The Buried Giant

by

Kazuo Ishiguro

Querig is a female dragon that has been trapped in a pit at the top of a mountain by Merlin and King Arthur. King Arthur ordered Merlin to cast a spell on Querig’s breath so that anyone who breathes this mist loses both short-term and long-term memories. Because of where she’s trapped, Querig’s breath permeates the entire country of England and forces both Britons and Saxons to forget that they were ever at war, which also helps establish peace between them. King Arthur also ordered Sir Gawain to serve as Querig’s protector. At the time of the story, Querig has grown very old and Sir Gawain believes she only has one or two years left to live. Once she dies, everyone’s memories will be restored. Wistan, a Saxon, does remember the crimes the Britons committed against the Saxons and is sent by a Saxon leader to slay Querig. After Edwin is bitten by a dragon, Wistan uses him to discover where Querig lives. Axl and Beatrice also discover that Querig is the one making them forget their pasts, so they also decide to help kill her by feeding her a poisoned goat. In the end, Sir Gawain is killed by Wistan while trying to protect Querig. Wistan then slays Querig and, once she stops breathing, people slowly begin to remember the past and a new war seems imminent.

Querig Quotes in The Buried Giant

The The Buried Giant quotes below are all either spoken by Querig or refer to Querig. 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:
Memory, Truth and Justice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 13 Quotes

“Axl, tell me. If the she-dragon’s really slain, and the mist starts to clear, Axl, do you ever fear what will then be revealed to us?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself, princess? Our life together’s like a tale with a happy end, no matter what turns it took on the way.”

“I said so before, Axl. Yet now it may even be we’ll slay Querig with our own hands, there’s a part of me fears the mist’s fading.”

Related Characters: Axl (speaker), Beatrice (speaker), Querig
Related Symbols: The Mist
Page Number: 249
Explanation and Analysis:

“Should Querig really die and the mist begin to clear. Should memories return, and among them of times I disappointed you. Or yet of dark deeds I may once have done to make you look at me and see no longer the man you do now. Promise me this at least. Promise, princess, you’ll not forget what you feel in your heart for me at this moment. For what good’s a memory’s returning from the mist if it’s only to push away another? Will you promise me, princess? Promise to keep what you feel for me this moment always in your heart, no matter what you see once the mist’s gone.”

Related Characters: Axl (speaker), Beatrice, Querig
Related Symbols: The Mist
Page Number: 258
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

“A dark man he may have been, but in this he did God’s will, not only Arthur’s. Without this she-dragon’s breath, would peace ever have come? Look how we live now, sir! Old foes as cousins, village by village. Master Wistan, you fall silent before this sight. […] Her breath isn’t what it was, yet holds the magic even now. Think, sir, once that breath should cease, what might be awoken across this land even after these years! Yes, we slaughtered plenty, I admit it, caring not who was strong and who weak. God may not have smiled at us, but we cleansed the land of war. Leave this place, sir, I beg you.”

Related Characters: Sir Gawain (speaker), Wistan, King Arthur, Querig, Merlin
Page Number: 285
Explanation and Analysis:

“You and I longed for Querig’s end, thinking only of our own dear memories. Yet who knows what old hatreds will loosen across the land now? We must hope God yet finds a way to preserve the bonds between our peoples, yet custom and suspicion have always divided us. Who knows what will come when quick-tongued men make ancient grievances rhyme with fresh desire for land and conquest?”

“How right to fear it, sir,” Wistan said. “The giant, once well buried, now stirs."

Related Characters: Axl (speaker), Wistan (speaker), Beatrice, Querig
Page Number: 297
Explanation and Analysis:
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Querig Quotes in The Buried Giant

The The Buried Giant quotes below are all either spoken by Querig or refer to Querig. 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:
Memory, Truth and Justice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 13 Quotes

“Axl, tell me. If the she-dragon’s really slain, and the mist starts to clear, Axl, do you ever fear what will then be revealed to us?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself, princess? Our life together’s like a tale with a happy end, no matter what turns it took on the way.”

“I said so before, Axl. Yet now it may even be we’ll slay Querig with our own hands, there’s a part of me fears the mist’s fading.”

Related Characters: Axl (speaker), Beatrice (speaker), Querig
Related Symbols: The Mist
Page Number: 249
Explanation and Analysis:

“Should Querig really die and the mist begin to clear. Should memories return, and among them of times I disappointed you. Or yet of dark deeds I may once have done to make you look at me and see no longer the man you do now. Promise me this at least. Promise, princess, you’ll not forget what you feel in your heart for me at this moment. For what good’s a memory’s returning from the mist if it’s only to push away another? Will you promise me, princess? Promise to keep what you feel for me this moment always in your heart, no matter what you see once the mist’s gone.”

Related Characters: Axl (speaker), Beatrice, Querig
Related Symbols: The Mist
Page Number: 258
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

“A dark man he may have been, but in this he did God’s will, not only Arthur’s. Without this she-dragon’s breath, would peace ever have come? Look how we live now, sir! Old foes as cousins, village by village. Master Wistan, you fall silent before this sight. […] Her breath isn’t what it was, yet holds the magic even now. Think, sir, once that breath should cease, what might be awoken across this land even after these years! Yes, we slaughtered plenty, I admit it, caring not who was strong and who weak. God may not have smiled at us, but we cleansed the land of war. Leave this place, sir, I beg you.”

Related Characters: Sir Gawain (speaker), Wistan, King Arthur, Querig, Merlin
Page Number: 285
Explanation and Analysis:

“You and I longed for Querig’s end, thinking only of our own dear memories. Yet who knows what old hatreds will loosen across the land now? We must hope God yet finds a way to preserve the bonds between our peoples, yet custom and suspicion have always divided us. Who knows what will come when quick-tongued men make ancient grievances rhyme with fresh desire for land and conquest?”

“How right to fear it, sir,” Wistan said. “The giant, once well buried, now stirs."

Related Characters: Axl (speaker), Wistan (speaker), Beatrice, Querig
Page Number: 297
Explanation and Analysis: