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The Parson
One of the characters in the monster’s first tale. The young prince is the grandson of a king, and his stepmother is the evil queen. When the king passes away, the evil queen wants to marry the young prince to retain her throne, and so the young prince runs away with his lover, the farmer’s daughter. But as they run away, the young prince murders the farmer’s daughter and then convinces the townspeople that the evil queen did it so that they would turn against her. The young prince thus demonstrates the complexity of human nature: even though he rules justly and kindly for many years, he had also committed an evil deed in order to do so.
The Young Prince Quotes in A Monster Calls
The A Monster Calls quotes below are all either spoken by The Young Prince or refer to The Young Prince. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Rest of the First Tale
Quotes
You think I tell you stories to teach you lessons? the monster said. You think I have come walking out of time and earth itself to teach you a lesson in niceness?
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There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between.
Conor shook his head. “That’s a terrible story. And a cheat.”
It is a true story, the monster said. Many things that are true feel like a cheat. Kingdoms get the princes they deserve, farmers’ daughters die for no reason, and sometimes witches merit saving.
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Life After Death
Quotes
You were merely wishing for the end of pain, the monster said. Your own pain. An end to how it isolated you. It is the most human wish of all.
“I didn’t mean it,” Conor said.
You did, the monster said, but you also did not.
Conor sniffed and looked up to its face, which was as big as a wall in front of him. “How can both be true?”
Because humans are complicated beasts, the monster said. How can a queen be both a good witch and a bad witch? How can a prince be a murderer and a saviour?
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The Young Prince Quotes in A Monster Calls
The A Monster Calls quotes below are all either spoken by The Young Prince or refer to The Young Prince. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Rest of the First Tale
Quotes
You think I tell you stories to teach you lessons? the monster said. You think I have come walking out of time and earth itself to teach you a lesson in niceness?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between.
Conor shook his head. “That’s a terrible story. And a cheat.”
It is a true story, the monster said. Many things that are true feel like a cheat. Kingdoms get the princes they deserve, farmers’ daughters die for no reason, and sometimes witches merit saving.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Life After Death
Quotes
You were merely wishing for the end of pain, the monster said. Your own pain. An end to how it isolated you. It is the most human wish of all.
“I didn’t mean it,” Conor said.
You did, the monster said, but you also did not.
Conor sniffed and looked up to its face, which was as big as a wall in front of him. “How can both be true?”
Because humans are complicated beasts, the monster said. How can a queen be both a good witch and a bad witch? How can a prince be a murderer and a saviour?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
