Character Analysis
What a smart aleck. Anja Urlasdaughter is Tilja's sometimes-annoying little sister, the daughter of Selly and Da, and granddaughter to Meena. When the book starts, Anja stays in bed after Tilja gets up (1.3), and later just wants to tag along with her big sis (1.22).
The Spoiled Sister
Anja is a parents' pet, the typical baby of the family, petted and cosseted:
Meanwhile Tilja had her hands and mind full with helping on the farm, doing all the endless things that Ma usually dealt with, while Anja did her best to take over some of Tilja's tasks, and did them very well, provided someone kept telling her she was doing them marvelously. 3.23
She even tries to insert herself on the trip to the Gathering, knowing she can't go, but just wanting attention:
"Three of us," interrupted Anja, perfectly aware there wasn't any chance of her going, but characteristically not missing the chance of a bit of spoiling and petting to make up for it. (3.70)
Classic little sister behavior, right?
In their relationship, big sis Tilja takes the lead—until they go into the woods to hunt for their mother, and Anja admits she can hear the cedars, that is. Tilja can't hear the trees, which means that Anja will inherit Woodbourne while Tilja will have to move one day. Anja gets all weepy and apologetic—she didn't realize what her powers meant for Tilja, and she's not crazy about the idea of this change (3.43-44), so she bursts into tears (3.50).
Growin' on Up
The baby of the family is still a bit immature when Tilja gets home, but she's grown up a bit too. She still points excitedly at new things—like Calico as a winged horse—and pesters Tahl and Til for details of their trip (20.8). But Tilja can see a difference in her "cocky and bossy" (20.19) sister. For the first time, Anja considers the hardships of others, rather than herself. Not everything is me-me-me anymore with her:
When Tilja had given her the mother-of-pearl hair comb she had bought for her in the market at Ramram, and somehow ferried home unbroken, through all her adventures, Anja had been delighted with it, but instead of rushing off and looking for something she could see her reflection in and then flaunting it in front of everyone and pestering them for admiration, she had first thanked Tilja rather gravely, almost as a grown-up might have done, and actually said it must have been a nuisance to carry it all that far. Yes, Anja had changed, because for several months now she had been the elder daughter, and one day Woodbourne was going to be hers, and she had begun to understand in her bones what that meant. (20.19)
Looks like Tilja wasn't the only sister doing some good old-fashioned soul searching while she was gone.