--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The merrel also knew its wing had not…" description: "\"“The merrel also knew its wing had not healed. But I could reach a great height once more before it failed me, it said. And from there I would fold my ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad3/robin-mckinley-1591_captivity_the-merrel-also-knew-its-wing-had-not-he_537979.jpg" --- # The merrel also knew its wing had not healed. But I could… ![“The merrel also knew its wing had not healed. But I could reach a great height once more before it failed me, it said. And from there I would fold my wings and plummet to the earth as if a hare or a fawn had caught my eye; but it would be myself I stooped toward. It would be a good flight and a…” quote by Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad3/robin-mckinley-1591_captivity_the-merrel-also-knew-its-wing-had-not-he_537979.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad3/robin-mckinley-1591_captivity_the-merrel-also-knew-its-wing-had-not-he_537979.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad3/robin-mckinley-1591_captivity_the-merrel-also-knew-its-wing-had-not-he_537979.jpg) > ““The merrel also knew its wing had not healed. But I could reach a great height once more before it failed me, it said. And from there I would fold my wings and plummet to the earth as if a hare or a fawn had caught my eye; but it would be myself I stooped toward. It would be a good flight and a good death. And so I eat their dead things cut up on a pole, dreaming of my last flight. ”” [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A wounded bird reflects on its final flight, embracing death as a meaningful end. **In simple terms:** A injured bird accepts death as a final, purposeful flight. Key Takeaway Embrace endings with purpose. Themes mortality acceptance transformation Mood melancholic thoughtful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - literature - mythic storytelling - personal growth Key Concepts symbolism self‑sacrifice Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting mortality change you? - What does “good death” mean to you? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Captivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captivity/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Injury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injury/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) ## Related quotes > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [“It is up to you whether social, intelligent and wonderful creatures are to be freed from their chains and cages where ruthless people keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natascha-kampusch/it-is-up-to-you-whether-social-intelligent-and-wonderful-creatures/) [Natascha Kampusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natascha-kampusch/) > [We can laugh from either joy or happiness, but we weep only from grief or joy...Without the pain of farewell, there is no joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-vaillant/we-can-laugh-from-either-joy-or-happiness-but-we-weep-only-from-grief/) [George Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-vaillant/) > [We get into captivity because of our foolishness and we are more foolish that we want to admit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/we-get-into-captivity-because-of-our-foolishness-and-we-are-more/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [The less control people had over their work, the higher their blood pressure during work hours. Moreover, blood pressure at home was unrelated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/the-less-control-people-had-over-their-work-the-higher-their-blood/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [“An unbroken horse erects his mane, paws the ground and starts back impetuously at the sight of the bridle; while one which is properly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rousseau-jean-jacques/an-unbroken-horse-erects-his-mane-paws-the-ground-and-starts-back/) [Rousseau Jean-Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rousseau-jean-jacques/) > [“In situations of captivity the perpetrator becomes the most powerful person in the life of the victim, and the psychology of the victim is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/in-situations-of-captivity-the-perpetrator-becomes-the-most-powerful/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [“They put me and more 300 companions of misfortune and captivity in the strait and infected basement of a ship. Thirty days of cruel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-firmina-dos-reis/they-put-me-and-more-300-companions-of-misfortune-and-captivity-in/) Maria Firmina dos Reis > [A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge. For if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/a-man-is-saved-no-faster-than-he-gets-knowledge-for-if-he-does-not/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [Attempts to defend amusement parks and circuses on the grounds that they 'educate' people about animals should not be taken seriously. Such enterprises are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/attempts-to-defend-amusement-parks-and-circuses-on-the-grounds-that/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“From the pavement, I could see the window of Albertine’s room, that window, formerly quite black, at night, when she was not staying in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/from-the-pavement-i-could-see-the-window-of-albertine-s-room-that/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-baker/bringing-every-thought-into-captivity-to-the-obedience-of-christ/) [Heidi Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-baker/) > [Release your majestic mind, embrace your untamed inner spirit. Break free from captivity, avoid society.. You were born to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-muller/release-your-majestic-mind-embrace-your-untamed-inner-spirit-break/) Melanie Muller > [When a captive lion steps out of his cage, he comes into a wider world than the lion who has known only the wilds.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/when-a-captive-lion-steps-out-of-his-cage-he-comes-into-a-wider-world/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [“Stability and order have always been paid for with captivity and blood. (76)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-doria-russell/stability-and-order-have-always-been-paid-for-with-captivity-and/) [Mary Doria Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-doria-russell/) ## More by Robin McKinley > [It's hard to look too grand when you're led by someone who looks like a pudding with legs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/it-s-hard-to-look-too-grand-when-you-re-led-by-someone-who-looks-like/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“The most serious drawback to the telling-nothing approach is that it made that much more of a mystery of what had happened, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-most-serious-drawback-to-the-telling-nothing-approach-is-that-it/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-magic-in-that-country-was-so-thick-and-tenacious-that-it-settled/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“There was something very odd about the carpet this morning… More hedgehogs? Many more hedgehogs? Positively a lake of hedgehogs?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/there-was-something-very-odd-about-the-carpet-this-morning-more/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [He didn't look insane or inhuman. He did look uncooperative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/he-didn-t-look-insane-or-inhuman-he-did-look-uncooperative/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [People forgot; it was in the nature of people to forget, to blur boundaries, to retell stories to come out the way they wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/people-forgot-it-was-in-the-nature-of-people-to-forget-to-blur/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“But he hated to see his people people unhappy--because he was a good king, not because he was a nervous one--”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/but-he-hated-to-see-his-people-people-unhappy-because-he-was-a-good/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [ “\[the sheep\] sidled up beside him and bumped him lovingly with its head. Val looked at it sadly. "I am sorry, you ugly creature,"… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-sheep-sidled-up-beside-him-and-bumped-him-lovingly-with-its-head/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [I long for another human face just as I fear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/i-long-for-another-human-face-just-as-i-fear-it/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“Rosie hated her curly golden hair. When she was old enough to hold minimal conversations, the itsy-bitsy-cutesycoo sort of grown-ups would pull the soft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/rosie-hated-her-curly-golden-hair-when-she-was-old-enough-to-hold/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“There was, too, a reality to her new life that her old life had lacked, and she realized with a shock that she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/there-was-too-a-reality-to-her-new-life-that-her-old-life-had-lacked/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [Oh,' she said, too bone-weary to pretend: 'I would far rather that I love you as I saw yesterday I do than that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/oh-she-said-too-bone-weary-to-pretend-i-would-far-rather-that-i-love/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [But I'm going to try to tell the truth. Except for the parts I'm leaving out, because there's still stuff I'm just not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/but-i-m-going-to-try-to-tell-the-truth-except-for-the-parts-i-m/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-magic-in-that-country-was-so-thick-and-tenacious-that-it-settled-2/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [Roses are for love. Not silly sweet-hearts' love but the love that makes you and keeps you whole, love that gets you through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/roses-are-for-love-not-silly-sweet-hearts-love-but-the-love-that/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) [Explore all 225 Robin McKinley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) ## More Captivity quotes > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [When a captive lion steps out of his cage, he comes into a wider world than the lion who has known only the wilds.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/when-a-captive-lion-steps-out-of-his-cage-he-comes-into-a-wider-world/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [Release your majestic mind, embrace your untamed inner spirit. Break free from captivity, avoid society.. You were born to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-muller/release-your-majestic-mind-embrace-your-untamed-inner-spirit-break/) Melanie Muller > [“bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-baker/bringing-every-thought-into-captivity-to-the-obedience-of-christ/) [Heidi Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-baker/) > [“From the pavement, I could see the window of Albertine’s room, that window, formerly quite black, at night, when she was not staying in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/from-the-pavement-i-could-see-the-window-of-albertine-s-room-that/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Attempts to defend amusement parks and circuses on the grounds that they 'educate' people about animals should not be taken seriously. Such enterprises are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/attempts-to-defend-amusement-parks-and-circuses-on-the-grounds-that/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge. For if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/a-man-is-saved-no-faster-than-he-gets-knowledge-for-if-he-does-not/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [“They put me and more 300 companions of misfortune and captivity in the strait and infected basement of a ship. Thirty days of cruel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-firmina-dos-reis/they-put-me-and-more-300-companions-of-misfortune-and-captivity-in/) Maria Firmina dos Reis > [“In situations of captivity the perpetrator becomes the most powerful person in the life of the victim, and the psychology of the victim is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/in-situations-of-captivity-the-perpetrator-becomes-the-most-powerful/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [“An unbroken horse erects his mane, paws the ground and starts back impetuously at the sight of the bridle; while one which is properly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rousseau-jean-jacques/an-unbroken-horse-erects-his-mane-paws-the-ground-and-starts-back/) [Rousseau Jean-Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rousseau-jean-jacques/) > [The less control people had over their work, the higher their blood pressure during work hours. Moreover, blood pressure at home was unrelated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/the-less-control-people-had-over-their-work-the-higher-their-blood/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [We get into captivity because of our foolishness and we are more foolish that we want to admit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/we-get-into-captivity-because-of-our-foolishness-and-we-are-more/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [We can laugh from either joy or happiness, but we weep only from grief or joy...Without the pain of farewell, there is no joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-vaillant/we-can-laugh-from-either-joy-or-happiness-but-we-weep-only-from-grief/) [George Vaillant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-vaillant/) > [“It is up to you whether social, intelligent and wonderful creatures are to be freed from their chains and cages where ruthless people keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natascha-kampusch/it-is-up-to-you-whether-social-intelligent-and-wonderful-creatures/) [Natascha Kampusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natascha-kampusch/) > [“Stability and order have always been paid for with captivity and blood. (76)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-doria-russell/stability-and-order-have-always-been-paid-for-with-captivity-and/) [Mary Doria Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-doria-russell/) [Browse all 180 Captivity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captivity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The merrel also knew its wing had not healed. But I could reach a great height once more before it failed me, it said. And from there I would fold my wings and plummet to the earth as if a hare or a fawn had caught my eye; but it would be myself I stooped toward. It would be a good flight and a good death. 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