How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Only a very powerful necromancer could use that spell. Only a totally evil one would want to. And evil breeds evil, evil taints places and makes them attractive to further acts of…
"Stop it!" Sabriel said aloud, to still her mind of its imaginings. (5.13)
Interesting idea, that evil can taint a place. It's like evil deeds create a magnet for even more evil deeds. But can a place really be evil?
Quote #2
The name Kerrigor, while not exactly familiar, touched some basic fear in her, some memory. Perhaps Abhorsen had spoken this name, which undoubtedly belonged to one of the Greater Dead. The name scared her in the same way the broken stone did, as if they were tangible symbols of a world gone wrong, a world where her father was lost, where she herself was terribly threatened. (5.33)
Kerrigor is synonymous with evil in this book, and here's where this idea is introduced. World going wrong? Yep, Kerrigor's fault. He's pretty much the root of all evil in this story.
Quote #3
Sabriel cried out when she saw it, and felt the Dead spirit within. The Book of the Dead opened to fearful pages in her memory, and descriptions of evil poured into her head. It was a Mordicant that hunted her—a thing that could pass at will through Life and Death […]. (5.54)
Although Kerrigor is the evil mastermind in Sabriel's story, evil manifests itself in many different ways. The Mordicant that chases Sabriel throughout her journey is one of these manifestations, and it's incredibly nasty.
Quote #4
"Suffice it to say that the whole world slides into evil, and many are helping the slide."
"And others resist it," said Sabriel. "Like my father. Like me." (9.29-30)
Sabriel's statement here is a nice summary of the status quo: evil's overtaking the world, but Sabriel and her father are fighting it. Good guys, reporting for duty.
Quote #5
Sabriel swallowed, closed her eyes, fumbled with the collar and prayed she was doing the right thing. "Father, forgive me," she thought, but it was not just to her father she spoke, but to all the Abhorsens who had come before her—especially the one who had made the collar so long ago. (11.58)
Sabriel struggles to do the right thing and make good decisions, knowing that evil forces are constantly trying to sabotage her. Sometimes it's not easy to know if her decisions are the right ones.
Quote #6
"He came within arm's length of me, and I could only look into his face, look at the evil that lay so close behind those familiar features…" (18.60)
Touchstone describes the moment of recognizing that his former childhood friend, and half-brother, has changed. Rogir—now Kerrigor—has joined the Dark Side, so to speak.
Quote #7
"Even from Death, he has overseen the dissolution of the Kingdom—a kingdom without a royal family, with one of the Great Charters crippled, corrupting and weakening all the others. He wasn't really beaten that night, in the reservoir. Just delayed, and for two hundred years he's been trying to come back, trying to re-enter Life—" (18.68)
At long last, Sabriel gets an explanation from Mogget of Kerrigor's evil plan: he wants power, the power that comes from taking Life that doesn't belong to him. She's starting to understand the motivation behind Kerrigor's evil deeds. (Doesn't make him any less evil, though.)
Quote #8
"It is the Dead who are at the root of this evil, and Abhorsen's business is with the Dead!" (20.11)
As much as Sabriel would probably like a vacation, Mogget reminds her that she is uniquely qualified to deal with the problem plaguing the Old Kingdom.
Quote #9
Touchstone had transferred his hand to her shoulder, pouring power into her. Others of the circle had crept up and linked hands again—and suddenly Sabriel felt a stirring of relief. They were going to make it—Kerrigor's human body would be destroyed, and the greater part of his power with it […]. (27.44)
Like many classic fantasy stories, the power of good here is illustrated by people coming together in the spirit of love and bravery to fight a dark force. When the Charter Mage students link hands, and Touchstone physically touches Sabriel to boost her magic—well, it's the power of love.
Quote #10
Someone—a girl quietly coughing out her last breath on the floor—touched Sabriel's ankle with a light caress. A small spark of golden Charter Magic came from that dying touch, slowly swelling into Sabriel's veins, traveling upwards, warming joints, freeing muscles. (28.13)
The forces of good are at work here, with the tiniest spark of life tipping the balance so that Sabriel's efforts can save the day. This is a lovely image of something very small—a single person's touch—defeating a huge, evil force.