How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
While clothes do not, as the saying would sometimes have it, make the man, and fine feathers do not make fine birds, sometimes they can add a certain spice to a recipe. And Tristran Thorn in crimson and canary was not the same man that Tristran Thorn in his overcoat and Sunday suit had been. (4.217)
Tristran gets outfitted in some new threads, and apparently it helps transform him into a more confident, more awesome version of himself. He's more willing to take risks, to walk with a swagger, and to speak up, than he was before. We're going to take this as an indication that he really does belong in Faerie, and this transformation of his wardrobe reflects the inner transformation that's happening simultaneously as he adjusts.
Quote #5
"I swore, by the compact of the Sisterhood, that I would do you no harm. Had I not so sworn I would change you into a black-beetle, and I would pull your legs off, one by one, and leave you for the birds to find, for putting me to this indignity." (5.87)
The witch-queen is pretty darn irritated at Madame Semele for sneaking limbus grass into her food, thus forcing her to tell the truth about her search for the fallen star. So even though the witch-queen has technically sworn not to harm her, she can fantasize a little about how she would take her revenge if she were able. And guess what, it involves a forced transformation, and dismemberment. Good times.
Quote #6
"I didn't always used to be a tree," said the voice in the rustling of the copper beech leaves. "A magician made me a tree." (6.18)
The copper beech tree used to be a nymph, and in her case, transformation was a survival tactic. She had a disrespectful prince on her tail, and so in order to avoid whatever icky plans he had for her, she did some invoking and became a tree. We love trees and all, but we also love transforming for better reasons than avoiding rape.