Millie effectively dispensed with George. If George was really a changeling, why didn’t the real George return?

Millie effectively dispensed with George. If George was really a changeling, why didn’t the real George return?

My reasoning was that it had been so long since the real George disappeared that he was unable to return. I have to admit that I thought mothers believing their children were changlings sounded like postpartum depression to me.

George not returning was because the guilt inside of him had consumed him to the point of where he was not able to return.

I am not certain about this. One thought is that maybe George was not a changeling after all.

I have given much thought to this question. I am unable to determine why. Is it possible for a changling's death to make it possible for the return of the original child? I am not familiar with the ins and outs of Irish folklore to answer this question with any clarity.

This I did not understand. I do not think people can become changlings. You are who you are and you grow to be that person based on personal experiences, ernvironment, and education. Perhaps George was always meant to be someone who could act good, then change whne it suited him, and therefore not to be trusted.

I’m not sure how to answer this question. Perhaps George was not a changing but just an overindulged young man who felt entitled to take what he wanted without regard to others feelings.

I thought the human George had been gone so long that he didn't even remember being a human.

I think George's sister was a changling, but perhaps he was not. He was twisted by the changling into something dark and malevolent. When Millie disposed of him, he ceased to be. According to tradition, the end of a changling would bring the human back. Since he didn't return, it is possible he was not a changling after all.

George was inconsistent as a changeling. He cared for Anna when she hurt her foot. In his final scene, he was beyond being an ogre. Perhaps his personality disorder worsens when he is around other people.

That was an aspect of the book that I never quite grasped

I didn't entirely understand the concept of changlings. Is there - as some have noted - a point of no return and even if the changling is vanquished, the human can't come back?

I also didn't get the changelings concept, and honestly just moved past it to enjoy the rest of the book!

I don't really know the answer to that other than to say that for some reason the fairies didn't want the real George to come back and they didn't want to reclaim the changeling.