Art Quote by Juliet Marillier
““This was a face such as I had never seen before, even in the most fanciful of dreams, a face that was, in its way, a work of art. For it was light and dark, night and day, this world and the Otherworld. On the left side, the face of a youngish man, the skin weathered but fair, the eye gray and clear, the mouth well formed if unyielding in character. On all the right side, extending from an undrawn mark down the exact center, an etching of line and curve and feathery pattern, like the mask of some fierce bird of prey. An eagle? A goshawk? No, it was, I thought, a raven, even as far as the circles about the eye and the suggestion of predatory beak around the nostril. The mark of the raven. If I had not been so frightened, I might have laughed at the irony of it. The pattern extended down his neck and under the border of his leather jerkin and the linen shirt he wore beneath it. His head was completely shaven, and the skull, too, was colored the same, half-man, half-wild creature; some great artist of the inks and needle had wrought this over many days, and I imagined the pain must have been considerable.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Daughter of the Forest, 1999
The description juxtaposes beauty and darkness, showing how art can capture complex, dual nature of identity.
In simple terms: Art shows both beauty and darkness.
Recognize duality in people.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- character analysis
- creative writing
- visual arts
- psychology
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the raven symbolize?
- How does duality affect perception?
Interpretation may be subjective.