... [her] head cracked violently." (237) The solution to the climax's problem lies in Elspeth embracing her hatred. Elspeth's hatred allows her to save Rushton, avenge her friends and inflict terrible pain on her enemies. An interpretation of these events is that the text is intrinsically promoting both hatred and violence as a necessary way to succeed, as well as implying this is an appropriate, natural, reaction to pressure. Elspeth is rewarded with the honourable task of saving mankind, not as a result of her actions, but as a consequence of her birth. Being born into the "beasting legends," (18) her goodness and morality are never questioned. This assumption of Elspeth's goodness naturalises the judgement of people on their birth right, rather than their actions. This is a further substantiation of the book's criteria for morality. An analysis of the rewards and punishments of the text reveal they promote subjective categorisation ...

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