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Officer Shrift
Faintly Macabre—or Aunt Faintly to Milo—is imprisoned in the dungeons of Dictionopolis. Though Milo first believes she’s a witch, Faintly Macabre corrects him that she’s actually a Which. She was once the Official Which, which means that she was responsible for choosing which words should be said or written and which shouldn’t. But as she tells her story, she explains that she grew miserly and began to hoard words until nobody in Dictionopolis could say anything and business had totally stagnated. At this point, she was put in prison—and she plans to stay there until the princesses Rhyme and Reason are freed. Faintly Macabre also tells Milo the princesses’ story and inspires him to go rescue them.
Faintly Macabre Quotes in The Phantom Tollbooth
The The Phantom Tollbooth quotes below are all either spoken by Faintly Macabre or refer to Faintly Macabre. 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 4. Confusion in the Market Place
Quotes
Milo had never thought much about words before, but these looked so good that he longed to have some.
“Look, Tock,” he cried, “aren’t they wonderful?”
“They’re fine, if you have something to say,” replied Tock in a tired voice, for he was much more interested in finding a bone than in shopping for new words.
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Chapter 5. Short Shrift
Quotes
“That was all many years ago,” she continued; “but they never appointed a new Which, and that explains why today people use as many words as they can and think themselves very wise for doing so. For always remember that while it is wrong to use too few, it is often far worse to use too many.”
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Chapter 6. Faintly Macabre’s Story
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“‘Words and numbers are of equal value for, in the cloak of knowledge, one is warp and the other woof. It is no more important to count the sands than it is to name the stars. Therefore, let both kingdoms live in peace.’”
“Everyone was pleased with the verdict. Everyone, that is, but the brothers, who were beside themselves with anger.
“‘What good are these girls if they cannot settle an argument in someone’s favor?’ they growled, since both were more interested in their own advantage than in the truth.”
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Faintly Macabre Quotes in The Phantom Tollbooth
The The Phantom Tollbooth quotes below are all either spoken by Faintly Macabre or refer to Faintly Macabre. 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 4. Confusion in the Market Place
Quotes
Milo had never thought much about words before, but these looked so good that he longed to have some.
“Look, Tock,” he cried, “aren’t they wonderful?”
“They’re fine, if you have something to say,” replied Tock in a tired voice, for he was much more interested in finding a bone than in shopping for new words.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5. Short Shrift
Quotes
“That was all many years ago,” she continued; “but they never appointed a new Which, and that explains why today people use as many words as they can and think themselves very wise for doing so. For always remember that while it is wrong to use too few, it is often far worse to use too many.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6. Faintly Macabre’s Story
Quotes
“‘Words and numbers are of equal value for, in the cloak of knowledge, one is warp and the other woof. It is no more important to count the sands than it is to name the stars. Therefore, let both kingdoms live in peace.’”
“Everyone was pleased with the verdict. Everyone, that is, but the brothers, who were beside themselves with anger.
“‘What good are these girls if they cannot settle an argument in someone’s favor?’ they growled, since both were more interested in their own advantage than in the truth.”
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