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Silver Chains/the Power of Stormhold
The candle and the crown that Tristran encounters during his journey through Faerie represent the importance of nursery rhymes and other literature. Mere hours after entering Faerie, the little hairy man warns Tristran that nursery rhymes aren’t meaningless. He says, “there’s some on this side of the wall would give seven years’ hard toil for that little cantrip,” making it clear that such poems are extremely valuable. As Tristran’s journey progresses, he comes to learn that this is because in Faerie, the nursery rhymes and poems often come to life. Tristran uses a “Babylon candle,” for instance, to travel miles at a time, as described in the nursery rhyme “How Many Miles to Babylon.” And when he encounters a lion and a unicorn fighting, he deduces how to break up the fight by thinking of the poem “The Lion and the Unicorn,” which suggests that the lion simply wants to maintain his power—and thus that he’ll stop fighting once Tristran gives him his crown, a symbolic representation of his power.
Nursery rhyme characters and objects might not magically come to life in the real world, but by showing how nursery rhymes guide Tristran’s behavior and teach him how to respond to given situations, Stardust shows that literature, poetry, songs, and the like aren’t frivolous. They may be merely entertaining to some, but they can also contain important life lessons or other useful information.
Candle and Crown Quotes in Stardust
The Stardust quotes below all refer to the symbol of Candle and Crown. 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:
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Chapter 5
Quotes
“Hullo,” said Tristran. There were burrs and leaves in the lion’s mane. He held the heavy crown out toward the great beast. “You won. let the unicorn go.” And he took a step closer. Then he reached out both trembling hands and placed the crown upon the lion’s head.
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Stardust LitChart as a printable PDF.
Candle and Crown Symbol Timeline in Stardust
The timeline below shows where the symbol Candle and Crown appears in Stardust. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...man reminds Tristran of the nursery rhyme about Babylon and hands Tristran a small wax candle.
(full context)
...the glass snowdrop. Then, the hairy man tells Tristran to stand up, he’ll light the candle, and Tristran will walk to his star quickly, as the candle’s wick is almost gone....
(full context)
...that he’s bringing her home with him because he swore an oath. Just then, the candle goes out. The star says coldly that she won’t help Tristran get home. Unperturbed, Tristran...
(full context)
Chapter 5
...and a clearing nearby. They head for the clearing. In the middle is a gemstone-studded crown, and Tristran and the star hear drums. Screaming, a unicorn and a lion crash into...
(full context)
Tristran picks up the crown and approaches the animals. Gently, he tells the lion to let the unicorn go, placing...
(full context)
Chapter 7
...inn and kills them both. Tristran crawls toward the fire, shaping the remainder of his candle in his hand.
(full context)
...Tristran tells the star to walk, and he puts his hand in the fire. The candle lights and they walk forward, underground, through a desert, and finally onto a cloud.
(full context)
