A man sits mournful, his mind in darkness, so daunted in spirit he deems himself ever after fated to endure.
This line reminds me of how many men believe that they have to endure and that they can't let the emotions out. This only causes greater torment and suffering later on.
That passed over, this can too.
Hearing this line repeated after every inconvenience almost seems like the author is trying to make us believe that everything will be ok as well
hearts can be well-hidden,
This line highlights how people are more accustomed to hiding their weakness, which makes sense with the trials of this story likely being too much for the weak.
A red metal imp hangs from the green-painted front door, as a knocker, do not touch it; it will bite your fingers. Walk through the house. Take nothing. Eat nothing. However, if any creature tells you that it hungers, feed it. If it tells you that it is dirty, clean it. If it cries to you that it hurts, if you can, ease its pain.
These instructions almost seem to follow the opposite of human logic. Not knocking before entering an unknown place, listening to creatures rather than running away in fear. It's almost like it's testing the people who enter.
He took The Runaway Prince home and renewed it twice online, at which point a gray pop-up box that looks like an emissary from 1995 tells you, “the renewal limit for this item has been reached.” You can almost feel the disapproving eyes of a librarian glaring at you through the screen.
I like this line because it allows the reader to almost feel the sinking in their stomach and their anxiety starts to build as if they are being stared at in the most judgmental way.
prudish
Prudish: A prude is a person who is described as being concerned with decorum or propriety, significantly in excess of normal prevailing standards.