How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
She was savage. Look at her speed, look at her accuracy, and with a poor bow, curved badly, strung badly. No wonder Randa treated her so. (8.4)
Katsa's self-esteem is really low and really sad. She almost reminds us of someone who's been battered and can't see that she didn't deserve it—or maybe even believes that she brought it on herself.
Quote #5
For it was time to get him out of her, this strange person, this cat-eyed person who seemed created to rattle her […].
It was time to get him out of here, so that she could return to her rooms and return to herself. (9.131-132)
This phrase comes up multiple times—the idea of Katsa "returning to herself." It's interesting because it seems that in truth, instead of returning to herself, what Katsa wants to do is go back to not thinking about herself, not questioning her thoughts and feelings, not wondering who she is and what she wants out of life. Then again, that's how she's been living for quite a while now—unquestioning and more or less obedient—so maybe the phrase is more accurate than we first thought.
Quote #6
She'd been right. He hadn't come only to watch; and now, before all these people, she must act pleasant and civil. She fought against the frown that rose to her face, and turned to the king. (12.9)
One reason Katsa's had such great difficulty finding her identity is that she's never been free to voice her opinions or be herself around Randa. She has to pretend civility when what she feels is murder, and she has to murder when what she feels is mercy. It has to be pretty confusing.