“Now don’t let your chin get to quivering. I’ll give you the honey, just because someday you might be my queen.”

This quote from the trader Enrik is an insulting, sarcastic remark that he uses to annoy Miri and remind her that she is leaving for the academy. In addition, he uses a condescending tone with her, treating her as if she were childish or weak when he asks her not to start crying. He also reluctantly agrees to give her honey as a favor rather than as something she deserves, highlighting the power imbalance in their dynamic.

“Lowlanders are as clever as they are mean.”

This thought from Miri shows that she stereotypes all lowlanders as being cunning and cruel, though she doesn’t know many of them. This is similar to how many lowlanders like Enrik and Olana judge mountain folk before knowing them. Later, when Miri gets to know lowlanders like Britta, she will revise her opinion.

“She was going to show Olana that she was as smart as any Danlander. She was going to be academy princess.”

This quote shows Miri’s determination to prove herself to Olana. She is aware that Olana perceives Mount Eskel’s people as inferior to the lowlanders, so she wants to show her that a mountain girl can be an excellent princess. This moment shows Miri’s defiance and foreshadows her emergence as a leader among the other academy girls.

“The words seemed to glide across Miri’s tongue, each one falling into place. She had never seen the passage before, but studying the book of tales had made reading anything easier. She stuttered over a couple of words but sounded them out all right.”

This passage shows how quickly Miri has developed her reading skills and how naturally learning comes to her, highlighting the themes of Education as Empowerment and self-discovery and personal growth. The words “glide” and “fall into place” show that reading is no longer a struggle for her, highlighting the fluid, quick nature of her intelligence.

“I’m sure I guessed you were in the closet because, where else would you be? And I thought I heard a rat when I was in there, too, so that’s how I knew. But the way my vision kind of shivered when I thought about it, the way the idea of you and the rat was so clear, it reminded me of quarry-speech.”

This quote from Gerti reveals to Miri that she can use quarry-speech, which surprises both Gerti and Miri. Gerti’s description that her vision “shivered” as she recalled the rat highlights the unique, sensory nature of quarry-speech, which uses shared memories to communicate. This highlights the connection between the characters.

“She looked again at the painting. Before the academy, her only wish had been to work in the quarry alongside her pa. Now other possibilities were beginning to nudge and prod her.”

The painting symbolizes the promise of living a luxurious and comfortable life as a princess. Miri is tempted by this and starts thinking of broadening her horizons and exploring the world outside the mountain. This shows The Impact of Community on Individual Identity since her changing environment is changing how she views herself. This quote personifies “possibilities,” portraying them as physically prodding Miri, to show how she is suddenly preoccupied with—and disturbed by—new possibilities.

“If the traders dealt fairly, her village could benefit from the heaps of wonders the rest of the kingdom seemed to enjoy.”

Miri’s exploration of commerce inspires her to use it to help the people of Mount Eskel. This develops the theme of education as empowerment, making Miri aware of class exploitation and the value of resources. It also highlights Miri’s interest in justice and equity, especially for her fellow villagers, showing her personal growth.

“Quarry-speech used memories to carry messages.”

Miri’s discovery of the mechanics of quarry-speech amazes her and makes her realize that quarry-speech is specific to mountain folk. This discovery also makes her feel empowered because it is something that lowlanders do not share. People like Olana assume that the villagers from the mountain are inferior to the lowlanders, so Miri is thrilled to discover at least one way in which the people of Mount Eskel are superior.

“‘I guess we’ve been playing Wolf and Rabbit with Olana all along,’ said Miri, ‘but when she picks on Esa, that’s an unfair touch. I’m glad we ran.’”

Miri uses the game of Wolf and Rabbit to escape with the girls for the spring holiday. She points out the parallels between the childhood game and what they have been enduring at the academy. Miri and the other girls have had enough trouble enduring Olana’s punishments, so when Esa is about to be put in the closet for expressing how unfair it is for the girls to be kept away from a holiday celebration that is important to their people, they have had enough. This shows how much all the girls value and like Esa and are protective of her.

“We have linder in our bones.”

This quote from Doter shows her and the villagers’ determination to gain the fruits of their labor and their refusal to let anyone, including the traders, intimidate them. This statement inspires Miri and makes her proud of Doter and the other villagers, showing the impact of community on individual identity. It also underscores that linder is an important part of the identity of the mountain folk—it not only provides them with a livelihood but also makes them inherently able to use quarry-speech.

“If it works around linder, and mountain folk have linder inside us…maybe linder shapes quarry-speech in the way that cupping your hands around your mouth makes your voice louder. Or maybe quarry-speech travels through linder like sound through air, and the more linder the louder it is. Our memories move through linder, whether in the mountain or in a person.”

Marda’s statement simplifies and explains why Miri can use quarry-speech even though she has never been in the quarry. It also highlights the significance of linder in the lives of the villagers from Mount Eskel; linder is a symbol of their unity and uniqueness. Marda portrays linder as an integral part of their beings and identity, supporting the theme of the impact of community on individual identity. She says that their “memories move through linder,” emphasizing that quarry-speech is not just a form of communication; rather, it is a form of collective memory and history.

“She remembered how Peder had called her a hawk, always staring at the sky, at the mountain view, or out the window toward the village.”

The quote explains Peder’s motivation for carving a linder hawk for Miri: Like a hawk, Miri is intelligent, curious, and capable of survival. This idea is reinforced later when Doter reveals that Miri survived as an infant after her premature birth. Additionally, Miri uses her cleverness, observation, and survival skills to fight the bandits, and she uses the linder hawk carving to incapacitate Dan.

“Marda takes after your pa, but you, Miri, you are your ma alive again. Look at your blue eyes, your hair like a hawk feather. He can’t help seeing you and thinking of her.”

Doter’s quote shows that Miri has the same resilience and headstrong personality as her mother. It also explains that because Miri is so much like her mother, her father does not want to lose her, as it would be like losing her again. Miri is once again associated with the hawk, with her “hair like a hawk feather,” highlighting her intelligence and strength despite her smaller stature.

“Before the academy she had sat on her hill watching goats, and her imagination could dream of nothing grander than working in the quarry. But now she was aware of the kingdom beyond her mountain, hundreds of years of history, and a thousand things she could be.”

This passage shows Miri’s conflict between wanting to stay on the mountain and wanting to leave for the lowlands. Going to the academy and learning about the outside world has widened her horizons and her ambitions, which highlights the themes of education as empowerment and self-discovery and personal growth.

“Everything about this place is cold and hard and sharp and mean and…and I just want to go away.”

Katar’s observation of Mount Eskel as a cold, hard, cruel place contrasts with Miri’s perception of the mountain as a comforting, friendly, warm place. It reflects the impact of community on individual identity by showing that Miri’s loving community has made her identify more with the mountain, while Katar’s emotionally unavailable father and lack of friends has made it hard for her to enjoy life on the mountain.

“How could we forget you? You’re the special one.”

The seamstress’s statement to Miri shows how Miri has grown throughout the novel. She has gone from a mountain girl struggling to find her place in Mount Eskel to the academy princess who is going to get the most attention at the ball. This underscores the theme of self-discovery and personal growth.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have a laugh that makes others laugh?”

Prince Steffan’s question to Miri shows that even a stranger who has only just met her can see her charming and outgoing personality. Despite Steffan’s discomfort at the ball, he is more at ease with Miri because of her upbeat personality and laugh.

“I can’t work in the quarry, I can’t be a princess, what am I good enough for?”

Miri vents to Peder about not feeling like she has any place where she truly belongs. She believed that being a princess was her chance of finding something that she could do with her life besides working in the quarry, which her father would not allow. However, Miri’s question frustrates Peder, who believes that she is saying that she wants to marry the prince.

“Miri could see that Frid was willing to be the martyr, but Miri would not let her.”

This quote shows Miri’s selflessness when it comes to the other academy girls and villagers. It also characterizes her as a leader and protector and highlights her courage and sense of justice. This moment reinforces the theme of the impact of community on individual identity since Miri’s protective instincts are rooted in her connection to the people of Mount Eskel.

“Miri hummed a quarry tune, lying on her side and resting her head on her hand. She pressed her other hand against a floorstone.”

Miri’s quickness to use the Wolf and Rabbit game to escape the bandits is a call back to when it worked with the girls escaping Olana and going on spring holiday. This strategy shows Miri’s quick thinking as well as her determination to get the girls safe and sound as soon as possible. Her growing leadership shows self-discovery and personal growth.

“Peder had brought the villagers, and they were carrying weapons.”

Miri’s observes, through quarry-speech, Peder’s memory of the hunt for the mountain cat; through this, she deduces that he and the villagers are coming to confront the bandits. This mode of communication, which relies on shared memories, highlights the villagers’ close connection, as does Peder’s action of gathering the villagers to save the girls.

“Her family, her playmates, her protectors and neighbors and friends—those people were her world.

She realized with sudden clarity that she did not want to live far away from the village where Mount Eskel’s shadow fell like a comforting arm. The mountain was home—the linder dust, the rhythm of the quarry, the chain of mountains, the people she knew as well as the feel of her own skin.”

Miri’s epiphany that Mount Eskel is her true home and that the villagers are her people shows the impact of community on individual identity. While she was previously torn between her love for her home and her desire to leave it, she comes to realize that her love for her people supersedes any desire for a more luxurious or adventurous life. The shadow of the mountain is personified as “a comforting arm,” portraying it as a source of security.

“She wanted to form a village academy and feel at home on the mountain, she wanted to be with her pa and Marda, and she thought she wanted to be with Peder. If that was what he wanted.”

Miri’s thoughts reflect her understanding of what truly matters to her. She decides that her calling is to be a teacher in the village. Additionally, her uncertainty about Peder highlights her maturity; while she knows that she wants to be with him, she does not assume that this is what he wants. She shows respect for his emotions rather than seeing their romantic bond as a guaranteed outcome, demonstrating her self-development and personal growth.