49 pages 1 hour read

George MacDonald

At the Back of the North Wind

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1871

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Chapters 7-13

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 7 Summary: “The Cathedral”

The North Wind stops before they reach the sea and tells Diamond that she will put him down so he does not have to watch the ship sink. When Diamond asks how she can bear the sound of people screaming when the ship goes down, she describes a song that only she can hear that allows her to bear the suffering. She brushes her hair out of the way so that Diamond can see a cathedral, and the two of them land on the rooftop. They find a door leading to a long, dark staircase. Diamond is afraid of the stairwell; the North Wind vanishes, intent on forcing him to face his fear. He walks down the stairs and reunites with the North Wind, who hugs and kisses him. She compliments him for having found his courage, and the two finish the descent together. She promises to return to him before morning and disappears, leaving him to wander the dark church alone.

Diamond feels intensely lonely and tries to sing songs, but they only make him feel more alone. He falls down some steps and hurts his arm; he then lies down on some carpet and looks up at the windows above him.

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