How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
There were two things Graceful did not know about her life: how many children she would have, and when she would die. If she thought about not knowing these two huge things, her stomach went tight. It was fear and it was joy, that tightness, all at once and all mixed. (2.5)
It's funny how none of these things turn out the way she expected, isn't it? In fact, Graceful's life is turned upside down when her dad breaks it off with Cam and strikes up a deal with Gyaar. It makes us wonder what the book is saying about those traditions and customs overall.
Quote #2
Why did Father want to change the order of things? It made her insides jump. Father was sun and earth and all things between, and no one was greater than him, not even the gods, but Fenister Fort Farm had boundaries, boundaries set so long ago that no one knew who or how or why, but that they were set. And Father was pushing them around. (2.92)
To Downlanders, change = bad and tradition = good. We get this reaction from Graceful to show how folks view the adjustments that are happening, and it ain't pretty.
Quote #3
Father always stopped the cart at the flats, and always told the same story, and always laughed as if it were funny, a joke. When Graceful had been small, she had laughed too. (2.123)
Now that Graceful is older, perhaps it's not so funny—she already knows all her dad's jokes and stories, and it seems like she's bored with the same old, same old. Hmm… maybe it's not such a bad idea for her to switch it up and marry an Uplander.
Quote #4
He came back from the war, and it was the returning that would lay to rest the beast that ate him from the inside, he was sure of it. For a time it did, too. The quiet, the peace, the routine. (5.59)
Eventually though, Cam is still eaten alive by his "beast" inside. All of the everyday stuff gets to him and just makes him agitated more than anything else. He doesn't need tradition to feel alive—he needs adventure.
Quote #5
"I… I have an odd ritual, that I have recently come into." Every morning, before sunrise, he went to the guard tower, to watch the man that everyone called Gyaar's Downlander (never, though, to Gyaar's face) watch the keep. "Day after day, the same pattern." (12.8)
Gyaar tells his dad about his own morning routine, even though he knows his dad won't approve. The book shows us that not all customs are appreciated when you've got duties to fulfill.
Quote #6
Even with the Uplanders coming, work could not be suspended. Autumn was the time of gathering: The fruit was picked and stored, or preserved; the root vegetables harvested. Down in Merrydance field, the mulberries were shedding their leaves. (13.47)
All work and no play—that's how life is for the farming folk in Downland, even when something exciting is happening. But this isn't just because they're gluttons for punishment—they actually need to harvest their crops in order to eat and make a living.
Quote #7
"This gift always. Custom. Look." He mimed looking into the mirror. "In here, look your future." He smiled his always-smile. For the first time, Graceful saw that it was real. (13.117)
Gyaar gives Graceful a mirror for their betrothal simply because it's tradition. It's interesting that he says she can see her future in it, though, since traditions are rooted in the past.
Quote #8
Mam took her through the anteroom, the shrine proper, and then the little room at the back where boys were made men and girls were made women. There was a big wooden bathtub, the water in it steaming and smelling of herbs she knew and herbs strange to her. (14.41)
Pin's ceremony is chock-full of customs and rituals, many of which she does not fully understand. It's a cool window for us into the medieval world in the book, and if you want to know more about the ceremony, check out the "Symbols " to dig deeper.
Quote #9
"That tree was planted for my sister Shi-mii," he said. "When a girl-child is born to the Ryuu family, a tree is planted." With his own hand, he picked a spray of bloodflower blossom and gave it to her. (15.201)
It's settled then—Graceful will carry on the traditions of Uplanders, instead of Downlanders. At least that's what Gyaar seems to think. But if you go back and check this passage again, we think you'll find she makes no such promise to her new hubby. In fact, all she promises is that she will think about it.