Father Time gets a new face in The Ropemaker. Imagine time as a big rope—at least, that's how Faheel and the Ropemaker think of it. But while Faheel's gotten pretty far along in terms of the number of years he's been alive (that's a kind way of saying dude is old), Ropey is nice and young—poised to help future generations of Valley kids.
Meena and Alnor get a rush of time magic when Faheel's grapes turn them into teens again. Far from regretting reliving their pimply and awkward years, they're thrilled at getting a second lease on life (although Meena's a bit more game than Alnor)—though their grandkids have mixed feelings about this (temporary) development.
Questions About Time
- Why does Faheel choose to manipulate time to save the Valley?
- Why do Meena and Alnor react differently to being young again?
- Do you think the Ropemaker had time in mind when he chose his name?
- What other symbols from the book might represent time?
Chew on This
The Empire is a symbol of time unchanged—at least, as Tilja sees it.
Time is reversed or paused multiple times, but it's never sped up because that might be too dangerous.