You are a child no longer, whatever you might wish. You are a woman with a woman's body, and you do not think or feel as you did back there at Sevenwaters, when you ran wild in the forest and the trees spread their canopy to shelter you. Men will look at you. Come to terms with it, Sorcha. You cannot hide forever. They will look at you with desire in their eyes. You were taken against your will, and it damaged you. But life goes on.
This quote poignantly captures the painful transition from innocence to awareness in a young woman’s life. Sorcha is confronted with the harsh reality that she is no longer the carefree child she once was; her physical and emotional maturity mark a inevitable change, forcing her to face the societal perceptions and expectations associated with womanhood. The imagery of her past life—running wild in the forest with trees sheltering her—evokes a sense of innocence, freedom, and connection to nature. In contrast, the present scene underscores the loss of that innocence and the onset of vulnerability. The acknowledgment that men will look at her with desire emphasizes the societal gaze and the objectification women often face. The phrase
