Tuesdays at the Castle

“Celie had kept the master copy to add to her own atlas, and on her way to her room she began to muse about how many pages it might be when it was finally completed. But how could she ever finish? The Castle grew new rooms every week.”

Celie’s pet project is the completion of the atlas. At one point, she even fantasizes that finishing the book will bring her parents back. This quote suggests that her fondest hopes may never be realized because the castle will always continue to expand.

“Celie just goggled at Rolf for a minute or two. She could no more ask the Castle to provide rooms for the princes than stand on her head on the roof of the Spyglass Tower!”

At this stage of the story, Celie does little more than record the castle’s layout changes. It never occurs to her that her understanding of the physical structure may indicate a close personal tie to the essence of the castle. Rolf’s suggestion spurs her to make a first attempt at direct communication.

“Everyone knew that Celie was by far the best at interpreting the Castle’s changes.”

Even though Celie is the baby of the family, when it comes to the castle, everyone respects her judgment. In fact, the eccentricities of the castle might best be grasped by someone who is still young enough to have an open mind. A child’s imagination is also flexible enough to retain a sincere belief in magic.

“It’s probably one vast structure; it might even be the size of the entire valley […] It tucks the unused rooms and bits of corridor away until it wants them, in an enchanted pocket. Or it hides them on another plane of existence.”

Celie’s wizard brother tries to explain the multi-dimensional nature of the castle to his sister. His comment is mere speculation, but it does imply just how vast the castle might be. Attempts at defining it continue throughout the novel with limited success.

“The Castle was getting ready for something: the memorial service, a coronation, she wasn’t sure. There was a kind of hum to the stones, a sense of awareness that hadn’t been there before.”

Celie has begun to pay attention to something more than the physical layout of the building. In this quote, she senses a living presence within the inanimate construction materials of the castle. She’s now registering the castle’s state of mind.

“There was an expectant feeling, like the Castle had put the room there for a reason, but the reason wasn’t yet known.”

As a follow-up to the previous quote, Celie pays particular attention to the castle’s mood while she’s standing in the tower room. The early pages of the book suggest that the castle adds rooms based on nothing more than caprice. Now Celie senses that the castle has a specific purpose for creating the tower.

“Standing silently against the pale stones of the main hall in their long black robes, they looked like a copse of trees on a moonlit night.”

This quote describes the Royal Council in terms that evoke the image of a haunted forest on Halloween night. It also conveys the deathlike stillness which all the old men on the council possess. The description foreshadows the danger that the council will present to the royal children.

“The Councilors had to stand, but it wasn’t an insult: they always did. It made them feel tall, Rolf would joke. It made them feel more powerful, was Celie’s thought.”

This quote amplifies the image conjured in the previous comment. The councilors arch over Rolf like a clump of dead trees. However, this passage does more than present their physical characteristics. It explains their motivation for towering over the young king as an attempt to intimidate him.

“Something seemed different, and that was when she noticed that the stones beneath her chair were higher, making her just a little bit taller.”

Celie is aware of the council’s attempts to diminish her by looming over her chair. She is equally aware that the castle is trying to help her out. It unobtrusively elevates her to a superior position physically and psychologically.

“Celie cleared her throat and patted the gray stone doorway. It was smooth and cold, and yet there was a certain underlying sensation that was almost but not quite warmth.”

Celie has progressed in her awareness of the castle’s nature. Previously, she described its physical appearance and then learned its moods. Now, she seems to be detecting a pulsating blood flow beneath the stones.

“Celie was now thoroughly convinced that the Castle wasn’t just magic, but a living thing […] She thought she felt a quivering beneath her hand, as though the Castle were purring.”

Celie’s understanding of the castle grows one step further. The warmth of the stones might indicate a living thing, but this description takes that concept to the next level. The castle is purring like a pet cat, implying it is a member of the family.

“We have something that Prince Khelsh and the Emissary don’t have: the Castle. The Castle is on our side, Celie. I don’t know how it’s happened, or why it’s happening now, but the Castle is on our side.”

Lilah is usually the doubter in the family. She repeatedly contradicts both Rolf and Celie. However, this comment indicates how much of a leap of faith she has made. Her observation also advances the ongoing redefinition of the castle. It isn’t simply alive; it’s a living ally.

“The Castle would never let anything bad happen to you. You could jump out one of these windows and the Castle would probably conjure up a hundred feather beds to break your fall.”

Rolf’s comment reinforces Lilah’s. Both have come to believe in the benign disposition of the castle. His words also foreshadow an event that occurs at the end of the story, when the castle breaks Celie’s fall from the parapet.

“She wondered how many of her ancestors, or any of the kings and queens who had lived in the Castle before, had asked for favors and gotten them. Had any of them even tried?”

On multiple occasions in the novel, Celie asks the castle directly for help. Much to her surprise, it grants her requests. As Celie discovers her ability to communicate with the palace, this begs the question of whether anyone else has ever tried to do so before. The implied answer is no.

“It renewed their energy, and let them know that the Castle not only approved of what they were doing, but was constantly ready to help.”

The castle has advanced its involvement in the covert war to such a degree that it now anticipates what actions need to be taken. Celie and her siblings no longer have to ask explicitly for help. The castle understands their objectives and finds ways to undermine Khelsh on its own.

“At the same moment, a great pain ran through Celie, as though something had struck the top of her head and the blow had jolted the nerves all along her left side. She reeled and fell against the wall. And it was dead.”

Celie has reached a stage where she’s no longer simply communicating with the castle. She’s also gone beyond sensing its moods. She has become fused with the palace to such a degree that she actually feels its death throes in her own body.

“But now the Castle was dead, its stones nothing more than stones; the sense of warmth, of listening, was no longer there, and the silence of it echoed in her ears and hollowed her out.”

This quote echoes the preceding one. Just as the castle has become still and lifeless, some part of Celie’s core has done the same. She doesn’t simply feel the emotion of despair; some part of herself has literally gone missing.

“‘What if it isn’t dead?’ Celie felt her heart expanding with the very idea. […] She remembered the feeling she had had when the guards had come toward her the night before. The feeling like the Castle’s strength was surging around her again, just for a moment.”

Celie makes this comment long before anyone else informs her that the castle is only afflicted with a sleeping curse. Her organic connection to the structure makes it possible for her to divine this fact. This tie may also be the reason why she eventually can make the castle wake up.

“There was a quality to the quiet that was unnerving. Not only was the Castle no longer watching and listening, but there truly were no people at all.”

After the castle goes dormant, Celie evacuates the palace staff. Both these events are unprecedented in the centuries’ long history of the kingdom. The evacuation increases Celie’s sense of grief and isolation.

“Nothing could truly kill Castle Glower, not unless you took it apart stone by stone. Maybe not even then.”

Celie has already formulated a hunch that the castle isn’t completely dead. This comment from Lord Sefton confirms her belief. If the castle truly is indestructible, then hope remains that it can be wakened from its torpid state.

“We’re all in a giant dungeon of our own making now.”

Lord Feen offers this bleak comment after Khelsh takes over the castle. Celie assumes he is referring to the deathlike stillness of the palace and hotly contradicts his claim. He is, however, referring to the dungeon that he and his colleagues created for themselves by planning a political coup.

“There … what was that? Was that warmth beneath her hand? Was it just because she was touching the stone, or was the Castle trying to wake up?”

Celie has been cornered by Khelsh on the castle parapet. She declares her belief that the castle is still alive. Her connection to the magical palace and her belief in its power may be acting as the magic kiss that breaks the sleeping curse.

“A great feeling of warmth and love enveloped Celie, and she knew that they were in the main hall. And the Castle had come back to life. ‘I missed you,’ she murmured.”

Celie has suffered a fall and needs to be carried inside by her family. Her recent physical and emotional trauma limit her ability to inspect the castle for herself. However, her spiritual connection to the palace remains intact, and she can sense its condition even from her sickbed.