How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"It's your sisters," said Mother. "You've done so well to watch out for them, these months I've been ill. You'll always take care of them, won't you?" (1.44)
Here Azalea's mom isn't just content to remind Azalea of her duty to take care of her younger sisters—she also makes Azalea (unknowingly) swear a magical oath to do so. That might seem like a little too much, but Azalea's going to be torn in so many directions by grief and duty and so on that she needs all the help she can get.
Quote #2
Azalea paused. They had never been exactly close to the King, but he had always come to breakfast and dinner, at least. It was a rule they had, to eat dinner as a family. Now, these past several days, he had remained in the library, tending to Royal Business and ignoring them all. (4.44)
Ah, the good old bury-yourself-in-duties-and ignore-your-grief response to someone you love dying. We can't say that we recommend it, but it seems to be working for the King… er… if by working for we mean the opposite. The more the King ignores his daughters in favor of his duties, the worse their relationship becomes.
Quote #3
"There is an old magic," he said slowly. "A deep one, made of promises. It hearkens back to the High King D'Eathe, and the first Captain General. Your father swore such an oath to Delchastire when we made this alliance. We all did. It cannot be taken lightly." (5.23)
Fairweller fills Azalea in on what's up with her dad needing to rush off to war so soon after her mother's funeral—it's his duty to, you see. It's based on the magic of promises, plus political alliances that cannot be ignored. It seems like somehow duties will find a way to demand attention even at the least convenient times.
Quote #4
"Mourning," said the King, "is meant to show the grief inside us. Dancing dishonors your mother's memory. It is badly done, Azalea! As future queen, you should know better! Badly done!" (5.57)
As future queen, Azalea has a duty to represent the kingdom honorably, and it seems like she's failing in this respect by not respecting the rules of mourning. But then, by dancing, she was acting on her duty to look out for her younger sisters, because dancing cheers them up and reminds them of their mom. So which duty comes first?
Quote #5
"Why would they send invitations?" said Eve, always so logical. "We're in mourning."
"It's impolite not to," said Azalea. "When Mother was ill, we still received invitations, though they knew she couldn't go." (12.33-34)
Apparently in these elite social circles, everyone's obligated to do the polite thing all the time, even when practically speaking, they know that their invitations won't be accepted. Do these people know how much paper they're wasting?
Quote #6
"It's not a matter of wanting to or not," said Fairweller, who appeared more annoyed by the minute. "Or even what party you will run for. It is more a matter of duty. I find it odd you are shying away from this." (13.57)
Here Fairweller is practically lecturing Mr. Bradford on his duty to run for parliament. Maybe because his dad served parliament in the past, or maybe because Mr. Bradford is educated and intelligent and thus seems like a good fit… but the bottom line is, Fairweller views this as a way to serve one's country, and a duty like that should be embraced, not run from.
Quote #7
"Regiment practice. It is an old tradition, from the revolution. They say the rebellion—the cavalry—burst though the windows, thorns, and vines, and scooped up the prisoners from the magicked palace. Romanticized, of course. It is tradition, however, so we practice it. On sacks of wheat and potatoes." (18.41)
The duty to the past is an interesting one. Here the King talks about how everyone who gets a certain kind of martial training also learns how to scoop up prone items as a way of remembering the past, when they'd had to fight the High King and liberate prisoners. They don't expect to use this particular skill set again, but they do it for tradition's sake (of course, they don't know what's coming yet with Keeper getting loose).
Quote #8
"Oh—but I can't! He's certain that the King would never allow our union. If Mother were here, she could talk to the King. But—" Clover fingered the swirls of the watch at her waist, then brightened at Azalea. "Perhaps you could!" (22.44)
This is definitely one sisterly duty that Azalea doesn't anticipate: having to put in a good word for Fairweller (ugh) on behalf of her sister Clover (omg). And yet because their mom's not around anymore to smooth things over with their dad, who's overprotective when it comes to courtship, it appears that Azalea's going to have to step up to the plate here.
Quote #9
"There were twelve dancing princesses," he whispered. "And their little hearts were broken. But one day, they found a magical land of silver and music, where they could dance and forget all their troubles. But, alas! All things do not last forever. There was a debt to be paid; and when the accounts were balanced, the dear little princesses were found wanting." (25.60-61)
Keeper's version of the story is chilling. The wonderful nights of dancing come at a price, and when the girls do not fulfill their duty to Keeper, holding up their end of the bargain by finding the magical object he required and destroying it, Keeper turns on them. Well, he probably would've done that anyway. Which makes us wonder—if Keeper was planning their (and especially their father's) deaths all along, were they really obligated to help him?
Quote #10
"It is only glass, you know. Nothing fine or grand. Your Mother knew it, when she accepted it with my hand. And she knew I danced as well as a tree. She knew about the politics and duties and responsibilities of marrying into royalty. She knew all those…unfortunate things. Things some people might even call ghastly." (30.24)
Here the King makes it clear that the only ethical way for someone to marry into the royal family, with all the duties that entails, is for them to do so with eyes open. It'd be terrible if someone thought they were getting one thing with their marriage and then they turned out to have this whole barrel of responsibilities waiting for them after the wedding. We find ourselves agreeing with the King more and more.