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Chapter 23
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Girl Who Drank the Moon, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family and Love
Storytelling, Censorship, and Control
Memory, Forgetting, and the Future
Sorrow vs. Hope
Summary
Analysis
It takes Antain an hour to work up the courage to knock on Gherland’s study door. He holds a handkerchief that Ethyne embroidered for him and remembers her telling him about the power of hope. He thinks about her pregnant belly as he knocks on the door. Gherland admits him, shouts, and rolls his eyes. Antain says that he’d like to address the Council to explain his departure. Antain swallows to cover up the lie, but Gherland agrees to let Antain speak. Antain feels hopeful as he stands in front of the Council. They congratulate him on his marriage to Ethyne and shower him with rich food.
For Antain, this handkerchief from Ethyne is a symbol of hope in that it reminds him of why he needs to speak to the Council, and in doing so, begin to change the way that things happen in the Protectorate. Gherland’s willingness to let Antain speak again shows that Gherland isn’t an entirely evil individual. He does care for Antain and wants Antain to be happy—just not too happy.
Themes
The room grows cold as Antain admits that he lied about his reasons for speaking. Antain thinks of his coming baby, and says that his baby will be the last one born before the Day of Sacrifice. The Elders clear their throats, but Antain says he knows how to stop the Witch’s tyranny. He says he saw the Witch. Gherland is beside himself, as he knows there’s no witch. Antain continues his story. The Witch is old, in pain, and he knows where she is. He pulls out a map. Gherland and Antain stare at each other as Antain describes his route to the Witch’s lair. He asks for the Council’s blessing to save his baby from sacrifice by following the map and killing the Witch.
To the Council, Antain’s explanation of his journey to kill the Witch certainly sounds like nonsense—but this is because the Elders are complacent and haven’t considered the possibility that there might be more to life than their tenuous grasp on power in the Protectorate. They also recognize that if Antain kills the Witch, whoever she is, it means that the Council won’t have power anymore—which means that it’s in their best interests to put a stop to this.
Themes
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