Holy Darkness

Orural wrestles with her beliefs throughout the course of the novel. Is it the Fox's rationality that makes her question? He has mostly brought her up, so it only makes sense that his influence is strongest. Orural's unsure what of what to choose: denial or the desire to believe. Even though Orural believes the gods may be false, she still prays to them. Did Orural believe in the gods as she entered the valley looking for a trace of her sister? That was maybe the nearest Orural was to "seeing" faith (aside from the palace, which she was mostly uncertain about). Psyche seems to always believe. Maybe it's part of what sets her apart and makes her beauty all the more striking. Yet I feel the moment she initially truly believed was when the rain came (110).

I wonder about the "holy darkness" of Ungit. Why should the people want to follow after this? Or maybe they are given no other option. The Priest talks of how Ungit does not have to make sense or be consistent. When he's said this in talking with the King, Orural knows the Priest has won. His is the side that stands firm, for nothing can deny inconsistency. Even The Fox's usual calm, rationality seems forced.

I noticed a running theme of a fear of the unknown. The gods are always feared, never loved (54). The people of Glome don't know what to make of the gods, so they fear. There is always the possibility of the gods acting in any sort of way against the people should they anger the gods, so the people have to be careful of their actions. Towards the end, Orural states: "Now that I'd proved for certain that the gods are and that they hated me, it seemed that I had nothing to do but wait for my punishment" (175). She believes, yet I observe it to be primarily out of fear.