How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
But my brother said that, underneath, he thought they were frightened. It was because they were frightened, he thought, that they had grown so small. Each generation had become smaller and smaller, and more and more hidden. In the olden days, it seems, and in some parts of England, our ancestors talked quite openly about the "little people." (1.46)
Do you buy Mrs. May's brother's theory? That borrowers are tiny because they're terrified? It sounds like a promising idea, because fear certainly does make people feel small. And it might also account for the borrowers' arrogance. Maybe they're overcompensating.
Quote #2
"Not that I'm afraid of mice," Homily would say, "but I can't abide the smell." (2.1)
Has anyone you know (or you yourself) ever said something like: "I'm totally not scared of seeing that movie, it's just really important that I feed my goldfish." Yeah, dudes, real convincing. That's exactly what Homily sounds like here. She says she's not afraid of mice, and uses the smell as an excuse. The same way Homily tells us she's totally not scared of mice, we know she is completely petrified. But she's not the only one in the novel to make excuses for her fears…
Quote #3
"Don't speak like that of borrowing. You don't know—and, thank goodness, you never will know"—she dropped her voice to a fearful whisper—"what it's like upstairs…" (3.25)
Oooh spooky. Homily's warning to Arrietty has all the makings of a good ghost story. She gives no real reason for her daughter to be scared, but she's trying to freak her out all the same.
Quote #4
"No one," said Homily slowly, "hasn't never been 'seen' since Uncle Hendreary and he was the first they say for 45 years." A thought struck her and she gripped the table. "It's no good, Pod, I won't emigrate!" (4.20)
Our hearts go out to Homily in this moment, but we can't help but wonder if she's afraid for Pod, or if she's really afraid of emigrating. Which prospect is worse?
Quote #5
Pod looked worried. Since he had been "seen," they had stuck to kitchen borrowing, the bare essentials of fuel and food. […] In this way he need not venture into the great hall and passages; he could just nip out, from under the vast black stove in the kitchen, for a clove or a carrot or a tasty piece of ham. But it was not a satisfactory arrangement: even when the fire was out, often there was hot ash and cinders under the stove and once, as he emerged, a great brush came at him wielded by Mrs. Driver; and he slithered back, on top of Homily, singed, shaken, and coughing dust. (7.6)
Check out how overwhelming the fear of being seen is. It takes over everything in the Clocks' lives. They have to factor in the possibility of being seen into all their little, everyday decisions.
Quote #6
It was an eye. Or it looked like an eye. Clear and bright like the color of the sky. An eye like her own but enormous. A glaring eye. Breathless with fear, she sat up. (9.1)
Gaaah. Admit it—you'd be scared, too, if you suddenly came face to face with a giant eyeball. We mean, really, how do you make sense of an eye that looks exactly like your own, but is hundreds of times the size?
Quote #7
"Or," said a voice, whispering still, "I shall hit you with my ash stick […] in case," came the surprised whisper at last, "you ran toward me, quickly, through the grass… in case," it went on, trembling a little, "you came and scrabbled at me with your nasty little hands." (9.4-6)
Who do you think is more scared of the other: Arrietty, or the boy? This one could totally go both ways.
Quote #8
Arrietty stared up at him. So this was "the boy"! Breathless, she felt, and light with fear. (9.18)
Fear can paralyze in more than one way—it might stop a character from taking a risk, but it can also literally put a character on pause, giving him or her time to think, like Arrietty here. When given a moment to consider the situation, she shows her cards. She's more than just scared. She's curious.
Quote #9
We don't see them because it's too far. There are weasels and things and cows and foxes… and crows… (10.42)
Maybe someone has told Arrietty stories about all these crazy creatures in the field. Maybe that's why she's so frightened of things she's never seen. And isn't that just it? She's never seen them. That can only make things worse.
Quote #10
"But something must have happened to her!" exclaimed Homily.
"Yes," said Pod. He turned to Arrietty. "See what I mean, Arrietty, about those fields?"
[…]
"Pod," said Homily soberly, "I'm frightened. Everything seems to be happening at once. What are we going to do?" (14.43-44, 47)
Do you think Homily and Pod are right to scare Arrietty away from things she hasn't experienced? We mean, they are trying to protect her, after all.