27 pages • 54 minutes read
Neil GaimanA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
“It would not have occurred to the dwarves to give the young queen anything they had dug themselves from beneath the earth. That would have been too easy, too routine. It’s the distance that makes a gift magical, so the dwarves believed.”
In this moment, the narrator alludes to the power of the quest in traditional folklore. Rather than the geographic distance itself, the practice of journeying and exploring creates power in these motifs. Unknowingly, the dwarves are following an ancient tradition of seeking one’s fortune in a far-off land in order to obtain something of value.
“She wondered how she would feel to be a married woman. It would be the end of her life, she decided, if life was a time of choices.”
Much of the story, in particular the queen’s own personal journey, deals with the freedom or lack of personal choice. Even though Gaiman presents the queen as a strong warrior figure and a leader, she recognizes the inescapable gender expectations on which her society is built. Once she becomes a married woman, the identity she has built for herself with her own strength will become a secondary concern, pointing to the story’s thematic interest in Freedom and Constraint.
“She called for her mail shirt. She called for her sword. She called for provisions, and for her horse, and then she rode out of the palace, towards the east.”
By Neil Gaiman
American Gods
American Gods
Neil Gaiman
Anansi Boys
Anansi Boys
Neil Gaiman
Coraline
Coraline
Neil Gaiman
Fortunately, the Milk
Fortunately, the Milk
Neil Gaiman
Good Omens
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Neil Gaiman
Neverwhere
Neverwhere
Neil Gaiman
Norse Mythology
Norse Mythology
Neil Gaiman
October in the Chair
October in the Chair
Neil Gaiman
Odd and the Frost Giants
Odd and the Frost Giants
Neil Gaiman
Stardust
Stardust
Neil Gaiman
The Graveyard Book
The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Neil Gaiman
The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1
The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1
Neil Gaiman
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection