How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The hot, tangled ball of anger inside of her turned inside out. Azalea fell to her knees and began to sob. Hacking sobs, so hard it hurt to breathe. She buried her face in her hands and couldn't stop. Every time she tried to say Mother, the word broke in her throat. Mother, incomparable Mother! (3.9)
Azalea's grief at her mother's death is pretty overwhelming—she can't speak, she can't stop crying, and she can barely process that it's actually happened and it's real and she'll never see her mom again. Also, note that she's alone when she collapses like this, so in one sense this helps her get it out of her system so that she can comfort her younger sisters when she sees them next.
Quote #2
"Aye, sir, but th' princesses, they've been eager to see you, sir—"
"I cannot abide them," the King snapped, in a loud-enough whisper that it echoed in the hall. "I cannot! Keep them away from me, Mr. Pudding!" (3.62-63)
Why can't the King stand the thought of his daughters right now? Probably because they'll remind him of their mother, his wife, who he's just lost. And obviously, he's not dealing with that loss too well right now. Then again, how one grieves is a very personal thing—it just might be nice if the King didn't emotionally shut out his own family in the process.
Quote #3
Eathesbury tradition required the steward of the family to sit up the first night to watch over the deceased, but Azalea could hear Mr. Pudding's hacking sobs from across the palace, and she joined him in Mother's room, pouring cups of tea to soothe him. (3.80)
Here's another tradition, outside of mourning, to help people navigate their sadness when someone dies. This seems like a way of paying your last respects to the deceased, or saying goodbye to them before they're buried—it won't make the sadness go away, but maybe it helps just a little.
Quote #4
She told them about how balls and promenades and courting weren't allowed, and how they were to keep inside, not even allowed out to the gardens. She told them that the windows would be draped for a year and that they would have to get used to wearing black for a year, too. (4.20)
Mourning sounds like a goth's paradise—lots of wearing black, lots of lingering in the darkness, very little sunlight, antisocial behavior…what's not to like? Well, if you're a young girl who happens to love dancing and is excited about growing up and getting to attend balls, there's plenty not to like. Mourning's not supposed to be fun because it's a reflection of sadness and grief.
Quote #5
"When—when I dance," she said quietly. "When I dance, I—I forget all the—the bad things."
Eve toyed with her spectacles. "Like Mother not being here," she said. (8.91-92)
Clover and Eve sum up the main reason the girls are eager to keep dancing, even though they're not supposed to while in mourning: dancing helps them forget the bad things, like their sadness. Obviously dancing doesn't make their mom any more alive, but it lifts their hearts, which is a good thing, even temporarily.
Quote #6
"It helps to remember," said Clover.
"We will not speak of your mother," said the King. His voice was even, but harder and colder than frozen steel. (12.68-69)
Here Clover's saying that it helps her deal with her sadness about her mom's death if she remembers the good things, like how her mom and dad used to dance the Entwine together. The King's coming from the opposite side, though, since he'd rather they didn't speak of her. We don't think this means that he wants to forget his wife entirely, but rather that dealing with his memories of her while feeling so sad at her death is just too hard at the moment.
Quote #7
Azalea tried to speak but choked on the words. Mother brought her to arm's length, and with her thumb brushed away a tear on Azalea's face, her own eyes wet. And even with her lips stitched and bruised Mother still tried to smile. To comfort her. (18.163)
This moment is awful for Azalea—she's reminded of how sad she is at her mom's death, she's horrified that her mom is still suffering, and she's confronted with how much her mom still cares for her, since she tries to comfort Azalea even while in pain (we can only imagine how painful it might be to have your lips sewn shut). So much sadness, horror, and shock combined all at once… we gotta hand it to Keeper for creating a truly horrific experience for Azalea.
Quote #8
"But mourning, it is a symbol. A way of being… I—I don't believe we are ready to lift mourning." (22.83)
The King is not really thrilled with how his daughters have found ways to circumvent the conventions of mourning. To him, it's a symbol of his grief at his wife's passing, and as such, it helps him cope with and process his sadness. The fact that the girls don't seem to be taking mourning (and hence their mother's death) very seriously must be really hurtful for him.
Quote #9
Azalea was proud of them… All of them, even Delphinium, had agreed to dress again in black. None of them knew how long the King would want mourning to last, yet not one complained. (29.43)
Based on one of her last conversations with the King before the whole vengeful-High-King-ordeal went down, Azalea manages to convince her sisters to prolong mourning for their father's sake—none of the girls are thrilled about it, of course, but they agree to do it as a sign of respect for their dad. Which is kinda appropriate, since mourning is a sign of respect for the dead too, and their dad almost died at the High King's hands. Maybe realizing how close they came to losing him helped them appreciate him more.
Quote #10
"Mourning is over," he said. "I am in earnest. Draw the curtains. Your mother would not have wanted it to last as such." (29.80)
The King seems to appreciate the girls' offer to extend mourning, but in the end he decides to discontinue it. Perhaps he realizes that their mom, who mourning is supposed to honor, wouldn't have wanted her daughters to spend more than a year in darkness, without dancing or joy. Or maybe he finally works through his own grief issues. Whatever the cause, it seems like everyone's pretty happy with this turn of events.