How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
The scholar in [Dee] enjoyed the experience of standing on the roof of the tallest building in Paris, and he wished he'd brought his sketchpad with him […] he wanted nothing more in the world than to fly. Looking out over Paris now, he began to imagine what it would be like to strap da Vinci's wings to his arms and sail out over the roofs (20.15).
We love seeing Dr. John Dee, powerful magician and human-hater extraordinaire, in awe of something totally man-made—the city of Paris. This quote kind of reminds us of Sophie's reaction to the ancient night sky, as both Dr. John Dee and Sophie wish they had a camera or a sketchpad to capture the amazing sight they have witnessed.
Quote #8
"The house is alive," Sophie said in wonder as they turned into another twisting, spiraling corridor that was completely composed of the gnarled and bulbous roots of the great tree that rose above them. "Even with us moving around inside, with the rooms and the windows and the pools—it's still a living tree!" She found the idea both astonishing and frightening at the same time. (24.36)
We often think of awe as totally good, right? After all, calling something awesome is high praise. But here Sophie's remark reminds us that awesome things can be, well, scary, too. In this case, Hekate's totally awesome tree house is also totally terrifying. When a house is alive, there's no telling what it will do.
Quote #9
Bastet slowly stepped away from Flamel and raised herself to her full towering height. Her slit-pupiled eyes were wide, her mouth tightly closed. "It has been a long time since anyone has called me by those names. Who are you—certainly no modern humani girl?" (28.28)
Now here's a switcheroo. Instead of the human character being in awe of the magical creature, we have the supernatural being, Bastet, in awe of the human, Sophie. Bastet can't believe that Sophie's powers belong to a human girl. But now that we know Sophie's potential, we feel like telling Bastet she had better start believing. In any case, she'll figure it out soon enough.