The Girl Who Drank the Moon

The madwoman remembers how as a child, she listened to her now-dead mother tell stories about the Witch. The madwoman didn’t know if there was truth in the stories or not. The madwoman’s magic continues to grow, and she draws pictures incessantly as she did in childhood. The Sisters keep removing her paper, but the madwoman magically finds more. She realizes she is insane and wonders if her “madness and her magic are linked” (213). She doesn’t know if she can be cured or not, but she does know that she can now do transformations. The madwoman can change anything into paper, and she can transform herself into different insects. She hopes to someday change into a bird and fly to find Luna.

One day the madwoman changes into a beetle and spies on Sister Ignatia, who looks peaked and hungry. Grand Elder Gherland visits Sister Ignatia and informs her that Antain intends to go after the Witch. Not only that, but the townspeople have gotten wind of Antain’s plans and believe he can succeed. The Sister thinks that Antain will probably die in the forest but is concerned that Antain could return.