Sabriel

Character Analysis

Cool on the Outside

At first glance, Sabriel seems like a classic Goth kid. She's "tall, curiously pale," with "night-black hair" that's "fashionably bobbed" (1.2). Visits to Death since birth have turned her skin an appropriate shade of deathly white, so now she just needs a pair of Doc Martens to complete the look.

They Grow Up So Fast These Days

But despite her edgy look, there's nothing rebellious about Sabriel. She's a top-notch student, diligent and responsible—in fact, what's notable about her character is not what she does do, but what she doesn't do. She sets out on her journey alone, then steps into a grim, high-pressure job requiring serious magical know-how, but she doesn't back away or try to escape responsibility. She never fights her fate and takes time to figure it all out—instead Sabriel just does what she needs to do, even if she doesn't have a lot of experience. She doesn't whine or complain about it either, and nothing she has to do is easy.

Other characters comment on Sabriel seeming older than her years. If Sabriel herself has one regret, it's that she's had to grow up too fast:

Death and what came after death was no great mystery to Sabriel. She just wished it was. (1.23)

Yup—she's a girl who definitely wishes she'd had a bit more childhood. When she meets Colonel Horyse at the Wall for the first time, he comments that he also has an eighteen-year-old daughter, but he wouldn't let her cross the Wall. Sabriel lets him know that although she looks eighteen on the outside, she definitely doesn't feel eighteen. "'I first walked in Death when I was twelve,'" she says. "'A year ago, I turned the final page of the Book of the Dead. I don't feel young anymore'" (3.28). She's wise beyond her years, it seems, which is a good thing considering the journey ahead of her.

Lone Wolf

Sabriel spends the early part of the book adventuring on her own, and even when the mysterious cat companion Mogget joins her, she's never sure if she can trust him. Without a mother in her life, and with her father missing, she has to be entirely self-sufficient.

Before she summons her mother's spirit to ask for directions, we find out that she's only been able to summon her mom once before, and she chose to do it when she got her period for the first time (6.9). As Sabriel starts to have romantic feelings for Touchstone, who joins her for the latter part of her journey, she has no one to share this with. "'Concentrate on planning. Think ahead'" (19.37), Sabriel tells herself when she's thinking of Touchstone. Oh Sabriel, if only we could help you out with a pint of ice cream and a movie marathon.

All Work and No Play

Although Sabriel has the occasional moment of wistfulness about her lost youth, we don't ever find out if Sabriel had childhood hopes and dreams that were put aside for duty's sake. When Sabriel was a kid, what did she want to be when she grew up? If her dad hadn't gotten in trouble during Sabriel's final weeks in school, what would she have done instead? We're never sure.

It could be that Sabriel has always wanted to be a necromancer, but we never get to see her passion for it. With top-notch scores in school—"first in English, equal first in Music, third in Mathematics, seventh in Science, second in Fighting Arts, and fourth in Etiquette" (1.24), even though Sabriel is a "runaway first in Magic" (1.24), it sounds like she could have had her pick of any career. Luckily for her, though, as the book ends she finds herself with a second shot at life—who knows what she'll decide to do with it.