goddessing

Are there men witches? Or only women?"
"There are men who serve us, like the consul at Trollesund. And there are men we take for lovers or husbands. You are so young, Lyra, too young to understand this, but I shall tell you anyway and you'll understand it later: men pass in front of our eyes like butterflies, creatures of a brief season. We love them; they are brave, proud, beautiful, clever; and they die almost at once. They die so soon that our hearts are continually racked with pain. We bear their children, who are witches if they are female; human if not; and then in the blink of an eye they are gone, felled, slain, lost. Our sons, too. When a little boy is growing, he thinks he is immortal. His mother knows he isn't. Each time becomes more painful, until finally your heart is broken. Perhaps that is when Yambe-Akka comes for you. She is older than the tundra. Perhaps, for her, witches' lives are as brief as men's are to us."

Serafina Pekkala's answer to Lyra Belacqua's question, p. 275, The Golden Compass

My nephew's brief season ended four years ago. Time passes. Acute grief subsides. Memory and longing remain.

Post a Comment

My computer time is limited by my physical disabilities. It's a precious commodity I manage carefully across various web interests, projects, and communities. Please forgive my slow responses to emails, my all-too-frequent nonresponses to blog comments, and the inconsistent rhythms of blog posting and site updates. I am heartened by your visits to my site and read everything you have to say with interest and appreciation.

Blogroll [an error occurred while processing this directive] More Muggles