Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- This book wrestles with the idea of destiny: do we really have choices about our future, or are we compelled to follow fate? Sabriel herself echoes this quote from the Book of the Dead: "Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?" (3.30). What do you think—is Sabriel in control of her own fate, or is she following a predestined path?
- Sabriel grows up in Ancelstierre, a place where magic has long been buried in favor of technology. The Wall serves as a dividing line between two lands in this book: a land with magic, and a land without. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages to living in a world with magic? What about a world that uses technology instead?
- Sabriel has never known her mother, except in visions, and loses her father during the story. Touchstone loses not only his family, but his entire life when the Abhorsen keeps him asleep for two hundred years. How do Sabriel and Touchstone deal with these losses?
- Mogget is an unusual guide. In cat form, he can be invaluable to Sabriel, but when set free, he'd happily murder her. What do you think it would be like to have a guide like Mogget? How would it feel to rely on someone you might not be able to trust all the time?
- Touchstone takes his name from a famous fool in a Shakespeare play. Is his name deserved?
- In the Old Kingdom, there's a difference between magic that follows the rules of the Charter and so-called Free Magic. Why is the Charter so important? What seems to be more powerful, Charter Magic or Free Magic?
- Abhorsens believe that everything and everyone has a time to die. How do their beliefs about death affect the way they practice magic? Is death always a tragedy?