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Mina
Mum is Michael and the baby’s mother and Dad’s wife. She’s often away at the hospital with the baby, who has a life-threatening heart condition. Her concern for the baby takes up most of her time; as a result, she can sometimes be impatient with Michael, and she often fails to meet his needs. Still, she consistently assures Michael that everything will be okay. When Michael becomes curious about the purpose of shoulder blades, it is Mum who tells Michael that shoulders are where wings used to be when people were angels—an idea that sticks with Michael. Later, Mum tells Michael that, while staying overnight at the hospital, she had a vision of Skellig entering the room and holding the baby in his arms; this story convinces Michael that Skellig and the baby’s stories are interconnected.
Mum Quotes in Skellig
The Skellig quotes below are all either spoken by Mum or refer to Mum. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
“They say that shoulder blades are where your wings were, when you were an angel,” she said. “They say they’re where your wings will grow again one day.”
“It’s just a story, though,” I said. “A fairy tale for little kids. Isn’t it?”
“Who knows? But maybe one day we all had wings and one day we’ll all have wings again.”
“D’you think the baby had wings?”
“Oh I’m sure that she had wings. Just take one look at her. Sometimes I think she’s never quite left Heaven and never quite made it all the way here to Earth.”
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Chapter 41
Quotes
“And then he reached right down with both hands and lifted her up. She was wide awake. They stared and stared into each other’s eyes. He started slowly to turn around…”
“Like they were dancing,” I said.
“That’s right, like they were dancing.
[…]
“And the strangest thing of all was, there were wings on the baby’s back. Not solid wings. Transparent, ghostly, hardly visible, but there they were.”
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Get the entire Skellig LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mum Quotes in Skellig
The Skellig quotes below are all either spoken by Mum or refer to Mum. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
“They say that shoulder blades are where your wings were, when you were an angel,” she said. “They say they’re where your wings will grow again one day.”
“It’s just a story, though,” I said. “A fairy tale for little kids. Isn’t it?”
“Who knows? But maybe one day we all had wings and one day we’ll all have wings again.”
“D’you think the baby had wings?”
“Oh I’m sure that she had wings. Just take one look at her. Sometimes I think she’s never quite left Heaven and never quite made it all the way here to Earth.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 41
Quotes
“And then he reached right down with both hands and lifted her up. She was wide awake. They stared and stared into each other’s eyes. He started slowly to turn around…”
“Like they were dancing,” I said.
“That’s right, like they were dancing.
[…]
“And the strangest thing of all was, there were wings on the baby’s back. Not solid wings. Transparent, ghostly, hardly visible, but there they were.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
