Shippy Moment of the Day: "You Always Seemed to Me Like a Part of Myself" (The Perilous Gard)

Christopher Explains His Feelings for Katherine
The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

The book is based on the folk legend of Tam Lin.

I thought about going angsty because we've had so much cuteness, but it's Valentine's day, so I figured we need some happiness.

This is one of my favorite books. In middle school we had to do these reading buddy assignments and my best friend and I picked this book to read. (Well, first we accidentally picked a book about a Native American girl who got raped, but we quickly switched gears.)

Recap: Katherine Sutton has been sent to Elvenwood under the care of Geoffery Heron, whose daughter has gone missing. His brother, Christopher, blaming himself for his niece's capture, makes a deal with the local Fairy Folk, taking the girl's place in their All Hallow's Eve celebration where he will be sacrificed. Kate observes this exchange so she is sent to be a servant to the Fairy Folk, where she sneaks out at night to talk to Christopher, who is locked up, eventually falling in love with him. She saves him from being sacrificed but, upon waking after the event, finds Christopher gone. When Christopher returns with Kate's beautiful sister in tow, Kate is convinced that he has fallen in love with her sister. Christopher, however, has other plans and announces to Kate that he has, instead, asked her father's permission to marry Kate herself. Despite this, Kate is reluctant to believe that Christopher is really in love with her.

The Shippy Moment:

"There aren't any right words. You don't even love me. You know you don't. They asked you on All Hallows' Eve if there was a woman you loved, and you said there wasn't."

"I've never thought of it like that," said Christopher. "How could I? If you were any other woman, I could tell you I loved you, easily enough, but not you--because you've always seemed to me like a part of myself, and it would be like saying I loved my own eyes or my own mind. But have you ever thought of what it would be to have to live without your mind or your eyes, Kate? To be mad? Or blind?" His voice shook. "I can't talk about it. Thats the way I feel."

Thoughts:

So, it may be a bit archaic. I mean, a man no longer asks a woman's father for her hand before asking the woman herself. But it just leads to this beautiful moment where Christopher is completely honest. While I think it's rare that people find the "you complete me" sort of love, I do like to think it exists. I think that people love in different ways and express it in different ways and this passage perfectly exemplifies that. Whenever I need a good pick-me-up, I like to re-read this entire scene. It just makes me happy. And on that note,

Happy Valentine's Day!