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Liza’s headstone represents friendship and compassion. In her lifetime, Liza was accused of being a witch, so instead of being buried in the graveyard alongside other community members, she was buried among criminals in the unconsecrated Potters’ Fields. Even more humiliating than this, the villagers didn’t give her the basic respect of marking her resting place with a headstone. Marking a person’s burial site with a headstone implies that they’re worth remembering, so in denying Liza a headstone, the villagers implied that her life was meaningless and unremarkable.
Several hundred years later, this indignity still bothers Liza’s ghost. Bod is moved by this and sets out to procure a headstone for her—as her friend, wants to cheer her up and make her happy, but more than that, he also wants to emphasize how much he values and respects her. Although Bod isn’t able to purchase an actual stone headstone for Liza, the glass paperweight he finds and paints with Liza’s initials is nevertheless meaningful for her. In fact, it’s perhaps even more meaningful than a standard headstone would have been; the makeshift headstone came directly from Bod, so it’s imbued with his respect and compassion for her.
Liza’s Headstone Quotes in The Graveyard Book
The The Graveyard Book quotes below all refer to the symbol of Liza’s Headstone. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4
Quotes
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Got no headstone,” she said, turning down the corners of her mouth. “Might be anybody. Mightn’t I?”
“But you must have a name?”
“Liza Hempstock, if you please,” she said tartly. Then she said, “It’s not that much to ask, is it? Something to mark my grave. I’m just down there, see? With nothing but nettles to show where I rest.” And she looked so sad, just for a moment, that Bod wanted to hug her.
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Liza’s Headstone Symbol Timeline in The Graveyard Book
The timeline below shows where the symbol Liza’s Headstone appears in The Graveyard Book. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
The girl says there is—she was drowned, burned, and buried without a headstone. Bod is impressed. The witch sits down with Bod and says that they came for...
(full context)
...name. Reluctantly, she introduces herself as Liza Hempstock. Liza sadly says she doesn’t have a headstone. Bod heads back into the graveyard and vows to find Liza a headstone. He decides...
(full context)
...and calls for Liza. When she appears, Bod asks her what she wants on her headstone. She says she’d like an “E” and an “H,” but she doesn’t care about dates....
(full context)
...at all. In a small voice, Bod says he was trying to get Liza a headstone. Liza says this is the first nice thing anyone’s done for her in centuries. She...
(full context)
