Cinder

by

Marissa Meyer

Dr. Erland Character Analysis

Dr. Erland is the head of New Beijing’s letumosis research team. Dr. Erland reveals much of his backstory to Cinder as the novel goes on: he is actually a Lunar fugitive. He fled Luna after Queen Levana killed his daughter, Crescent Moon, who was a shell (someone who’s impervious to glamour, the Lunar ability to telepathically control others). His story reveals several layers of discrimination that he has to combat: Earthens tend to stereotype Lunars as cruel and dishonest, so he has to prove to Cinder that he is trustworthy. He also recognizes the injustice of killing shells simply because they cannot be manipulated by glamour. Dr. Erland meets Cinder after Adri volunteers her for cyborg letumosis research. He runs many tests on Cinder and learns that she is also Lunar; he also reveals to Cinder that her cyborg surgery put a “lock” on her glamour, but that it is slowly coming back. Finally, he divulges to Cinder that she is Princess Selene (Queen Levana’s long-lost niece), whom he wanted to find so that she could overthrow Queen Levana. Learning this, Cinder realizes that he only set up the cyborg draft—which selects one cyborg every day as a research subject—because he knew that Princess Selene was also a cyborg and that she fled to the Eastern Commonwealth. Even though his intentions were good, he also caused major harm to a vulnerable population, underscoring the problems with secrecy and manipulation. Still, Dr. Erland is also self-sacrificial: he experiences severe psychological side effects from refusing to use his glamour on Earthens, and he works tirelessly and does experiments on himself to try and find a letumosis cure.

Dr. Erland Quotes in Cinder

The Cinder quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Erland or refer to Dr. Erland. 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:
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

Lunars were a society that had evolved from an Earthen moon colony centuries ago, but they weren’t human anymore. People said Lunars could alter a person’s brain—make you see things you shouldn’t see, feel things you shouldn’t feel, do things you didn’t want to do. Their unnatural power had made them a greedy and violent race, and Queen Levana was the worst of all of them.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene, Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Dr. Erland, Peony
Page Number: 43
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

“It is why Queen Levana is so striking to look at. Some talented Lunars, such as the queen, keep their glamour up all the time. But just as she cannot trick the netscreens, neither can she trick a mirror.”

“So they don’t like mirrors because they don’t want to see themselves?”

“Vanity is a factor but it is more a question of control. It is easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth.”

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene (speaker), Dr. Erland (speaker), Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Sybil Mira
Related Symbols: Mirrors
Page Number: 172
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

Instead of kissing her, he whispered, “Imagine there was a cure, but finding it would cost you everything. It would completely ruin your life. What would. you do?”

The warm air enclosed her. So close, she could catch a faint soapy smell coming from him.

His eyes bored into hers, waiting, a tinge desperate.

Cinder wet her mouth. “Ruin my life to save a million others? It’s not much of a choice.”

His lips parted—she had no choice but to look at them and then immediately back into his eyes. She could almost count the black lashes around them. But then a sadness filtered into his gaze.

“You’re right. There’s no real choice.”

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene (speaker), Prince Kai (speaker), Queen Levana, Dr. Erland, Peony, Nainsi
Page Number: 223
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

Squinting, she jutted a finger at the doctor. “You did use your mind control on me. When we met. You…you brainwashed me, just like the queen. You made me trust you.”

“Be fair. You were attacking me with a wrench.”

Her anger wavered.

Dr. Erland opened his palms to her, “I assure you, Miss Linh, in the twelve years that I have been on Earth, I have not abused the gift once, and I am paying the price for that decision every day. My mental stability, my psychological health, my very senses are failing me because l refuse to manipulate the thoughts and feelings of those around me. Not all Lunars can be trusted—I know that as well as anyone—but you can trust me.”

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene (speaker), Dr. Erland (speaker), Prince Kai, Queen Levana
Page Number: 241-242
Explanation and Analysis:

“Because she was a shell.” He picked his hat off the desk and analyzed it while he spoke, his fingers tracing the herringbone pattern. “I’d agreed with the laws in the past, thought the shells were dangerous. That our society would fall apart if they were allowed to live. But not my little girl.” An ironic smile twisted up his lips. “After she was born, I wanted to run away, to bring her to Earth, but my wife was even more devoted to Her Majesty than I had been. She wanted nothing to do with the child. And so my little Crescent Moon was taken away, like all the others. He stuffed the hat back onto his head and squinted up at Cinder. “She would be about your age now.”

Related Characters: Dr. Erland (speaker), Cinder/Princess Selene, Queen Levana
Page Number: 245
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 38 Quotes

Releasing the new prosthesis, Cinder covered her ears and buried her face against her knee. The draft. All those cyborgs. So many people convinced that it was the right thing. That it was better them than humans. Once a science project, always a science project.

And he’d only wanted to find her.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene, Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Dr. Erland
Page Number: 382
Explanation and Analysis:

If she didn’t try to stop Levana, what would happen to Kai? Though she tried to block out the question, it continued to plague her, echoing in her thoughts.
Maybe Dr. Erland was right. Maybe she had to run. Maybe she had to try.

She felt for the prosthetic limbs in her lap and wrapped her hands around them. Lifting her head, she looked up at the grate in the prison door. The guard had never closed it.

A tingle passed down her spine. A strange new electricity was thrumming beneath her skin, telling her she wasn’t just a cyborg anymore. She was Lunar now. She could make people see things that weren’t there. Feel things they shouldn’t feel. Do things they didn’t mean to do.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene, Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Dr. Erland
Page Number: 386
Explanation and Analysis:

As her hands stopped shaking, she slid the stiletto knife out from the new titanium-plated finger and maneuvered the blade against her wrist. The cut was still fresh where she’d started to remove her ID chip before, so they would not be able to track her. This time, there was no hesitation.

Soon, the whole world would be searching for her—Linh Cinder.

A deformed cyborg with a missing foot.

A Lunar with a stolen identity.

A mechanic with no one to run to, nowhere to go. But they would be looking for a ghost.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene, Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Dr. Erland
Related Symbols: Cinder’s Mechanical Foot
Page Number: 387
Explanation and Analysis:
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Dr. Erland Quotes in Cinder

The Cinder quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Erland or refer to Dr. Erland. 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:
Bravery and Sacrifice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

Lunars were a society that had evolved from an Earthen moon colony centuries ago, but they weren’t human anymore. People said Lunars could alter a person’s brain—make you see things you shouldn’t see, feel things you shouldn’t feel, do things you didn’t want to do. Their unnatural power had made them a greedy and violent race, and Queen Levana was the worst of all of them.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene, Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Dr. Erland, Peony
Page Number: 43
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 19 Quotes

“It is why Queen Levana is so striking to look at. Some talented Lunars, such as the queen, keep their glamour up all the time. But just as she cannot trick the netscreens, neither can she trick a mirror.”

“So they don’t like mirrors because they don’t want to see themselves?”

“Vanity is a factor but it is more a question of control. It is easier to trick others into perceiving you as beautiful if you can convince yourself you are beautiful. But mirrors have an uncanny way of telling the truth.”

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene (speaker), Dr. Erland (speaker), Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Sybil Mira
Related Symbols: Mirrors
Page Number: 172
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

Instead of kissing her, he whispered, “Imagine there was a cure, but finding it would cost you everything. It would completely ruin your life. What would. you do?”

The warm air enclosed her. So close, she could catch a faint soapy smell coming from him.

His eyes bored into hers, waiting, a tinge desperate.

Cinder wet her mouth. “Ruin my life to save a million others? It’s not much of a choice.”

His lips parted—she had no choice but to look at them and then immediately back into his eyes. She could almost count the black lashes around them. But then a sadness filtered into his gaze.

“You’re right. There’s no real choice.”

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene (speaker), Prince Kai (speaker), Queen Levana, Dr. Erland, Peony, Nainsi
Page Number: 223
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 25 Quotes

Squinting, she jutted a finger at the doctor. “You did use your mind control on me. When we met. You…you brainwashed me, just like the queen. You made me trust you.”

“Be fair. You were attacking me with a wrench.”

Her anger wavered.

Dr. Erland opened his palms to her, “I assure you, Miss Linh, in the twelve years that I have been on Earth, I have not abused the gift once, and I am paying the price for that decision every day. My mental stability, my psychological health, my very senses are failing me because l refuse to manipulate the thoughts and feelings of those around me. Not all Lunars can be trusted—I know that as well as anyone—but you can trust me.”

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene (speaker), Dr. Erland (speaker), Prince Kai, Queen Levana
Page Number: 241-242
Explanation and Analysis:

“Because she was a shell.” He picked his hat off the desk and analyzed it while he spoke, his fingers tracing the herringbone pattern. “I’d agreed with the laws in the past, thought the shells were dangerous. That our society would fall apart if they were allowed to live. But not my little girl.” An ironic smile twisted up his lips. “After she was born, I wanted to run away, to bring her to Earth, but my wife was even more devoted to Her Majesty than I had been. She wanted nothing to do with the child. And so my little Crescent Moon was taken away, like all the others. He stuffed the hat back onto his head and squinted up at Cinder. “She would be about your age now.”

Related Characters: Dr. Erland (speaker), Cinder/Princess Selene, Queen Levana
Page Number: 245
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 38 Quotes

Releasing the new prosthesis, Cinder covered her ears and buried her face against her knee. The draft. All those cyborgs. So many people convinced that it was the right thing. That it was better them than humans. Once a science project, always a science project.

And he’d only wanted to find her.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene, Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Dr. Erland
Page Number: 382
Explanation and Analysis:

If she didn’t try to stop Levana, what would happen to Kai? Though she tried to block out the question, it continued to plague her, echoing in her thoughts.
Maybe Dr. Erland was right. Maybe she had to run. Maybe she had to try.

She felt for the prosthetic limbs in her lap and wrapped her hands around them. Lifting her head, she looked up at the grate in the prison door. The guard had never closed it.

A tingle passed down her spine. A strange new electricity was thrumming beneath her skin, telling her she wasn’t just a cyborg anymore. She was Lunar now. She could make people see things that weren’t there. Feel things they shouldn’t feel. Do things they didn’t mean to do.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene, Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Dr. Erland
Page Number: 386
Explanation and Analysis:

As her hands stopped shaking, she slid the stiletto knife out from the new titanium-plated finger and maneuvered the blade against her wrist. The cut was still fresh where she’d started to remove her ID chip before, so they would not be able to track her. This time, there was no hesitation.

Soon, the whole world would be searching for her—Linh Cinder.

A deformed cyborg with a missing foot.

A Lunar with a stolen identity.

A mechanic with no one to run to, nowhere to go. But they would be looking for a ghost.

Related Characters: Cinder/Princess Selene, Prince Kai, Queen Levana, Dr. Erland
Related Symbols: Cinder’s Mechanical Foot
Page Number: 387
Explanation and Analysis: