Watership Down

by

Richard Adams

The rabbit-state of being paralyzed or hypnotized by fear. Brought on by intense nerves or staring directly into the lights of a hrududu.

Tharn Quotes in Watership Down

The Watership Down quotes below are all either spoken by Tharn or refer to Tharn. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Epic Journey  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 43 Quotes

When the punt floated down the river in the rain, part of General Woundwort’s authority went with it. He could not have appeared more openly and completely at a loss if Hazel and his companions had flown away over the trees. […] They had suddenly shown their own cunning greater than his, and left him bewildered on the bank. He had overheard the very word—tharn— spoken by one of his officers to another as they returned to Efrafa through the rain. Thlayli, Blackavar and the does of the Near Hind [Mark] had vanished. He had tried to stop them and he had conspicuously failed.

Related Characters: Hazel, Bigwig, General Woundwort, Blackavar
Related Symbols: Efrafa
Page Number: 414-415
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 47 Quotes

Vervain advanced slowly across the floor. Even he could derive little satisfaction from the prospect of killing a tharn rabbit half his own size, in obedience to a contemptuous taunt. The small rabbit made no move whatever, either to retreat or to defend himself, but only stared at him from great eyes which, though troubled, were certainly not those of a beaten enemy or a victim. Before his gaze, Vervain stopped in uncertainty and for long moments the two faced each other in the dim light. Then, very quietly and with no trace of fear, the strange rabbit said, “I am sorry for you with all my heart. But you cannot blame us, for you came to kill us if you could.”

“Blame you?” answered Vervain. “Blame you for what?”

“For your death. Believe me, I am sorry for your death.” […]

As [Vervain] continued to meet the eyes of this unaccountable enemy—the only one he had faced in all the long night’s search for bloodshed—horror came upon him and he was filled with a sudden fear of his words, gentle and inexorable as the falling of bitter snow in a land without refuge. The shadowy recesses of the strange burrow seemed full of whispering, malignant ghosts and he recognized the forgotten voices of rabbits done to death months since in the ditches of Efrafa.

Related Characters: Fiver (speaker), Vervain (speaker)
Page Number: 452-453
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Watership Down LitChart as a printable PDF.
Watership Down PDF

Tharn Term Timeline in Watership Down

The timeline below shows where the term Tharn appears in Watership Down. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 21: “For El-ahrairah to Cry”
The Epic Journey  Theme Icon
Violence and Power Theme Icon
Authoritarianism vs. Democracy Theme Icon
Home and Belonging Theme Icon
...heard a hissing noise, and the air began to “turn bad.” The bewildered Holly went tharn—unable to move, he was forced to sit and watch, and to imagine what was happening... (full context)
Chapter 25: The Raid
The Epic Journey  Theme Icon
Home and Belonging Theme Icon
...and the rabbits all dash for the edge of the farm. Haystack and Laurel go tharn, and the others abandon them, making their way up the sloping lane towards Hazel. (full context)
The Epic Journey  Theme Icon
...fetch them. Dandelion agrees, and Hazel hurries down to where Haystack and Laurel are sitting tharn in the same position they were moments ago. As Hazel tries to get through to... (full context)
Chapter 38: The Thunder Breaks
The Epic Journey  Theme Icon
Violence and Power Theme Icon
Authoritarianism vs. Democracy Theme Icon
...Thethuthinnang, and several other does. He explains the plan and begs them not to go tharn—their lives, he says, depend on it. (full context)