Relationships

One of the primary themes running through the novel is relationships. The novel reveals that even the individuals who make up a family have different relationships among the family members. For example, Lirael and Sirael do not even know each other, even though they are sisters. Lirael and Sameth, on the other hand, are very close and have formed a very strong bond even though they recently met.

Friendship is another type of relationship the novel tackles. It seems as if Sameth and Nicholas are long-time friends. Now that Nicholas is working for an evil man, Hedge, Sameth questions their relationship and Nicholas's true motives.

In many ways, the relationships in the novel are those of friends, but the bonds are more like "family" than just close friends. For example, Lirael is very close with the Disreputable Dog. He is her loyal companion until the very end of...