Book Anatomy · The Princess and the Goblin
The Princess and the Goblin: Reader effect
11 lenses on reader effect for The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 K8 K9 K10 K11
K1. Where does suspense peak? AI
Suspense peaks in chapter 27 when Curdie fights the goblins in the house and discovers the princess missing. Chapter 31 sustains it as the flood approaches. The climax is Curdie's warning and the household's escape.
Chapters: Ch 27, Ch 31
It was only too evident that the goblins had been there, and Curdie had no longer any doubt that she had been carried off at the very first of the inroad. (Ch 27, para 28)
Please, Your Majesty, I think I know what it is. I have no time to explain, for that might make it too late for some of us. (Ch 31, para 12)
K2. Open questions: how many are live at the end of each chapter? AI
Early chapters carry one main question: is the grandmother real? Chapters 6 to 9 add: what are the goblins planning? Chapter 14 onwards: can Irene and Curdie stop them? By chapter 27, the question is: will the princess survive?
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 6, Ch 14, Ch 27
K3. Surprise against suspense: which does the author use where? AI
MacDonald uses suspense more than surprise. Readers know goblins are a threat from chapter 1. Curdie's eavesdropping in chapters 7 to 9 builds dread. The surprise comes in chapter 21 when Irene finds Curdie, and chapter 28 when the thread guides him to her.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 7, Ch 21, Ch 28
They were much too afraid of the goblins to let her out of the house then, even in company with ever so many attendants; and they had good reason, as we shall see by and by. (Ch 1, para 5)
They're all at the palace consulting about it tonight; and as soon as we've got away from this thin place I'm going there to hear what night they fix upon. (Ch 8, para 55)
K4. Emotional peaks, with the lines that cause them. AI
Emotional peak: chapter 15 when the grandmother gives Irene the ring and promises protection. Chapter 21 when Irene and Curdie escape together. Chapter 30 when the king is reunited with his daughter. Chapter 31 when the white bird circles them.
Chapters: Ch 15, Ch 21, Ch 30, Ch 31
Of one thing you may be sure, that while you hold it, I hold it too. (Ch 15, para 81)
There, Curdie! There's the kiss I promised you! (Ch 30, para 17)
The same moment there shot from it a white bird, which, descending with outstretched wings, made one circle round the king and Curdie and the princess, and then glided up again. (Ch 31, para 29)
K5. Why do we care about the lead so early? AI
We care for Irene early because she is lonely, curious and brave. Chapter 2 shows her exploring despite fear. Chapter 3 shows her wonder at the grandmother. Chapter 4 shows her hurt at disbelief. She is sympathetic and active.
Chapters: Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4
She threw herself on the floor, and burst into a wailing cry broken by sobs. (Ch 2, para 6)
You don't believe me, then!' exclaimed the princess, astonished and angry, as she well might be. (Ch 4, para 23)
Not to be believed does not at all agree with princesses: for a real princess cannot tell a lie. (Ch 4, para 33)
K6. Humour beats. AI
Humour is gentle. Curdie's rhyming insults to the goblin queen in chapter 19 are comic. The grandmother's patient teaching of Irene has dry wit. Irene's dismissal of Lootie in chapter 24 is humorous. No broad comedy.
Chapters: Ch 19, Ch 22, Ch 24
If you do, It will disclose A horrid set Of sprouting toes. (Ch 19, para 38)
Where 'tis all a hole, sir, Never can be holes: Why should their shoes have soles, sir, When they've got no souls? (Ch 27, para 13)
K7. Spots where readers may get lost. AI
Readers may get lost in the goblin palace description in chapter 9. The invisible thread logic in chapters 20 to 21 requires careful attention. The shift between Irene and Curdie viewpoints in chapters 18 to 22 may confuse some.
Chapters: Ch 9, Ch 20, Ch 21
He was at the entrance of a magnificent cavern, of an oval shape, once probably a huge natural reservoir of water, now the great palace hall of the goblins. (Ch 9, para 6)
She put it on, and then, feeling with the forefinger of her right hand, soon found her grandmother's thread, which she proceeded at once to follow (Ch 20, para 2)
K8. What modern readers may find dated or hurtful. AI
The nurse Lootie is portrayed as foolish and disbelieving, which may feel dated. The princess is passive in some scenes. Goblin creatures are described in grotesque terms that reflect Victorian attitudes. Class distinctions are accepted without question.
Chapters: Ch 4, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 24
Its body might have been that of a dog or wolf, he thought, but he declared on his honour that its head was twice the size it ought to have been (Ch 13, para 2)
They had altered--that is, their descendants had altered--into such creatures as I have not attempted to describe except in the vaguest manner (Ch 13, para 4)
K9. What rewards a second read. AI
A second read rewards attention to the thread's appearances and the grandmother's hints about belief. The goblin plan's logic becomes clearer. Curdie's character arc from doubt to faith is richer on rereading. Foreshadowing in early chapters pays off.
Chapters: Ch 1, Ch 7, Ch 9, Ch 22, Ch 23
They're all at the palace consulting about it tonight; and as soon as we've got away from this thin place I'm going there to hear what night they fix upon. (Ch 8, para 55)
I am spinning this for you, my child. (Ch 11, para 29)
That may be only because you do not understand it. If you did, you would probably find it was an explanation, and believe it thoroughly. (Ch 23, para 14)
K10. Most quoted lines. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
K11. Page turner score: the mix of hooks, short chapters and open questions. Both
Page turner score 6.4 out of 10: 56% of chapters end on a hook, chapters average 1,601 words, and mean tension is 3.1 of 5.
High page-turner score. Thirty-two short chapters with cliffhangers in 6, 14, 18, 21, 25, 27. Open questions drive each chapter. Suspense builds steadily. Emotional peaks are frequent. Pacing is brisk.
Chapters: Ch 6, Ch 14, Ch 18, Ch 21, Ch 25, Ch 27
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