. I will kill the Witch or die trying.” 

Antain reveals how fatherhood has changed him. Though he’d never hurt a living creature before he broke Xan’s wing, Antain is still prepared to go against his kind, pacifist nature and kill the Witch to protect his son’s life and save Ethyne from the madwoman’s fate.

“A story can tell the truth, she knew, but a story can also lie. Stories can bend and twist and obfuscate. Controlling stories is power indeed.” 

Ethyne grew up questioning her mother’s stories about the evil Witch. She learns that while the stories may contain “hints” of truth, they are lies fabricated by Sister Ignatia. By managing what people hear, think, and believe, the Sister exerts power and control over the Protectorate and reaps personal benefit. When people do not question what they are told, they sacrifice their liberty.

“Knowledge is powerful, but it is a terrible power when it is hoarded and hidden. Today, knowledge is for everyone.” 

By opening the Tower and the library to everyone, Ethyne ends the Sisters’ control over knowledge and ideas. She creates access to learning and understanding. Questioning and curious minds can evaluate the truth of what they hear.

“The impossible is possible.” 

The madwoman lives in sorrow for a long time, and nothing seems possible. Hope enables her to do the impossible: find her daughter Luna. Other impossible things (love, Ethyne leaving the Sisters) inspire characters like Antain and Ethyne to create change in the Protectorate—ironically, something that the first-person narrators believe is impossible.

“Everything you see is in the process of making or unmaking or dying or living. Everything is in a state of change.” 

Xan explains the caterpillar’s transformation into a butterfly: One must disappear for the other to appear. The statement also describes Xan and Luna. Xan, nearing death, is in the process of “unmaking,” while Luna, on the verge of adulthood, is still “making” her life. Nothing in life is stationary or static, though Xan wished Luna’s magic would stay asleep so Luna could remain with her always.

“The mountain had swallowed power, and the power wanted out

While this sentence refers to the volcano that is ready to erupt, it also refers to Luna and her magic. Xan suppressed Luna’s magic in much the same way Zosimos and Fyrian’s mother corked the volcano. They put it to sleep but did not extinguish it. As the volcano nears eruption, Luna’s power also grows closer and closer to manifesting.

“And she knew: there is no limit to what the heart can carry

Luna observes her mother, Xan, Antain, and the Sorrow Eater, and understands that the heart can carry an infinite number of feelings and emotions. She learns that her own heart is boundless; she has enough love for her mother and grandmother, and her love can continue to expand and grow.

“‘Some of us,’ Xan said, ‘choose love over power. Indeed, most of us do.’” 

Xan pinpoints the difference between Sister Ignatia and the novel’s protagonists. Sister Ignatia walled off her memories and chose not to deal with her own sorrow. Instead, she preferred using cleverness and control to get enough sorrow to fill the void in her heart.

“‘I’m always careful with Glerk,’ Fyrian said primly. ‘He’s delicate.’” 

Fyrian reaches a new understanding of himself and his Simply Enormous nature. He is proud of his new status as a giant. After 500 years of being delicate himself, he is now larger than Glerk and, charmingly, takes responsibility for Glerk’s safety. The “always” is gently comical, as at this point Fyrian has only been a full-size dragon for a short time.