51 pages • 1-hour read
Dealing with Dragons
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Chapters 11-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 11 Summary: “In Which Kazul is Unwell, and Cimorene Makes a New Acquaintance”
Alianora leaves and Kazul returns. Cimorene tells the dragon about the encounter with Antorell, her suspicions about Woraug, and the plant that Antorell was harvesting. She shows Kazul a bit of the plant, and Kazul burns it immediately but accidentally inhales the smoke. Kazul identifies the plant as dragonsbane, and Cimorene must fetch an antidote.
Overcome by the smoke, Kazul sleeps for three days. When she wakes, she is still too weak to warn the king of the dragons, so she tells Cimorene to pass the news to a dragon named Roxim, who will warn the king. Cimorene navigates the tunnels and heads to Roxim’s cave. At the gate leading to the Cave of Fire and Night, she discovers a prince who has been partially turned into stone. He explains that a soothsayer’s prophecy that he would one day be of great service to a king. The stone prince felt such heavy expectations from the people around him that he ran away. Soon, he realized that he really wanted to do something great, so he found a king to serve. The king asked for Waters of Healing from the Caves of Fire and Night. Like the princes who were turned to stone before him, the stone prince was tempted by the gold dipper and touched it, but when he felt himself stiffening, he plunged his arms into the Waters of Healing. As a result, he can still walk and talk although he is otherwise made of stone. Cimorene takes the stone prince to the service and banquet rooms and instructs him to wait for her while she speaks to Roxim.
Chapter 12 Summary: “In Which Cimorene Calls on a Dragon, and the Stone Prince Discovers a Plot”
Cimorene tells Roxim about the dragonsbane, but it is too late; someone poisoned King Tokoz just that morning. Now, Woraug oversees the investigation, and the trials to carry Colin’s Stone and choose a new dragon king will begin the next day. Cimorene returns and reports all of these events to Kazul, who must attend the trial, as there is no acceptable excuse for missing a trial and coronation. Cimorene takes on a flurry of administrative tasks to help Kazul to prepare for the event.
The next day, Kazul is feeling slightly better. Alianora comes to Cimorene, saying that she heard strange noises near the service and banquet rooms while she was cleaning. Cimorene realizes that she forgot the stone prince. They go fetch him together. He and Alianora get along well. He says that during the previous night, he overheard a dragon talking with two wizards. His description leads Cimorene to believe that the wizards were Zemenar and Antorell. He says that they were discussing how the wizards would fix the trial in order to help a specific dragon to become king. He struggles to remember the dragon’s name but says it sounds like “warthog.” Cimorene realizes that the dragon was Woraug. Suddenly, Antorell reveals his presence.
Chapter 13 Summary: “In Which Alianora Discovers an Unexpected Use for Soap and Water, and Cimorene Has Difficulty with a Dragon”
Antorell reveals the wizards’ plan to make Woraug king in exchange for obtaining the King’s Crystal, which will reveal the locations of magic that the wizards can then steal and exploit. Antorell doesn’t think that anyone will believe the princesses if they try to reveal the wizards’ plan, but he does want to get rid of the prince. As Antorell charges his staff, Alianora throws her cleaning bucket at him. He slips, and Cimorene takes his staff. He slowly melts in the soapy water.
The women and the stone prince agree on a plan to tell the dragons about Woraug’s plot and find the rest of the wizards. They gather more buckets, and Cimorene fetches the packet containing her teleportation feathers and the pebble that she took from the Cave of Fire and Night. They each grab two buckets and link elbows so that Cimorene can transport them to the Ford of Whispering Snakes.
The dragons refuse to take them seriously. Cimorene asks to see Kazul, but Kazul is third in line for the trial after another dragon and Woraug. Cimorene needs to know exactly where the wizards are before she can use a feather to transport herself there, so she teleports herself, Alianora, and the stone prince to Morwen for help.
Chapter 14 Summary: “In Which the Wizards Try to Make Trouble, and Cimorene Does Something About It”
Cimorene explains the situation to Morwen, who uses a mirror to scry for Zemenar. Once they divine the wizards’ location, they all grab the buckets, and Cimorene uses her last feather to transport the four of them to where the wizards are. They use five of the buckets to melt five wizards. However, Zemenar hides behind Morwen, using her as a shield. The stone prince throws the water over them both, successfully gambling that the water will melt Zemenar but not Morwen. Cimorene hands Morwen her handkerchief, and Morwen discovers the pebble from the King’s Cave. Morwen then examines the wizard’s spell, which has already helped Woraug to carry Colin’s Stone halfway up the mountain. She drops the pebble into the rock that holds the wizards’ spell, breaking the spell itself and causing Woraug to drop Colin’s Stone. Angrily, he confronts them. He tries eating the stone prince, but the prince’s stoniness breaks Woraug’s teeth.
Other dragons finally arrive and ask what happened. Cimorene explains, and Morwen verifies her account. A dragon takes them and Woraug into custody until a King is chosen and can determine the truth. Morwen fetches the wizards’ black rock and Cimorene’s pebble before leaving.
Chapter 15 Summary: “In Which the Dragons Crown a New King, and Cimorene Gets a New Job”
By the time they reach the dragons, the dragons are all cheering for the new King, which turns out to be Kazul. Cimorene explains everything that happened. Kazul sends some dragons to guard the blackberry patch where the wizards were melted, just in case more wizards arrive. Woraug claims that wizards wouldn’t know how to affect Colin’s Stone. Morwen says that according to the book that Kazul borrowed from her, someone can use a piece of stone from the King’s Cave to cast spells on any other stones from the room. The wizard’s black stone is from the cave, as was Colin’s Stone and Cimorene’s pebble, and this fact allowed the wizards to tamper with the test.
Cimorene wonders if Woraug had a hand in poisoning King Tokoz, but she doesn’t know how he could have handled the dragonsbane. Alianora says that she saw Woraug carrying something that looked like a large tea bag when he went to see the king on the night before the king died.
Kazul comments that Woraug’s actions are “[h]ardly proper behavior for a dragon” (198). Woraug starts to shrink and turns into a toad. Kazul explains that this is what happens when a dragon stops acting like a dragon. Cimorene hypothesizes that because the stone prince fought Woraug, he effectively rescued Alianora. He asks if Alianora would be willing to marry him, and she agrees. Morwen says that the stone prince already did a king a service by helping Kazul, thereby fulfilling the prophecy. The dragons return from the blackberry patch and announce that more wizards arrived, confirming Cimorene’s story. Kazul cancels the cancels the formal agreement that the dragons had with the wizards.
Later, Cimorene and Kazul return to their caves. Kazul warns Cimorene that they’ll have to move all Kazul’s belongings into the King’s quarters. She identified a room for Cimorene there as well. Cimorene hadn’t expected Kazul to keep her on after becoming king. She is surprised but happy. The next morning, she starts helping with the move and then goes to help Alianora pack and say goodbye.
The stone prince asks what will be done with the wizards. The dragons have eaten many of them and have barred them all from dragon territory. However, there is no reason for the dragons to attack the Society of Wizards because it was Woraug who poisoned Tokoz. Alianora says that Morwen told her that melting a wizard isn’t permanent, so Zemenar will eventually be back. She also says that she and the stone prince are going to Morwen’s so that Morwen can turn him back into a human. As Cimorene watches Alianora and the prince leave, she contemplates the events that befell them and reflects upon Alianora’s wish for her to live “happily ever after” (208), which she plans to do.
Chapters 11-15 Analysis
As the action accelerates in these final chapters, Wrede continues to create situations that highlight the absolutist terms that characterize many fairy tale tropes. For example, when Cimorene tells Kazul that Woraug may have helped the wizards access dragonsbane, Kazul says, “But Woraug’s not a fool, and only a fool would let a wizard into that valley” (145). Similarly, one of the guards who sees Woraug attacking the stone prince claims, “No dragon would cooperate with wizards” (189). With these sweeping declarations, both Kazul and the guard use totalizing language, treating a group with disparate parts as if each member of this group must adopt one unified set of principles and never deviate from them. By contrast, Cimorene’s very existence proves that totalizing language can lead to dangerously false assumptions and mistakes. When people tell her that princesses “always” or “never” do something, she is quick to correct them, as her every unconventional action proves them wrong.
It is also important to note that this same principle applies to the dragons’ initial opinion of Woraug’s involvement in the wizards’ plan. The guard’s claim that “no dragon” would ever cooperate with a wizard renders him incapable of acknowledging the irrefutable evidence that one dragon clearly did cooperate with a wizard. Similarly, Kazul’s language that “only a fool” would work with wizards ignores the idea that there are other motivations that would make a dragon cooperate. Kazul uses logic to conclude that a dragon would never let wizards, their historic foes, access dragonsbane. However, she fails to see that Woraug is not acting logically, but emotionally and ambitiously. Unlike the human characters, however, Kazul learns from her mistake and proves to be a staunch ally to Cimorene, standing by the princess even when her deductions seem unlikely. For example, when Woraug insists that Kazul can’t believe Cimorene’s accusations, Kazul answers, “Why should I disbelieve it?” (196). This rhetorical question indicates that Cimorene’s deductions and accusations are usually proven to be correct.
The novel creates tension by putting Cimorene and her allies in a time crunch as the events build toward the narrative climax. As the princess and her companions work to defeat Woraug and the wizards, there is no time for Cimorene to fully explain herself to the people who are helping her. These dynamics illustrate The Positive Impact of Friendship and Loyalty, especially when Morwen demonstrates her own loyalty to Cimorene by immediately declaring, “It’s an emergency. I’ll do what I can” (181). Like Kazul, Morwen offers her friendship and loyalty to Cimorene without question due to Cimorene’s history of practicality, honesty, and hard work. Both have measured Cimorene’s character and decided that she is worthy of trust, so they back this belief up with decisive action.
This pattern contrasts with the behavior of figures like the unnamed dragons from whom Cimorene unsuccessfully solicits help. Because they do not know Cimorene, they assume that she is just another “silly” princess who is “full of tales” (178). Their refusal to adapt to Cimorene’s goal of Challenging the Status Quo reinforces a theme that has remained dominant throughout the novel. Just as Cimorene condemns Therandil’s faith in the status quo as a “nuisance” and a hindrance to her own unique goals, she exhibits frustration at the dragons’ failure to believe that she is not just a “silly” princess and is in fact acting in their best interests. These moments of disbelief show that an uncompromising belief in stereotypes and the status quo can be dangerous and actively harmful. The dragons’ stereotypes against princesses create obstacles for Cimorene even as she strives to save them from the corruption of their kingship ritual.
However, although most humans remain mired in tradition, the stone prince proves himself to be a helpful ally in the face of these obstacles. Like Cimorene, who actively challenges norms (and Alianora, who accidentally challenges them), the stone prince’s actions show that he too is Challenging the Status Quo. Ironically, although he adheres to the same principles that most princes do, he actively chooses to do so rather than simply following the prescriptions of society. Because he exhibits individual will by consciously choosing an otherwise “stereotypical” path, he reforges this well-worn pattern as a unique part of his own identity. Though, as a prince, he would stereotypically be the “hero” of the story, he offers the knowledge that he has gained from “hero’s school” to Alianora and Cimorene instead, positioning them as the heroes and himself as the sidekick. With this action, he challenges the status quo while also exhibiting The Positive Impact of Friendship and Loyalty. In this way, the conclusion of the novel puts the princesses in the position of being the true heroes who save everyone, thereby subverting typical fairy-tale tropes.
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