The Girl Who Drank the Moon

by

Kelly Barnhill

Grand Elder Gherland Character Analysis

The leader of the Council of Elders in the Protectorate and one of the novel’s antagonists. He’s an old man, is very grand, and loves the prestige that comes along with his position. While there are some good qualities to Gherland—he does love Antain and wants to protect him, even though he recognizes that Antain is a threat to the Council of Elders—Gherland has, over the years, turned himself into an unlikeable figure in the Protectorate. As the Grand Elder, Gherland is responsible for taking and carrying the annual “doomed child” through the town and into the woods to be sacrificed. While he loves that this makes him look powerful, he also detests babies and thinks that they’re too loud, selfish, and smelly—and often, they spit up or urinate on him, which makes him feel even less kindly toward them. The very fact that he’s willing to carry the babies, however, is something that Gherland sees as a reflection of his selflessness. He sees himself as a caretaker for the community, if a strict one. He’s happy to take any opportunity to “teach lessons” to individuals who don’t fall into line, and he also loves showing off his wealth and prestige. Gherland is very disturbed when Antain and Ethyne begin stirring up hope, as he’s well aware of how the story of the Witch (which he knows is untrue) functions to keep the Council of Elders in power, and he understands that hope is going to eventually destroy his power. Though Gherland attempts to work with Sister Ignatia to put a stop to Antain’s quest to kill the Witch, Sister Ignatia’s failure means that the townsfolk put Gherland and his cronies in prison. “Gherland” briefly becomes an insult following Gherland’s imprisonment, but when Gherland refuses to apologize for his actions, he eventually dies alone and is forgotten.

Grand Elder Gherland Quotes in The Girl Who Drank the Moon

The The Girl Who Drank the Moon quotes below are all either spoken by Grand Elder Gherland or refer to Grand Elder Gherland. 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:
Family and Love Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

They left knowing that there surely wasn’t a witch. There never had been a witch. There were only a dangerous forest and a single road and a thin grip on a life that the Elders had enjoyed for generations. The Witch—that is, the belief in her—made for a frightened people, a subdued people, a compliant people, who lived their lives in a saddened haze, the clouds of their grief numbing their senses and dampening their minds. It was terribly convenient for the Elders’ unencumbered rule.

Related Characters: Luna, Antain, Grand Elder Gherland
Related Symbols: The Witch
Page Number: Chapter 2. In Which an Unfortunate Woman Goes Quite Mad12
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

(“But what if they all are important, Uncle?” Antain had asked the Grand Elder once.

“They can’t possibly be. In any case, by denying access, we give our people a gift. They learn to accept their lot in life. They learn that any action is inconsequential. Their days remain, as they should be, cloudy. There is no greater gift than that. Now. Where is my Zirin tea?”)

Related Characters: Antain (speaker), Grand Elder Gherland (speaker)
Page Number: Chapter 6. In Which Antain Gets Himself in Trouble43
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

Luna didn’t have very many memories that were as tenacious as this one—her memory, typically, was a slippery thing, and difficult to pin down—and so she hung on to it. This image meant something. She was sure of it.

Her grandmother, now that she thought about it, never spoke of memories. Not ever.

Related Characters: Luna, Xan, Antain, The Madwoman/Adara, Grand Elder Gherland
Page Number: Chapter 19. In Which There Is a Journey to the Town of Agony161
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 28 Quotes

While it was annoying to have to go hungry in one’s own home, there was always sorrow aplenty throughout the Protectorate, hanging over the town like a cloud.

Or normally there was. But this blasted hope stirred up by Antain was spreading through the town, disrupting the sorrow. Sister Ignatia felt her stomach rumble.

Related Characters: Sister Ignatia/The Sorrow Eater, Antain, The Madwoman/Adara, Grand Elder Gherland
Page Number: Chapter 28. In Which Several People Go into the Woods230
Explanation and Analysis:
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Grand Elder Gherland Quotes in The Girl Who Drank the Moon

The The Girl Who Drank the Moon quotes below are all either spoken by Grand Elder Gherland or refer to Grand Elder Gherland. 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:
Family and Love Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

They left knowing that there surely wasn’t a witch. There never had been a witch. There were only a dangerous forest and a single road and a thin grip on a life that the Elders had enjoyed for generations. The Witch—that is, the belief in her—made for a frightened people, a subdued people, a compliant people, who lived their lives in a saddened haze, the clouds of their grief numbing their senses and dampening their minds. It was terribly convenient for the Elders’ unencumbered rule.

Related Characters: Luna, Antain, Grand Elder Gherland
Related Symbols: The Witch
Page Number: Chapter 2. In Which an Unfortunate Woman Goes Quite Mad12
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

(“But what if they all are important, Uncle?” Antain had asked the Grand Elder once.

“They can’t possibly be. In any case, by denying access, we give our people a gift. They learn to accept their lot in life. They learn that any action is inconsequential. Their days remain, as they should be, cloudy. There is no greater gift than that. Now. Where is my Zirin tea?”)

Related Characters: Antain (speaker), Grand Elder Gherland (speaker)
Page Number: Chapter 6. In Which Antain Gets Himself in Trouble43
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

Luna didn’t have very many memories that were as tenacious as this one—her memory, typically, was a slippery thing, and difficult to pin down—and so she hung on to it. This image meant something. She was sure of it.

Her grandmother, now that she thought about it, never spoke of memories. Not ever.

Related Characters: Luna, Xan, Antain, The Madwoman/Adara, Grand Elder Gherland
Page Number: Chapter 19. In Which There Is a Journey to the Town of Agony161
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 28 Quotes

While it was annoying to have to go hungry in one’s own home, there was always sorrow aplenty throughout the Protectorate, hanging over the town like a cloud.

Or normally there was. But this blasted hope stirred up by Antain was spreading through the town, disrupting the sorrow. Sister Ignatia felt her stomach rumble.

Related Characters: Sister Ignatia/The Sorrow Eater, Antain, The Madwoman/Adara, Grand Elder Gherland
Page Number: Chapter 28. In Which Several People Go into the Woods230
Explanation and Analysis: