How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Azalea tried to speak but choked on the words. Mother brought her to arm's length, and with her thumb brushed away a tear on Azalea's face, her own eyes wet. And even with her lips stitched and bruised Mother still tried to smile. To comfort her. (18.163)
This moment is awful for Azalea—she's reminded of how sad she is at her mom's death, she's horrified that her mom is still suffering, and she's confronted with how much her mom still cares for her, since she tries to comfort Azalea even while in pain (we can only imagine how painful it might be to have your lips sewn shut). So much sadness, horror, and shock combined all at once… we gotta hand it to Keeper for creating a truly horrific experience for Azalea.
Quote #8
"But mourning, it is a symbol. A way of being… I—I don't believe we are ready to lift mourning." (22.83)
The King is not really thrilled with how his daughters have found ways to circumvent the conventions of mourning. To him, it's a symbol of his grief at his wife's passing, and as such, it helps him cope with and process his sadness. The fact that the girls don't seem to be taking mourning (and hence their mother's death) very seriously must be really hurtful for him.
Quote #9
Azalea was proud of them… All of them, even Delphinium, had agreed to dress again in black. None of them knew how long the King would want mourning to last, yet not one complained. (29.43)
Based on one of her last conversations with the King before the whole vengeful-High-King-ordeal went down, Azalea manages to convince her sisters to prolong mourning for their father's sake—none of the girls are thrilled about it, of course, but they agree to do it as a sign of respect for their dad. Which is kinda appropriate, since mourning is a sign of respect for the dead too, and their dad almost died at the High King's hands. Maybe realizing how close they came to losing him helped them appreciate him more.