“Her face was fair and pretty, with eyes like two bits of night sky, each with a star dissolved in the blue. Those eyes you would have thought must have known they came from there, so often were they turned up in that direction.”

From the first page, MacDonald foreshadows that Irene is no ordinary princess. In this quote, MacDonald indicates Irene’s lineage, hinting that she is from the stars. It later emerges that Irene’s great-great-grandmother is a goddess-like personification of the power of the moon and stars. She utilizes a lamp shaped like a moon to guide Irene and keep her safe from the goblins; she also has a bath in her bedroom that is filled with water that resembles the night sky. This basin heals Irene when she is plunged into it.

“She was rather afraid, but her curiosity was stronger than her fear.”

Irene is courageous from the very beginning and does not hesitate to follow her curiosity wherever it leads her. The author establishes that being courageous is not the absence of fear but rather the ability to act despite it. Here, Irene follows a series of passageways that will lead her to her grandmother, but she doesn’t yet know where she is headed. She follows her instincts, believing in herself and her ability to find her way.